Another Coast-to-Coast

Twice in the past I've made X-C *almost* coast-to-coast: EDW-VPS in a
Mooney in '78, and LFI-ABQ in a C-172 in '04. Going the full distance,
ocean to ocean, became a goal I hoped to achieve one day. My wife came
to share the vision and we started plotting and planning the trip to fly
from home in Virginia to Oakland (we have grandkids there), and return.

Our reservation for an Arrow from the Aero Club fell through (wing rib
replacements) so we rented a C-172N (180 hp) and on June embarked on a 3
week adventure. Check the next postings in this thread for summaries of
the westward and eastward trips.

george

An eMessage dispatched to family and friends after getting to Oakland on
July 3rd:

"Wow, we have made it across the country, coast to coast. We're now
visiting family in Oakland after taking a week en route from
Virginia. We have sure learned a lot: about an everyday schedule of
flying; about being flexible as Mother Nature challenges us with
various weather phenomena; how to deal with pathways through (or
above) the mountains; and how beautiful it all can be. It was a
thrill to see the Golden Gate bridge on the horizon (and above the
fog) --and the Pacific beyond-- as we started our descent into
Oakland.

We will begin our return trek tomorrow (Thursday), -planning- to fly
into southeastern California, then to Tucson, up to Kayenta (we must
get some authentic Southwestern dirt for my wife's program on Pueblo
Indians), to Clovis to visit family, and then turn towards Virginia.

On the way west, we covered about 2300 miles with 30 hours of
operating time (actual flying time was maybe 25 hours) in 15 hops.
The longest leg was 3.2 hours, about 320 miles. We've operated from
airports as low as 10 feet (Newport News) and as high as 6,760 ft
(Rock Springs, WY). Our cruising altitude over the Alleghenies was
6,500, across the plains usually 4,500 ft, and starting in Wyoming
10,500 ft (all these figures are above sea level).

* We started our trip on Saturday, Jun 24th. We were delayed 3 days
getting out of Virginia by the rains that caused Flood Watches (and
flooding) from North Carolina to New England. The first night was in
Roanoke, then we headed southwest hoping to find a break to go west.
But - it was not to be - landed briefly at Blacksburg, then at the
New River airport near Dublin (and Pulaski), VA where we spent two
nights waiting for the rains and clouds to go away.

* Weather for the 3rd day at New River (Tuesday, the 27th) was
looking unfavorable for proceeding across the Appalachians, so we
rented a car and drove through the mountains back to Roanoke where we
enjoyed a tasty midday meal at a restaurant we visited 12 years ago.
At some point, my wife said "What if it is clear when we get back to
New River?". Well..returning to the airport, about 20 miles north of
Pulaski, the sky opened up to --blue--. We headed for the airplane,
checked weather (and time of sunset), and decided we could proceed,
anticipating we would be able to get to Ohio for the night. We
didn't quite make it before the haze and angle of the sun reduced
visibility below comfort level. This caused us to shorten our
flight, landing at the Logan County airport in West Virginia. The
place was closed - locked up - even the gates in and out of the
airport were locked. So we pulled the tent from our 'survival kit',
borrowed some seat pads from an out-of-commission helicopter behind a
hangar, and enjoyed a good night's sleep. People arrived before the
fog cleared the next morning, heard our story, then gave us the keys
to their pickup and directions to a restaurant, and said "Go have a
nice breakfast.", which we did.

* When the fog cleared, we cleared the Appalachians, making it to
Baraboo (the Dells), WI in one day, then enjoyed a layday visiting
family. On the way to Baraboo we did have to deal with some
thunderstorm cells by waiting 'til they passed or flying around them.

* On Sunday we flew to Wall, SD (home of the famous Wall Drug Store)
with a stop in Worthington, MN for fuel. We received a generous
welcome from the town mayor at Wall (who also looks after the airport),
including use of his old VW Bug which made it possible for us to
drive out into the Badlands - quite amazing scenery.

* We decided by this time in our trip to start -very early- each day
(to enjoy smooth air and avoid having to deal with thunderstorms that
usually develop later each day). So up at 5:00 and on our way from
Wall, starting with a flyover around the edges of the Badlands, then
on to Rapid City climbing to 10,500 - there are mountains ahead.
Passing Rapid City we looked down upon Mount Rushmore (it looked
small from that altitude) and flew on to Casper, WY.

* Up again early the next day, we had a fairly short hop to Rock
Springs for fuel, then tackled the Real Rockies - over the rugged
mountains along the Wyoming/Utah border. Following I-80 through (I
think) Meeker Pass, we looked down on Ogden and Salt Lake City, but
flew on to Wendover, UT where, in the face of building "convective
activity" (known to most as "thunderstorms") we decided to spend the
night.

* Up before daybreak the next day (didn't account for time zone
changes, so we got an earlier-than-planned start), we headed across
Nevada, refueled in Lovelock, NV, and headed for Reno and the Sierra
Nevada mountains. Continuing to follow I-80, we wended our way
across the Sierras with views of Mt Lassen to the north, Lake Tahoe
to the south, and Truckee below us. This was the most rugged terrain
we'd yet encountered. But it was downhill from there into
Sacramento, However, fog sat over Oakland so we landed at Mather
(formerly an Air Force Base). By early afternoon the fog had cleared
and we made the last 45 minute flight to Oakland.

We're looking forward to a return trip easier than the trip west. We
can expect to have tailwinds (rather than the headwinds one
encounters flying westerly) which will give us hops of greater
distnance, and we won't have such high, rugged terrain to cross. If
Mother Nature will provide relief from the persistent thunderstorms
in the Southeast, we should be home by the 16th. And we'll have done
the Coast-to-Coast."

Best to all, george & pat

On July 29, George Young wrote: Good morning, folks,

Tho' it's been a week and a half since we returned to Virginia, I'm
following up on my earlier eMessage to summarize our return trip from
Oakland.

We enjoyed a fine visit with family in Oakland, and departed on the
7th still feeling a bit apprehensive about the territory we were
planning to fly over and about dealing with the weather and get back
to Virginia by when we planned. But as we proceeded, we gained
confidence in our ability to plan, and to adjust our plans, and have
a good time and visit interesting places as we proceeded. We made
progress even better than we expected so had more time to visit more
people and returned the plane to Rick Aviation on the 16th, 3 weeks
and two days.

From Oakland to Newport News we covered about 2200 miles with 28.5
hours on the clock, in15 hops. The longest was 2.7 hours, about 375
miles (statute). We operated from airports as low as 9 feet
elevation and as high as 5918 ft (Cortez, CO). Lots of our flying
was done at 9,500 altitude - where it was cooler (the day we were in
Blythe, AZ, the temperature on the ground reached 115 F) and the air
was smoother; and we did have high elevation terrain beneath us.

* We departed Oakland late in the morning, after the morning fog had
receded, flying down the Salinas valley keeping a view of the Pacific
Ocean on our right. Because weather often gets troublesome starting
in the early afternoon, we planned to stop for the night in
Bakersfield, CA before crossing the southern end of the Sierra Nevada
mountains.

* Weather the next day was great - but we started the day with our
first (and only serious) mechanical problem - one of the magnetos
(ignition systems) wasn't working. But the mechanic was 'In' - he
replaced condenser and points, and we were on our way within a couple
of hours. We proceeded to fly over Tehachapi, CA and the edge of the
Mojave Desert, passing just west of Rosamond Dry Lake (and beyond it
Edwards AFB) and over Lancaster, CA (where I worked and lived from
'87 to '89 and did some flying out of the Aero Club at Edwards).
Then over Palmdale and out into -the Mojave Desert- to Blythe, CA.
By now (early afternoon) thunderstorms were a-brewing in the
mountains east of Blythe so we opted to spend the night there.

* From here we had planned to proceed to Tucson, but because of the
pattern of thunderstorms in southern Arizona we opted instead to head
for Kayenta, AZ and visit Monument Valley and other attractions
thereabouts. So up very early on the 8th, we departed for Winslow,
AZ where we refilled the fuel tanks and headed on to Kayenta. Along
the way we saw a wide range of topography and geologic features, plus
we took an aerial tour of Canyon de Chelly, looking from above at the
canyon we visited on the ground 5 years ago. The flights were easy
and comfortable, and before landing at Kayenta we took time for an
aerial tour of the immediate area and see and get pictures of some of
the topography. Then we hired a guide for an evening tour of
Monument Valley - included a number of strange 'monuments' and some
'ancestral Puebloan' petroglyphs.

* We were looking forward to the flight the next morning - an aerial
tour of Monument Vally - it was awesome. As the night before, clouds
precluded an amazing sunrise, but a sprinkling of small cumulus
clouds scattered among the 'monuments' made for a beautiful tour - we
have some great pictures which we will post along the way. We
proceed from there around some mountains and flew over -the- Four
Corners (CO, NM, AZ, and UT) and on to Cortez, CO to get there early
enough that we had time to visit Mesa Verde. Renting a car, we
visited two of the more prominent 'cliff dwellings' and returned to
Cortez in time to have the best Mexican food of the trip. And we've
been talking about Cortez since.

* On the 10th, we headed for Clovis, NM with a refueling stop at
Double Eagle airport in Albuquerque. On the way we took an aerial
tour of Chaco Canyon, getting a superb view (and photos) of the
'ancestral Puebloan' villages there. These, and other pictures, I'm
sure will find their way into my wife's program on the Pueblo
Indians. Family was waiting for us in Clovis and we had a great
visit.

* On the 12th, now that we're comfortable with being able to get home
by week's end, we decided to fly to Kansas City and drop in on my
brother. We refueled in Dodge City, landed at Kansas City's Downtown
airport in mid-afternoon, and enjoyed a nice visit that evening.

* On the 13th we decided to go to Nashville for the stop halfway to
home. The two flights that day were easy - by this point we had
become much better in figuring out our plan viz a viz the weather and
in "doing the numbers" - that is writing down all the information we
will need for navigation and communications for each leg. We became
traditional tourists that evening in Nashville - went downtown to 2nd
street and spent the evening in a bar listening to live C&W music,
having a beer, and eating a pizza. (But we're back in our room and
in bed by 10:00 since we get up by sunrise to be on our way).

* We're only a day's flight from home, it's only Friday, and we don't
need to be home 'til Sunday. So we call family who live near
Raleigh, NC and invite ourselves for a visit. Leaving Nashville we
make a brief detour due to some rain and maybe thunderstorm activity
near Asheville, NC, and complete an easy flight to Raleigh. There we
have a very nice visit, relaxing now that we've come to feel
proficient in traveling by air (and, of course, that we're near home
and not behind schedule).

* On Sunday it's less than a 1 hour flight to Newport News and home -
a piece of cake.

It was a truly great trip; as my wife said a couple of times: "a
vacation of a lifetime". Three weeks rubbing elbows in the cockpit;
each day assessing the weather, choosing a route of flight, and
ultimately deciding to go or not go, or when to turn back (which we
did out of Wendover on the way west); and deciding where to stay each
night and where to eat; that's intense Living but a great experience
to have had and (we hope) to be able to share.

We -do- have pictures (lots of them since the digital 'film' doesn't
cost anything) and we will get them posted - we're sorting through
and doing some 'digital darkroom' work with them. george & pat