Day Seventeen: Tucson to San Diego

What a nice morning... I was able to sleep in, cool clear skies all the way to San Diego, and a pain au chocolat (dark chocolate-filled croissant) for breakfast. The bobcat kitties were nowhere to be seen; they were probably hunting for their own morning meal. Gil and I hadn't had enough Grumman talk yesterday, so we continued after Doris left for her violin lesson. He just redid his interior, so I got some pointers as N3SK is ready for an upgrade from its vintage 1979 burgundy seats and carpet. Just before heading to the plane, I received a confirmation that my friend Tim would be available for lunch in Scottsdale, AZ, so I modified my flight plan to include a stop there. We "taxied" in Gil's car on the air park's taxiways (no pesky airplane traffic got in the way) over to the parking area where N3SK was tied down. The wind was just a few knots, favoring runway 19, which conveniently sloped slightly downhill for a little extra help on takeoff. I packed up N3SK for the last time, said goodbye to Gil, and prepared for departure. My flight to Phoenix took me directly over the area's primary airport, Sky Harbor, which is a rather common method to transition little planes like mine flying under visual flight rules across congested areas. After passing over Sky Harbor, I was handed off to Scottsdale tower and I proceeded to land on runway 21. Tim met me at the nice, but dated, terminal building, we ate lunch and caught up on our respective lives over the past year or so, and off I went again drilling holes in the sky, this time for the last time on this trip. For such a short leg, there was much diversity along the way: sprawling development, vast empty desert, dried lakes and rivers, isolated mountains, green fields along the Colorado River and on the southern end of the Salton Sea, paratroopers dropped from a British C130 (gave them LOTS of room), the Yuma sand dunes, boulder-strewn hills and mountains, and finally the familiar green and brown landscape of San Diego. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the outline of Coronado in the reflecting sun off the Pacific Ocean and San Diego bay which surround it and also when I got to talk to SoCal approach and finally to Montgomery tower. Upon landing, I headed right for the hangar to button-up N3SK, as I was anxious to get home. It was a great trip, but I was happy to get home, see Steve, watch the sun set over the Pacific, and savor the memories of an awesome stretch of seventeen days. My sincere thanks goes out to all who hosted me in their homes, provided excellent service and hospitality at airports across the country, my airplane mechanic Glen (N3SK performed flawlessly on the entire trip), Bob for his company and co-piloting for the first half of the trip, and to everyone reading this blog and others who helped make this trip such a pleasure and success. Today's flight totals: 3.4 hours, 393 miles. Final trip totals: 45.3 hours, 5406 miles, 19 states.

Day Sixteen: Belen to Tucson, AZ

I got up this morning to BNSF alarm clock at just the right time, just before my watch alarm sounded at 6:30am. Unlike last night, this was the first train I heard all night. The weather looked fine for today's flight to Tucson and for tomorrow's flight home from there, so I could finally relax weather-wise. Kristine picked me up an hour later and we headed to Belen. The airplane was unscathed following yesterday's thunderstorm that passed through the area. My travel chocks, snug tie-down chains, and secured gust lock did what they were supposed to. The plane was refueled and I was paid a visit by the new airport manager who wanted to know what I thought he could do to improve the facilities there. The previous managers had let the airport "go", but he was interested in bringing more traffic in. I recounted some of my experiences from the last two weeks and what services were available at each airport. He took some notes, thanked me for the feedback, then hopped in an old Cessna 172 and took off. One of my suggestions was to make an Internet-accessible computer available, since the airport didn't have one available for public use. The owner of the propeller overhaul shop on the field let me use his, though (I forgot how SLOW dial-up is). The weather looked even better than forecast, so I packed up the plane and took off to the south and headed back over T or C and Deming to avoid high terrain before hanging a right to fly west toward Tucson. There was light to moderate turbulence during the entire flight, so I was relieved to land at La Cholla Air Park, a private residential airport where my friends Doris and Gil live, just to the northeast of Tucson. This is one of those cute little airports where people own houses and hangars lining the runway... a pilot's dream come true. I got to know Doris and Gil a couple years ago at an AYA convention and while both our planes were being painted at Flying Kolors in Riverside, CA. I got hangar-envy as Gil gave me a tour of his spacious, concrete floor, air-conditioned (swamp cooler, actually) hangar. Shortly thereafter, I was shown the guest room and caught a glimpse of one of the resident bobcat kittens next to the pool. Bobcats, rattlesnakes, and other critters are common sights around here, so you "learn to look down" as you walk around outside. Tonight, southwestern cuisine is on the menu for dinner, and I can finally sleep in, since home is only 2.5 hours away and the weather is forecast to be severe-clear all day. Today's flight totals: 3.0 hours, 325 miles. Trip totals: 41.9 hours, 5013 miles, 19 states.

Day Fifteen: Belen, NM

As expected, rain and thunderstorms had already moved into southern New Mexico this morning and were heading north toward Albuquerque, so I decided to stay put. My hotel was near a very active freight railway line, so I had the joy of being serenaded several times throughout the night by the BNSF trains passing by. Needless to say, I was a little tired, but it was a beautiful morning and was up for anything Kristine had in mind. Turned out that was a day in Albuquerque at the New Mexico State Fair, touring the city, and dinner before heading back to Mountainair. Kristine's friend Ruth accompanied us to Albuquerque, a drive which took us through grassy plains and mountainous pine forests. The fair was fun and provided a good people-watching opportunity. One of those thunderstorms passed by, but we were in the creative arts pavillion as it dumped some rain and moved north. After leaving the fair, we drove around the city and ended up doing some wine tasting at Corrales Winery and Casa Rondeña Winery, both of which were surprisingly very good (who knew good wine could come from New Mexico?). For dinner, we headed to a great little French brasserie, La Provence, where we had very good entrees and excellent crème brûlée for dessert. The drive back to Mountainair took a little over an hour, after which I prepared to leave tomorrow for Tucson, AZ.

Day Fourteen: Sugar Land to Belen, NM

My early morning weather check was a pleasant surprise. The southern half of Texas was expected to be clear of any weather, except for late afternoon isolated thunderstorms in the southwestern portion of the panhandle. I made my goal El Paso, with a fuel stop in Fort Stockton, a town Bob and I flew over almost two weeks ago. Scott brought me to the airport and watched me preflight the airplane and depart runway 17 on another instrument flight plan. The winds aloft forecast was pretty accurate, translating to a little boost west for an average ground speed of 135 knots. Fort Stockton airport's sole purpose in life appeared to be to provide fuel and some air conditioning for transient pilots. After getting some of both, I headed for the flight planning room to see if any storms had popped up yet. Fortunately, the only one in the entire area, including western New Mexico was several miles south, so as long as I took off within the hour, I'd be OK, as it was moving north relatively quickly. I still had quite a bit of energy and since I was eventually planning on stopping near Albuquerque, NM to visit my friend Kristine, I decided to go all the way there today. Doing so would also save me from staying in El Paso again. My destination was actually Belen, about 25 miles south of Albuquerque. Landing at Belen would save Kristine some driving time from her home in Mountainair, a little town about 50 miles southeast of Albuquerque. My flight to Belen took me past El Paso, over Las Cruces, NM, and up through the Rio Grande Valley past Truth or Consequences ("T or C" as the locals refer to it). I started my short descent into Belen (the airport's elevation is 5100 ft and I was flying at 6500 ft) just as Albuquerque came into view in the distance. As I waited for Kristine, I cleaned some caked-on bugs off the wings and watched some skydivers land in the field adjacent to the runway. I also had some time to log today's flights which I soon realized were, collectively, a milestone for me: the longest distance flown solo in one day. My next stop is Tucson, AZ, which should only take 2.5 hours to get to, a far cry from the 6.2 hours I just flew. Today's flight totals: 6.2 hours, 891 miles. Trip totals: 38.9 hours, 4688 miles, 19 states.

Day Thirteen: New Orleans to Sugar Land, TX

I really wanted to stay in New Orleans for another day, but the red capital "L" on the weather chart was headed straight for the city. The worst weather of the day was only going to be an overcast layer of clouds at 2500 ft, so I took my time getting started. As far as where to fly to, I decided to visit my long-time friend Scott from high school who lives outside of Houston with his wife and kids. When I got to the airport, the scattered clouds of the morning were already filling in, so I filed IFR so I could easily get up to 6000 ft where I'd have some help from the easterly winds. Departure from Lakefront Airport was uneventful, as was the entire flight. I filed for 6000 ft, but as I headed west, that put my right in the middle of an ascending cloud deck. Upon receiving my request for higher, the helpful controller let me climb to 8000 ft. The wind was reporting calm at Sugar Land airport, but the approach was pretty bumpy. After landing, I unloaded the plane and soon entered one of the nicest general aviation terminals I've encountered on my trip. I hadn't seen Scott in about 10 years, so we had lots of catching up to do after providing him a little tour of N3SK. The plan for tomorrow is to press west, so I'll try to start early to avoid the afternoon thunderstorm activity. Today's flight totals: 2.6 hours, 315 miles. Trip totals: 32.7 hours, 3797 miles, 19 states.

Day Twelve: Crestview to New Orleans, LA

Aside for being awakened by a cat fight outside at around 3:30am, I had a good night's sleep and, as usual, got online first thing in the morning to check the weather. That low pressure system was heading toward the panhandle, so I decided to keep moving west. The next stop on the agenda was New Orleans, where I lived for four years in the mid-'80s. By the time I got to the airport, the clear skies had already turned to broken and almost overcast, which was earlier than the forecast. There was quite a crosswind for my departure, but that translated into a nice 35 knot tailwind at times. Once I got to Mississippi, there were just a few clouds here and there and smooth air. I was headed for New Orleans' Lakefront Airport, which has still not fully recovered from the damage it suffered from Hurricane Katrina. Just last month, the control tower had reopened, but there is still quite a bit of reconstruction to be completed. Fortunately, the services I needed such as fuel, rental car tie-down, and fresh-baked cookies upon arrival were available. As I've become accustomed to, my rental car was driven up to the plane, so I could load up my luggage and be on my way in short order. I hadn't been to New Orleans since before "the storm" and was curious to see how the recovery was going. Between the airport and downtown, there were many abandoned houses, overgrown with various types of plant life, but at the same time, there were lots of "now open" signs on the businesses along the way. I mainly confined my drive to the French Quarter, the central business district, and uptown, so I did not see the hardest hit areas, which I'm told are still devastated except for a few pioneers here and there. In the areas I drove through, aside from the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line still not operating (expected to re-open later this fall), there was little evidence of the storm. The homes along St. Charles and in the Garden District were as stately as ever, Tulane University was bustling with activity and sporting a new university center building, the Camelia Grill recently re-opened, and the French Quarter was alive and well, although the number of tourists seemed a bit low. I had dinner in a revitalized area on Magazine Street and, of course, headed to the Cafe du Monde for beignets before a little bar-hopping in the Quarter and taking a go-cup between stops. So, I can personally attest that New Orleans is alive and well and is certainly "now open", so if you've never been or haven't been there in a while, plan a visit and help the recovery. Now back to my trip... there is some weather headed this direction, scheduled to make landfall Saturday morning, so it looks like I'll continue west tomorrow, possibly stopping in Houston or go a little farther to Austin. Today's flight totals: 1.4 hours, 194 miles, one state. Trip totals: 30.1 hours, 3482 miles, 19 states.

Day Eleven: Richmond to Crestview, FL

General aviation is great in that you can make your own schedule and go to ten times as many airports as the airlines have access to. The down side, at least with non-turbocharged, modestly-equipped planes such as N3SK, is that you have to be flexible to account for bad weather. The original plan was to go to south Florida to visit my grandmother (or as the family calls her, "Nanny") and my aunt and cousins. Unfortunately, there was a big clump of yellow and red stuff (read: storms) on the radar pictures stretching from east of Jacksonville across the Florida peninsula and up the east coast to Virginia. Another low pressure system off the west coast of Florida added to the mix. First Flight was out, and if I wanted to still go to south Florida, I'd have to overnight somewhere in southern Georgia and try tomorrow, but still risk getting stuck down there for an extra day or two. I called Nanny and told her of the inevitable verdict and, needless to say, she was not pleased. After all, it was beautiful outside from her window and planes can just make it through anything. I promised I'd visit in November, so she felt a little better as we hung up. On my way back from Fort Lauderdale, I was going to visit my friends Brian and Leon in Crestview, FL, near Pensacola, so Crestview became today's destination, as the weather enroute was fine, just some overcast and broken clouds around 6000 ft for the first half. I had a little time to spare, so my niece Gracie and my sister-in-law Mary Catharine got to go for a plane ride, just as Charlie and Warren did

yesterday. Same route as before (to make it fair), and Gracie had a blast. We may have a budding pilot on our hands, Warren and MC! After we landed, we ate from the airport cafe's lunch buffet, and I headed to Crestview. Winds aloft were very favorable, providing a nice 15-20 knot tailwind most of the way to my fuel stop in Columbus, GA, and about a 10 knot tailwind from Columbus to Crestview. I'm glad I went IFR because the chart looks like a collage of restricted, advisory, and warning areas, with a few MOAs thrown in. Brian picked me up in his late father's Buick and we headed home to enjoy the balmy, yet slightly breezy Florida evening. Today's flight totals: 4.9 hours, 540 miles, four states. Trip totals: 28.7 hours, 3288 miles, 18 states.