Flight West - May/June 2021
The genesis of this trip began early in the year when my long-time friend Pete called up and said he was thinking about having a Real Man's Weekend in Tamarack, Idaho over Memorial Day and was I interested? I thought about it and concluded the hassle of flying commerical to and from Boise, Idaho -- a full travel day each way -- was too much for one long weekend. But what about flying the RV-7 out there? Why not make a long cross-country out of it? Yes!
The itinerary was fairly easy to put together. I hadn't been able to fly the Mississippi River completely last fall because of weather, so I would start the trip by finishing that portion of the river: from Natchez to New Orleans. The Red River was high on my list of rivers to fly, so I would fly that from Louisiana to its head near Amarillo. I wanted to fly over the Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde National Parks. Then, since I was out there, why not fly my favorite flying area -- southern Utah? Then I'd head up to McCall, Idaho and spend the long Memorial Day weekend with my friends. From there I wanted to see the Chinese Wall in Montana, then Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons, then the Badlands and Mount Rushmore. Finally, I wanted to fly through two states I'd never really been through: Oklahoma and Arkansas. Then home. During the detailed planning I added a few more things like the IBEX Hard Pan in Nevada, the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, Johnson Creek in Idaho.
The flight went as planned for the most part, with some minor deviations the first few days for weather, and the last few days. Plus I ended up doing some unplanned but fun things as well. It was an adventure, like all long cross-countries are. And that's what makes them so enjoyable. I ended up flying 66 hours. Here is my flight path, flying clock-wise starting in Maryland, courtesy of SPOT.
To see the top 70 or so pictures from the trip, click here: BestOf.
To see the detailed play by play, click on the following links:
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May 20, 2021 - Day One - Transit to Johnson City, Tennessee
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May 21, 2021 - Day Two - Transit to Natchez, Mississippi
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May 22, 2021 - Day Three - Flight One - Flying the Mississippi River to New Orleans
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May 22, 2021 - Day Three - Flight Two - Flying the Red River to Gainesville-Texas
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May 23, 2021 - Day Four - Flight One - Flying the Red River to Witchita Falls-Texas
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May 23, 2021 - Day Four - Flight Two - Flying the Red River to Quannah-Texas
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May 23, 2021 - Day Four - Flight Three - Flying the Red River to Palo Duro Canyon/Amarillo-Texas
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May 24, 2021 - Day Five - Flight One - Palo Duro Canyon, Lake Meredith, Rita Blanca National Grassland, Clayton-New Mexico
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May 24, 2021 - Day Five - Flight Two - Taos Pueblo, Rio Grande Gorge
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May 24, 2021 - Day Five - Flight Three - Great Sand Dunes NP, Rominger Airport-Colorado
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May 24, 2021 - Day Five - Flight Four - Mesa Verde NP, Pueblo Bonita, Gallup-New Mexico
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May 25, 2021 - Day Six - Flight One - Split Mesa, Canyon De Chelly
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May 25, 2021 - Day Six - Flight Two - Monument Valley
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May 25, 2021 - Day Six - Flight Three - Goosenecks, San Juan River, Rainbow Bridge
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May 25, 2021 - Day Six - Flight Four - Last Chance Creek, Escalante Airport-Utah
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May 25, 2021 - Day Six - Flight Five - Escalante River to Lake Powell
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May 25, 2021 - Day Six - Flight Six - Capital Reef NP
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May 26, 2021 - Day Seven - Flight One - Bryce Canyon NP
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May 26, 2021 - Day Seven - Flight Two - Pariah River
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May 26, 2021 - Day Seven - Flight Three - Pariah Canyon
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May 26, 2021 - Day Seven - Flight Four - Colorado River, Lake Powell, Wahheap Creek
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May 26, 2021 - Day Seven - Flight Five - Escalante From The Ground
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May 27, 2021 - Day Eight - Flight One - San Rafael Swell
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May 27, 2021 - Day Eight - Flight Two - Goblin Valley State Park, San Rafael Swell, Huntington Airport-Utah
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May 27, 2021 - Day Eight - Flight Three - Price River, Green River, IBEX Hardpan
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May 27, 2021 - Day Eight- Flight Four - Wendover-Nevada/Utah
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May 28, 2021 - Day Nine - Flight One - Bonneville Salt Flats, Golden Spike National Historic Park
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May 28, 2021 - Day Nine - Flight Two - Flight to Smiley Creek, Idaho
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May 28, 2021 - Day Nine - Flight Three - Flight to McCall, Idaho
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May 29, 2021 - Day Ten - Tamarack, Idaho
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June 1, 2021 - Day Eleven - Johnson Creek Airport, Idaho
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June 2, 2021 - Day Twelve - Flight One - Big Creek Airport, Idaho
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June 2, 2021 - Day Twelve - Flight Two - Missoula, Rich's Ranch, Seeley Lake Airport-Montana
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June 2, 2021 - Day Twelve - Flight Three - The Bobs, Chinese Wall, Choteau Airport-Montana
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June 2, 2021 - Day Twelve - Flight Four - Missouri River, Gates of the Mountains, Yellowstone West Airport
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June 3, 2021 - Day Thirteen - Flight One - Yellowstone NP (South)
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June 3, 2021 - Day Thirteen - Flight Two - Yellowstone NP: Lake, Canyon & Falls, Lamar Valley
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June 3, 2021 - Day Thirteen - Flight Three - Flight to Driggs-Reed Airport-Idaho
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June 3, 2021 - Day Thirteen - Flight Four - Grand Tetons, Devils Tower, Belle Fourche Airport-South Dakota
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June 4, 2021 - Day Fourteen - Flight One - Badlands NP, Mount Rushmore Monument, Crazy Horse Memorial
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June 4, 2021 - Day Fourteen - Flight Two - Scottsbluff, Nebraska
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June 4, 2021 - Day Fourteen - Flight Three - Chimney Rock, Courthouse Rock, Goodland Airport-Kansas
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June 5, 2021 - Day Fifteen - Cimmaron River, Sand Dunes, Branson, Dexter Airport-Missouri
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June 6, 2021 - Day Sixteen - Transit Home
