We woke up to cool fall temperatures in Tennessee which was refreshing after our Florida summer. With the time change we had what felt like a 9 AM departure. There were 1021 miles to cover; it was one of those trips that can be done in 2 or 3 hops, we have plenty of range but I went with 3. We mostly went direct but made a small detour South of St. Louis to avoid the Bravo airspace.
Our first stop was K89, Macon-Fower Memorial Airport in Macon Missouri, a gem of a fuel stop. As I shut down at the pump, we were met by Larry who got the hose out and helped get us fueled. The FBO was clean and they offered us water, soda, and snacks. We left with one water bottle and two bags of chips. Our second hop was a quick one and we dropped into CKP, Cherokee County Regional Airport in Cherokee, Iowa. I knew it would be unattended and it was pretty deserted. The FBO was open as promised and the facilities were ok. The fuel pump was fast which is always a plus in my book, other than that, nothing special.
This was the last of cheap gas for a while so we topped off before making the hop to Dickinson, ND. We had previously seen South Dakota on an earlier trip. With a combined population of 1.7 million, you have to wonder, did we need both? Why not just Dakota. Well it was a possibility but back in the late 1890s it was all about stacking the Senate so we have both. Not a lot has changed in the last 135 years.
Our arrival into Dickinson was easy, 7300 feet of runway and the line guy was out to meet us. Our rental car was ready so it was almost all good. It was a fine car but it was the dirtiest car I have ever rented, but only the outside. The inside was OK. We had flown around 1400 nm in 8.4 hours with 6 hours in the air. Overall we averaged 167 knots which was pretty good considering the constant headwinds. Average TAS in cruise was closer to 185.
We had come to Dickinson to visit the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It is about 30 minutes West. Monday morning bright and early we were off to visit the North Dakota Badlands. We had seen the South Dakota ones, they are similar in that you have the Buttes with the obvious layers but different in that they are more integrated with the grasslands while the Southern ones are more rocky.
The park normally has a loop road but it was partially closed for construction. This made it an in and out drive instead. We decided to drive to the end of the road and then work our way back. We mostly did that but did stop along the way near the end. The big surprise was the weather. We had left Florida to enjoy the cooler temperatures of Fall up North. Back home it was muggy and mid 80s. Dickinson was forecast to be 93 and it did not disappoint.
The morning had started cool in the 60s and we enjoyed the fresh start. We did some short hikes and saw bison, wild horses, a snake, lots of Prairie dogs and I saw a bunny hop by. As the morning progressed the temperatures rose but funny thing, 93 in North Dakota was not that hot. The low humidity and breeze made it quite bearable.
We finished the South portion of the park and drove the hour North to see the North part. Less animals but more views. After that it was back to town to pick up dinner. I had found a Taco truck. The owner was interesting but there had been a run on Mexican food and by the time we arrived he had sold out of many items. No Guac, no rice, no chips!!! In the end we had Tacos and a Quesadilla.
Food was good but not not amazing. Overall North Dakota was a nice place to visit but can’t imagine sticking around for when the snow comes. I spent a good amount of time looking at the weather and planning my flight for Tuesday. This was potentially one of the most difficult segments of the trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment