Sedona (#30)

Santa Fe was an add on, our real destination was always Sedona.  Today the weather was mostly cooperating.  I say mostly because the computer promised me no more than 12 knot headwinds but the reality was closer to 25.  Not too big a deal for a 284 nm hop.

I usually file IFR even in good weather but in the Mountains I prefer to fly VFR.  This allows me more flexibility in choosing altitudes and our exact route, I can stay over flatter safer terrain and deviate to take in the scenery.

Taking off from Santa Fe is different because of the altitude.  The higher we go the less engine power we have due to thinning air.  Our takeoff run was about 50% longer which matched our performance tables.  Even though we  had only 75% power we still had pretty good performance with initial climb rates better than 800 fpm.  Everything happens in slow motion though, you just need to be patient and let the speed build.

We flew South to Albuquerque.  This was for two reasons, first was that the direct route would have taken us through high mountains.  The second was that this week was Balloon Fest.  There are flight restrictions to keep planes away from balloons but they end at 8000 feet.  We had climbed to 10,500 so with the blessing of the controller we headed over the balloons for a quick look.

After this we followed the highways across the dessert to our next sight.  Highways mean people and help if you have any issues.  There is a huge meteor crater just East of Flagstaff,  we really enjoyed the birds eye view of this big hole and were glad that it happened long ago.

Bob, you'll meet Bob in a minute, told of flying people over the crater.  Upon returning, he asked what they thought, they said it was lucky that the meteor had missed the parking lot.  Go figure, these people walk among us...

After the Crater we were just 17 minutes from Sedona.  Landing in Sedona is challenging.  The airport resides on a butte with steep drop offs at both ends.  This makes judging the approach angle challenging and the terrain creates some interesting wind currents.

I brought my "A" game and we made a stable approach to a smooth landing.  It turns out sorting out where to park, was the hardest part, they had had an airport day the day before and there were cones in confusing places but eventually after wandering the ramp a bit we found a spot..

We were met by Bob.  Bob does many things but one of them is acting as a buyers agent for aircraft purchases.  I was in Singapore when I was looking for this plane and had engaged Bob to help me find and purchase the plane.  He did a great job helping me seal the deal.  When I picked up the plane in California I flew by Sedona (33 miles away) but had no time to stop and meet him in person.  So after knowing each other for three plus years we finally met.  Bob helped us tie down and check in.  Then we headed over to see his impressive hangar to hear some stories and get some local advice.

Sedona has no air carrier operations.  This means no big car rental companies, luckily they have a local outfit and we soon were headed out in a old (125,497 mile) but serviceable Hyundai.  Our first stop was the airport overlook.  From this vantage point you can get some incredible views of the Red Rock formations.

Our next stop was downtown where we stopped at the chamber of commerce tourist info.  It is staffed by local volunteers who in my experience at other locations are usually very good.  In this case we got the not so good person that gave us marginally bad advice. Let's just say that she made sure we got lots of exercise.    Also she basically told us everything would be too crowded to do and to expect long delays.  Luckily this was also wrong and while busy, crowds were nothing like the summer peak.

We walked down to an arts market area where we stopped for lunch and ate too much.  Then it was a bit of shopping until I was shopped out.  To be fair I just walked, CC shopped.  We should have moved our car because we walked quite a bit and quite far down but due to the above advice we had not. So we got to hiked back up to it.  We were hot and tired so we decided to head for our hotel.  Another Courtyard, in all we stayed at 4.  I had requested early check in and we had good timing.  As we were driving there I got the message that our room was ready.

The Courtyard Sedona is quite nice.  The rooms are fresh and the best feature is a third floor observation deck.  The hotel has some nice views.  We headed up to relax in the warm 86 degrees.  It was very pleasant in the shade, Arizona 86 is much nicer than Florida 86, must be the dry heat.  After chilling for an hour we decided to go for a short hike.

There is a trail that starts a 5 minute walk from the hotel.  It runs along a small hill and was and easy.  It also had great views.  We walked for a more than an hour and then returned to the observation deck to watch the sun set on the rocks.

We headed out for some Pizza which was just dinner but we got lucky here.  When we arrived the wait was 40 minutes.  I asked about the bar and he said it was open seating but currently full.  Then he suggested 2 seats at a counter in front of the pizza maker and wood fired oven.

We took them up on the offer and enjoyed watching the pizzas being made.  The place was hopping and they had a skilled crew making about a pie a minute.  We could see into the oven and watched the pizzas quickly cook.  The food was quite good and the bartender covering us did a great job.

Also for those doing the countdown.  Arizona is #30, 29 states to go.

Santa Fe (#31)

Today we headed to Santa Fe. We woke early and my first check of the weather showed all clear.  We Ubered back to the airport and prepped the plane.  A last check of the weather showed Santa Fe had gone to 200 overcast.  This was low and combined with being in the mountains would normally be a no go.

But, there was a good alternative 13 minutes South that was clear and many more backups just in case.  My gut was that the layer would clear once it warmed a bit so we launched at risk.  It was a supposed to be about 1:20 flight and with the time change a 20 minute time difference.

Well our tailwind was totally gone and we took off and climbed to 8000.  The headwind was supposed to be <20 but for a while we had 40 knots on the nose.  This actually worked out well.  The clouds were not lifting as quickly as I hoped.  As we got close the controller told us to expect the ILS and that some people had been getting in.  I was not going to mess with a mountain approach starting at 10,400 with a potential miss at 6500 feet and a missed hold at 11,000.  Luckily, right as we were crossing our diversion decision point, we got an updated forecast, the layer had broken and we only had scattered clouds.

We headed in and then could not see the airport because although it was clear over the airport, there were still clouds between our location and the airport.  We maneuvered a bit and the airport appeared  and soon were on the ground at Santa Fe Jet Center.

One great thing about private travel is the ground part.  I was directed to a space right out front.  I shut down, they greeted us, and before I could get out, our rental car from Avis was brought next to the plane.  CC went inside as it was still cool out leaving me to clean up.  They offered to load the bags for us but I declined, we were only taking an overnight pack with us.  I quickly had the limited bags I needed in the car.  I did stop to chat with some nice folks heading out about the plane but otherwise zero hassle.

I stepped inside to get CC and check in.  The staff had made CC a hot chocolate so after giving my fuel order and providing a contact number, I got one too.  Then they offered us some sodas for the road and we were off.

Our first stop was the farmers market.  It was quaint and filled with stalls selling veggies at high markups.  I chuckled when I saw Vidalia Onions for sale.  I was tempted to ask if they really came from Georgia but I behaved.  They also had an arts market which we browsed and got our first souvenir.

After the market we headed to Bandelier National Monument.  Bandelier showcases the cave dwellings from around 1100-1600.  What is very cool about this park is that in addition to walking by and looking at the dwellings, there are select caves where you can climb ladders and enter the caves.  You can see the soot stained roofs and imagine how terrible it must have been back then.  Yes I like indoor plumbing, air conditioning and all the modern conveniences.

In addition to the loop trail, they had an additional one that terminated in a 140 foot vertical climb.  Climbing was a combination of ladders and steps in the rocks.  We were at about 6500 feet elevation so by the time we reached the top we were a bit winded.  Overall it was a nice view and a cool climb.

Here we are after catching our breath, safe in our mountain cave.

After the National Park we headed for downtown Santa Fe.  Santa Fe Plaza is mostly tourist shops built around a square.  This day there was an art show and Motorcycle gathering in addition to the normal vendors.  We strolled a bit and then found The Burito Company where we had some Southwestern food.

Santa Fe had some strict building codes, everything had a certain look that included fake wood beams sticking out of the sides.  It was getting late and we were tired so we headed to the Courtyard.  This too had the fake wood.  It was nice enough but the room seemed dated as in out of the 70s.

It has been almost a year since a new state but Santa Fe New Mexico is #31 in the countdown.

Go West My Boy

I have always wanted to visit out West.  This year we decided to head to Sedona to see the famed Red Rocks.

Sedona is pretty far, 1552 miles direct so it is about 9 hours without headwinds and weather.  Our first day goal was to get to Amarillo Texas, this put 1000 miles behind us and made the next days much easier.  I could do this in 2 hops but we decided to make it easier by doing 3.

Leaving home we had clear blue skies but we would be flying along a front with multiple lows.  This meant we would experience all sorts of weather along the way.  We had good VFR weather to begin but it was rather hazy so it was rather a dull flight without much to see along the way.  When we left, our final destination was below minimums and depending on which forecast you believed, it would not clear before sunset.  You can't worry about everything, so off we went.

Weather was clear from home  to Clarke County Mississippi (23M) our first stop.  We were about 80 miles out when we got a significant reroute.  Since we had clear skies I decided to cancel IFR and continue direct.  Our next controller informed us the Military Operation area was in use ahead of us with several F18s maneuvering.   I wasn't gonna play Top Gun so we turned to stay just outside the area, as we approached the jets finished up. 

I had a hunch this would happen, they don't have that much gas.  Once the jets were clear we were able to head directly to the airport.  Then came the tricky part,  the runway hides behind tall trees,  I was literally right at the airport before I saw it.  The airport was quite interesting for several reasons.   No self serve, Kim pumps for you, challenging runway and to get the best price you needed to pay cash or debit.  Gas was $3.65 which is a darn good price for Avgas so I was ready for the challenges.

One more surprise, after Kim came out to fuel us she took our picture.  They have walls of planes and pilots.  We were also made famous on their Facebook page.  A final bonus was the sign in the men's room.

Our next stop was Sherman Texas (KSWI).  It was also chosen for the low gas price of $3.65.  Leaving home we had clear skies but the direct line to Sherman took us through significant storms over Monroe and Jackson.  I had found a fix just South of Monroe that would clear the weather and the Meridian controller was quite accommodating, getting our route updated.

I did one additional thing, rather than filing to the airport I filed to the initial fix on the instrument approach.  It was not clear heading out whether we would have good weather upon arrival.

The slight detour worked well, we had storms off to our right but other than a few drops in the windshield we avoided the rain.  We were soon tracking inbound on the GPS34 approach and talking to local traffic at Sherman.  After 23M I was going to use all the available tools to find the next runway. 

Arriving there was a chopper in the pattern who was a potential conflict. He asked our speed and when I told him 130 knots he replied, wow you all are really haulin A--, welcome to Texas.  We got the spacing sorted out and were soon on the ground.  The cheap fuel had attracted others and we had to wait in line for gas but soon we were topped off, refreshed and ready to go.

All day the weather at Amarillo (KTDW) had been 200 overcast with poor visibility but after fueling, I checked the latest update and it had begun to clear, as I said no need to start worrying early.    With clearing skies the last leg was pretty uneventful.

We had been enjoying some tailwinds from the lows but they went away and our friendly headwind returned.  Also, the ground started rising. 

The local controllers worked us in nicely and we were soon cleaning the bugs off the plane.  Then a quick Uber to the Courtyard Marriott in downtown and we had a room for the night,  We found a trendy dinner spot and had our first real meal of the day.  After that it was back to the room to plan the next day.

About 9:30 the thunder and rain came.  Oddly this was a happy event as I had payed a bit extra to have the plane hangared for the night just in case.  I slept well knowing the plane was safe.