Another midwest -> west coast trip - Looking for ideas!

flyingcheesehead

flyingcheesehead

Touchdown! Greaser!
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iMooniac
Hi all,

I'll be heading west a week from today, to visit my brother in San Jose.

I'm looking for things to do there, and things to do along the way - I have a northern route and a southern route planned, as well as an "in between" one, to allow for weather and such, but I'm very interested in what things might be interesting to stop and see along the way.

I'm also interested in PIREPS about places to go in CA, both by GA and car from San Jose, as well as PIREPs about FBOs at KSJC and KPAO. Also, what are your favorite food/overnight stops?

We're also interested in going to Sequoia and Yosemite, but probably by air if there are reasonable ground transportation options at nearby airports?
 
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Tentative plan is to leave Thursday evening and go past "flyover country" (IA/NE) at night, probably do most of the flying in more scenic areas of the country during the day. Looking for things to do along the way. We know we won't get to all of them, but having a few ideas in advance so that we can point wherever the weather is nice and still see things is good.

Ideas so far for along the way:
* Mormon Temple in SLC
* Glenwood Springs, CO
* A certain bonfire party in KS
* Possibly Vegas and/or Sedona, though we've been to both in the last couple of years we enjoyed them.

Things in the bay area or elsewhere in CA:
* Alcatraz, Golden Gate, Fishermen's Wharf, cable cars, Ghirardelli Square, Lombard St., and all of the other SFO tourist traps
* Tech Museum ("Living in the Age of Airplanes" on IMAX, narrated by Harrison Ford!)
* Computer History Museum
* Tesla factory
* Hiller aviation museum
* Yosemite, Sequoia, Big Basin parks

Good food stops along the way: KOFK, KAPA, KSEZ... ?
Good overnights along the way: KFTG... ? (I like them because of their excellent service and fuel prices, and they'll reserve me a hotel room at a good price.)
 
I thought you said northern route? There's a bed and breakfast on the airport in Scappoose, OR.
 
Northern is UES, BIL COE PDX. :)
What you got there is a middle route.
Skyvector? Really? I hate you.
 
Lake Tahoe is kinda obvious. On V6, you'll fly right over it.

The only ground transportation to Yosemite is the bus. There are no longer rental cars at KMPI. You can fly over it, though.

PAO has transient parking and self serve fuel (plus two fuel trucks). No need for an FBO.
 
What are you flying?

I-80 is a good northern route. SLC - watchout for mountains and MOAs. Glenwood Springs - again, mountains and it's one way in, other way out, often difficult to see oncoming traffic. Do not follow I-70 west of Denver unless you can easily get to 16K and stay there.18K is better.

No hotels or food near FTG, need a car or cab (outlandishly expensive cabs around here). Just because I'm based at FTG doesn't mean I'm a fan of nearby stuff.

KAPA is the better bet. Self-serve fuel isn't bad at TacAir, and there's a hotel on the airport with a reasonable rate. Or get a car and head for one of the chains within 10 min drive.

A more "mid-level" is I-70 to Denver then head south a bit (past KAPA), hang a right at Perry Park (just south of Castle Rock) which will take you to Leadville (you do want your certificate, right?) then south thru the valley over Poncha Pass past Alamosa to Santa Fe/Taos area then west to Sedona.
 
murphey said:
What are you flying?
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Mooney M20R Ovation (280hp, normally aspirated).

Do not follow I-70 west of Denver unless you can easily get to 16K and stay there.18K is better.
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It's not so bad, if you go through Loveland Pass instead of following I-70 to the tunnels. :eek:

No hotels or food near FTG, need a car or cab (outlandishly expensive cabs around here). Just because I'm based at FTG doesn't mean I'm a fan of nearby stuff.
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I've just had great service from the folks there, with one phone call I have a rental car and a place to stay overnight and the fuel is reasonably priced.

I'm interested in other options as well, especially closer to the edges of my route, like up in Wyoming or down toward southern CO/northern NM.

A more "mid-level" is I-70 to Denver then head south a bit (past KAPA), hang a right at Perry Park (just south of Castle Rock) which will take you to Leadville (you do want your certificate, right?) then south thru the valley over Poncha Pass past Alamosa to Santa Fe/Taos area then west to Sedona.
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I've been to Leadville twice, and I still have no certificate or T-shirt! :(
 
EdFred said:
Northern is UES, BIL COE PDX. :)
What you got there is a middle route.
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Not if my destination is visiting my brother in San Jose! ;)

Skyvector? Really? I hate you.
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I wasn't sure what else to use these days. The only other one still operating that I'm aware of is VFRMap and they don't seem to be able to link to a plotted route like that.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I'm interested in other options as well, especially closer to the edges of my route, like up in Wyoming or down toward southern CO/northern NM.



I've been to Leadville twice, and I still have no certificate or T-shirt! :(
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Not sure if you're saying you want a southern route or not, but Mosca Pass dumps you right over the Great Sand Dunes which looks interesting from the air. From there you're in the San Luis Valley looking directly at Alamosa.

Not sure their fuel and services is going to be what you need for a stopover though. Mostly mentioning Mosca as a "way there" if you're going south.

As far as in town here, TacAir's self-serve is a little higher than FTG but they're keeping it competitive these days. The hotel on the field isn't a terrible walk from there at APA and they'd probably give you a ride. Or you can pester one of us to show up.

You know you're always welcome at our place too, but we're 35 minutes from APA. The guest room is always available for ya if you want it. Free lodging and probably free food too. Haha. Or we could tell the CO gang to show up and do Perfect Landing at APA for a nice dinner.

Just tossing out options.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Not if my destination is visiting my brother in San Jose! ;)



I wasn't sure what else to use these days. The only other one still operating that I'm aware of is VFRMap and they don't seem to be able to link to a plotted route like that.
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give iFlightPLanner a try. They are helping out with the relay challenge I'm running. Oh, and they are giving away free memberships.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I wasn't sure what else to use these days. The only other one still operating that I'm aware of is VFRMap and they don't seem to be able to link to a plotted route like that.
Click to expand...

As EdFred said, instead of SkyVector, use iFlightPlanner. To produce a link like this one, just look for the button in the upper right that's labeled "permalink".
 
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