Hi, everyone,
My round-the-US-in-a-year trip has entered another "phase" of the journey... out of the Bay Area, heading south and east. The blog has been quiet for a while (beetlejuiceadventure dot wordpress dot com), but I'm starting back up again now that I'm back on the road.
In the last episode:
https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/kaths-north-america-adventure-part-ii.121535/
...I was in Minnesota neutrino country, heading westward towards Rapid City SD. I did make the trip to KRAP in one day, logging over seven hours total (if you include a scenic flight in the morning for one of my CHIPS colleagues). The weather goddesses would not permit a meetup with @WannFly and @Sinistar later that week; I'll have to catch y'all some other time.
I've gotta say, the Rapid City / Black Hills area turned out to be one of my favorite destinations so far. There is so much to see and do, and I did not budget enough time there. But I did get to see the Buffalo Round-Up in Custer State Park, and hike up Crazy Horse, and meet some cool physicists who work underground. There wasn't time for Deadwood, or Spearfish... and although I got to see Badlands and Devil's Tower from the air, I would love to go back and explore them more from the ground.
From there, Bozeman (another place I wish I could have stayed another week and explore) and Idaho. Then across the vastness of the Nevada desert to Truckee, and then arriving at Concord, where I blew a main tire on the runway. (First time for that!) Fortunately, it was the kind of flat tire that unraveled slowly enough, so it felt at first like fighting a confusing gusty crosswind as I slowed down, until I was stuck all cattywompus halfway into a runway exit unable to steer (thankfully still on pavement). So also first time asking Tower to send me some help. But hey, if you're going to shut down a runway for a little while, do it at an airport that has four of them!
I spent most of October in the Bay Area, working and spending time with family and friends, and seeing colleagues at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. The tire is now fixed, and the plane is annualled. And even polished -- she was super-shiny for a few days before becoming covered in a thin layer of dust again.
I'm now in San Luis Obispo, parked at Oceano Airport. After a few days here, I'll be headed for SoCal and Arizona -- primarily Tucson and Prescott, but I'm going to try to hit @Lowflynjack's photo-a-palooza in Sedona if I can make it there in time. I was also curious to try to land at the famous Death Valley "Chicken Strip" on the way. (Anybody have experience with that place?) After that: Arlington Texas, sometime in December. Meetup ideas welcome!
I'm putting pictures on the blog for the most part... but here are a couple just to tease:
The Badlands:
Bighorn Canyon Nat'l Rec Area:
The trip so far:
My round-the-US-in-a-year trip has entered another "phase" of the journey... out of the Bay Area, heading south and east. The blog has been quiet for a while (beetlejuiceadventure dot wordpress dot com), but I'm starting back up again now that I'm back on the road.
In the last episode:
https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/kaths-north-america-adventure-part-ii.121535/
...I was in Minnesota neutrino country, heading westward towards Rapid City SD. I did make the trip to KRAP in one day, logging over seven hours total (if you include a scenic flight in the morning for one of my CHIPS colleagues). The weather goddesses would not permit a meetup with @WannFly and @Sinistar later that week; I'll have to catch y'all some other time.
I've gotta say, the Rapid City / Black Hills area turned out to be one of my favorite destinations so far. There is so much to see and do, and I did not budget enough time there. But I did get to see the Buffalo Round-Up in Custer State Park, and hike up Crazy Horse, and meet some cool physicists who work underground. There wasn't time for Deadwood, or Spearfish... and although I got to see Badlands and Devil's Tower from the air, I would love to go back and explore them more from the ground.
From there, Bozeman (another place I wish I could have stayed another week and explore) and Idaho. Then across the vastness of the Nevada desert to Truckee, and then arriving at Concord, where I blew a main tire on the runway. (First time for that!) Fortunately, it was the kind of flat tire that unraveled slowly enough, so it felt at first like fighting a confusing gusty crosswind as I slowed down, until I was stuck all cattywompus halfway into a runway exit unable to steer (thankfully still on pavement). So also first time asking Tower to send me some help. But hey, if you're going to shut down a runway for a little while, do it at an airport that has four of them!
I spent most of October in the Bay Area, working and spending time with family and friends, and seeing colleagues at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. The tire is now fixed, and the plane is annualled. And even polished -- she was super-shiny for a few days before becoming covered in a thin layer of dust again.
I'm now in San Luis Obispo, parked at Oceano Airport. After a few days here, I'll be headed for SoCal and Arizona -- primarily Tucson and Prescott, but I'm going to try to hit @Lowflynjack's photo-a-palooza in Sedona if I can make it there in time. I was also curious to try to land at the famous Death Valley "Chicken Strip" on the way. (Anybody have experience with that place?) After that: Arlington Texas, sometime in December. Meetup ideas welcome!
I'm putting pictures on the blog for the most part... but here are a couple just to tease:
The Badlands:
Bighorn Canyon Nat'l Rec Area:
The trip so far:
