See the USA flight

the400kid

the400kid

Pre-takeoff checklist
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FLAAV8R
I'm planning a post-retirement flight in my Mooney J model for late April. I have a few stops already planned (mostly presidential libraries) and am seeking suggestions for stops along the way. My first stop is New Orleans, then onto Austin Texas (LBJ library). From there I plan to head to Santa Fe, but no further west than there for this trip. I'd like to see Mount Rushmore as one of the stops. I'm planning on two to three weeks.

I'm soliciting suggestions, but please keep them brief.
 
- Looks like there are 9 libraries in the middle of the country from Texas to Michigan you can easily hit.

- for things to see in that part of the country, fly along the St Louis riverfront.

- Main advice from my recent post-retirement trip is even if you are retired and not on a schedule, put yourself on a schedule 24 hours at a time. Pick the next day’s destination and arrange hotel and car the night before, not the day of.

Have fun!
 
+1 St Louis arch flyby. Coordinate with CPS (downtown airport) just south of the city to coordinate

Creve Coeur airport (1H0) has the historic aircraft restoration museum just west of St. Louis

Kansas space museum

Huntsville Space Museum

The new Caldwell Muesum

My Rushmore, Badlands, Custard

Colorado Springs Olympic museum (also a great coin museum there too)

Seattle museum of flight
 
Cosmosphere in HUT

Wonders of Wildlife in SGF

A stop at VBT for lunch I think is mandatory if you're GA flying around the midwest
 
When stopping in New Orleans (I presume and suggest KNEW, Lakefront), skip Messina’s at the terminal. It’s worth the time to take a crew car or Uber to much better and representative table fare. And pick up a Central Grocery muffuletta sandwich for the road. Thank me later ;)
 
I'd suggest considering going a bit farther west to stop at Canyonlands/Moab, UT, flying up west of the Rockies, unless you want to get to Denver. Southern UT and the Canyonlands area is some of the most amazing, and unique, scenery in the country. From Canyonlands, you can fly up the Green River to Vernal, UT, another nice stop.
 
All good suggestions, especially Carlsbad Caverns, hadn't thought of that.

I've been a flat-lander for all of my 45 years of flying and am not going deep into the Rockies. Heck, I'm having problems convincing myself to go to Santa Fe.

Keep those recommendations coming in folks.
 
If you’re going be in Austin, go to Fredericksburg TX and visit the South Pacific museum. Other stops would be Truman library in Independence Mo, and then Eisenhower Library in Abilene KS. Blackhills, go to Hotsprings SD, you can get a good price on rental cars there…….and make sure when you fly over Mt. Rushmore, to fly behind it too, so you can see the backside of their heads……not many people can see that……..
 
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Jeff Oslick said:
I'd suggest considering going a bit farther west to stop at Canyonlands/Moab, UT, flying up west of the Rockies, unless you want to get to Denver. Southern UT and the Canyonlands area is some of the most amazing, and unique, scenery in the country. From Canyonlands, you can fly up the Green River to Vernal, UT, another nice stop.
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I second this. If you're going to Santa Fe, it's worth the extra 2 hrs of flight time to get to the grand canyon.
 
If you do stop to see the National Museum of the USAF, I’m a volunteer there and can show you around. If you want to see it all in some detail, plan on two days. My Home Drome KGDK, has a nice couple of Crew Cars and it is a short drive to WPAFB.
 
If you swing by Mount Rushmore, it'd be silly to not also catch Chief Crazy Horse. That mountain carving project is still a work in progress, but it is only a hop, skip and a jump from Rushmore and it is impressive.
Chief-Crazy-Horse.jpeg
 
Also in the neighborhood of Mt Rushmore is the Dignity Statue, a tribute to the Lakota people. It's another massive art work on the plains.
Dignity-Statue.jpeg

And if you've got the legs, Devil's Tower is an impressive bit of rock - mostly because the ground is so flat all around it.

Devil's-Tower1.jpeg
 
If you decide to head further west, there is LOTS more to see! The Chinese Wall along the Continental Divide in Montana is well worth flying over. This is all wilderness area, so the only way to see this edifice is to fly over it, or hike for 6 days (3 days in and 3 days out). Flying provides a much better view!

Chineese-Wall2.jpg
 
the400kid said:
I've been a flat-lander for all of my 45 years of flying and am not going deep into the Rockies. Heck, I'm having problems convincing myself to go to Santa Fe.
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A few things:

1) There's no time like retirement to go exploring, and the mountain west has some of the most beautiful sights in the world, some that you can only see by airplane. Don't go into it blindly, but if you make your trip counterclockwise and start in the northern states first, go to Mountain Canyon Flying in McCall, ID and do their mountain/backcountry course. It's both some of the most fun AND best education I've ever had in an airplane, and it'll make you a better pilot outside the Rockies as well.

2) If you don't want to be "deep into the Rockies", you can still kinda circumnavigate the worst of them. Follow I-40 west after Santa Fe, or even fly south to Deming (KDMN) first and then head west, and you'll be in terrain that's several thousand feet lower than the high peaks in Colorado. You can go all the way to the west coast, then north, cut inland at the Columbia River and head towards Spokane, then follow I-90 east, which will eventually lead you to Mount Rushmore.

3) If you're going to try to stay east of the Rockies, from Santa Fe you'll want to go back east to Las Vegas, NM (KLVS) before heading north with the front range off to your left. You're probably gonna spend a few days getting completely rocked by turbulence as you head north tho...
 
bbchien said:
The USAF museum, at the Wright Pat. AFB.
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Doc, what’s wrong with you?

NAVAL AVIATION museum!!

Tools, who’s kind of a zoomie now…

Spoiler alert… BOTH well worth the time. Also, Oshkosh is REALLY good.

If ya hit Mississippi, my shop is kind of a museum. How’s your back? Kinda need help moving a few things around.
 
Just a little further West you start getting to the good stuff?? I’m talking Monument Valley, maybe Ship Rock, the Grand Canyon.
 

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the400kid said:
I'm planning a post-retirement flight in my Mooney J model for late April. I have a few stops already planned (mostly presidential libraries) and am seeking suggestions for stops along the way. My first stop is New Orleans, then onto Austin Texas (LBJ library). From there I plan to head to Santa Fe, but no further west than there for this trip. I'd like to see Mount Rushmore as one of the stops. I'm planning on two to three weeks.

I'm soliciting suggestions, but please keep them brief.
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Santa Fe NM is a nice place. That being said, I did not find much to do. We were there for a few days via our 310 and went for the balloon festival. Then flew down to the caverns and then to Roswell. Not a lot to do in Roswell either, but the UFO museum was cool. Over all, AZ seems to have a lot more to see and do. Good luck on your trip.
 
Flyhound said:
If you decide to head further west, there is LOTS more to see! The Chinese Wall along the Continental Divide in Montana is well worth flying over. This is all wilderness area, so the only way to see this edifice is to fly over it, or hike for 6 days (3 days in and 3 days out). Flying provides a much better view!

View attachment 149608
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Wow.
 
the400kid said:
I'm planning a post-retirement flight in my Mooney J model for late April. I have a few stops already planned (mostly presidential libraries) and am seeking suggestions for stops along the way. My first stop is New Orleans, then onto Austin Texas (LBJ library). From there I plan to head to Santa Fe, but no further west than there for this trip. I'd like to see Mount Rushmore as one of the stops. I'm planning on two to three weeks.

I'm soliciting suggestions, but please keep them brief.
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Terminal at New Orleans Lakefront KNEW
 
the400kid said:
I'm planning a post-retirement flight in my Mooney J model for late April. I have a few stops already planned (mostly presidential libraries) and am seeking suggestions for stops along the way. My first stop is New Orleans, then onto Austin Texas (LBJ library). From there I plan to head to Santa Fe, but no further west than there for this trip. I'd like to see Mount Rushmore as one of the stops. I'm planning on two to three weeks.

I'm soliciting suggestions, but please keep them brief.
Click to expand...
In Austin, the bats. Google it, don’t know if it’s the season now or not
 
WJG-GMT-RootBeer said:
Santa Fe NM is a nice place. That being said, I did not find much to do. We were there for a few days via our 310 and went for the balloon festival. Then flew down to the caverns and then to Roswell. Not a lot to do in Roswell either, but the UFO museum was cool. Over all, AZ seems to have a lot more to see and do. Good luck on your trip.
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Agree that there’s tons to see/do in AZ.
I’ve enjoyed my Santa Fe visits- it’s very small, for a state capitol- but also a food, art, and native craft hub. Great town for runs (along the rio Santa Fe- which is more creek than river)
Taos is a gem. Rio grande gorge is gorgeous- as are the Sangre de christos. Cimmaron and the national scout reservation-Philmont.
 

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SFDukie said:
Agree that there’s tons to see/do in AZ.
I’ve enjoyed my Santa Fe visits- it’s very small, for a state capitol- but also a food, art, and native craft hub. Great town for runs (along the rio Santa Fe- which is more creek than river)
Taos is a gem. Rio grande gorge is gorgeous- as are the Sangre de christos. Cimmaron and the national scout reservation-Philmont.
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We spent like a week in AZ and traveled over 1800 miles. Felt like we saw most everything. Sedona was simply stunning, visually speaking. We were based out of Scottsdale lodging wise. It was not a flying trip, but we saw the Grand Canyon, Tombstone, Sedona basically everything in between. Funny thing was, I was really not interested in going in the first place. That changed real quick once we got there. Its a pricey place, but it was well worth it. Hope you also had a blast.
 
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Overflying the Grand Canyon with my buddies is one of my fave flying experiences- period.
Flying into Sedona was a hoot.

I’d flown into the valley of the sun, but until last year, never in Northern AZ.

Loved that scenery since I was a kid.
 
WJG-GMT-RootBeer said:
Santa Fe NM is a nice place. That being said, I did not find much to do. We were there for a few days via our 310 and went for the balloon festival. Then flew down to the caverns and then to Roswell. Not a lot to do in Roswell either, but the UFO museum was cool. Over all, AZ seems to have a lot more to see and do. Good luck on your trip.
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Loretto Chapel is fascinating and a fun story.
 
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