Next week I intercept my shiny "new" steed at KRUQ in North Carolina. After Glenn finishes the annual inspection and mods, I'll leisurely fly back to KRHV in San Jose CA.
I'm not likely to get this far east again for a while, and am looking for some particularly fun or interesting stops along the way home. One stop is already planned for KAPA in Colorado, but the rest of the itinerary is basically wide open. Note that we are talking about mid/late February, so swimming holes are not appropriate!
Within reason, my goal is to enjoy the ride, not get back as fast as humanly possible. Any tips on places to visit (or definitely avoid!) en-route would be most welcome! Generally I find that smaller airports are more welcoming & hospitable, but am open to any suggestions.
Not too far out of the way is my home base...KSIK. Not a lot here, but we are known as the "Home of the Throwed Rolls." Lambert's Cafe will send a shuttle over to pick you up and you get to go to the front of a usually very long line. They have good lunch or supper. Country cooking.
John W wrote:Not too far out of the way is my home base...KSIK. Not a lot here, but we are known as the "Home of the Throwed Rolls." Lambert's Cafe will send a shuttle over to pick you up and you get to go to the front of a usually very long line. They have good lunch or supper. Country cooking.
This sounds great! Just the kind of thing that I'm looking for!
Are you sure you want to fly back to San Jose via KAPA? I wouldn't be interested in crossing the Rockies in the winter west of the Denver area due to altitude, winter headwinds and weather -- at least not without de-ice, a turbo, and O2 onboard.
A wintertime (and even summer) recommendation would be to stay further south roughly following I-40 from NC and going through the I-40 pass at Albuquerque, NM before heading back north towards the SFO Bay Area. That's how we flew our DA40 to and from CA, but admittedly we were heading to a southern CA destination rather than San Jose. In the winter you might want to consider the warmer and lower route of flying to southern CA and then heading up the San Joaquin valley to San Jose.
Epic Aircraft E1000 GX
Former DA40XLS, DA42-VI, and DA62 owner
ATP, CFI, CFI-I, MEI
CFIDave wrote:Are you sure you want to fly back to San Jose via KAPA? I wouldn't be interested in crossing the Rockies in the winter west of the Denver area due to altitude, winter headwinds and weather -- at least not without de-ice, a turbo, and O2 onboard.
A wintertime (and even summer) recommendation would be to stay further south roughly following I-40 from NC and going through the I-40 pass at Albuquerque, NM before heading back north towards the SFO Bay Area. That's how we flew our DA40 to and from CA, but admittedly we were heading to a southern CA destination rather than San Jose. In the winter you might want to consider the warmer and lower route of flying to southern CA and then heading up the San Joaquin valley to San Jose.
I'll have O2 (mostly just to stay sharp), but no plans to brave the heart of the Rockies in winter!!
My current plan is to head south from KAPA through Santa Fe etc. along the route you describe. This is how we returned from OSH last year, so the CO stop is more of a diversion. But I want to see the supercharger and meet the team.
Chris
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Given the route you're taking, here's another possibility for a stop. Las Vegas, New Mexico (not Nevada), KLVS which is right near the I-25 pass you'll be taking through the mountains near Santa Fe.
We had to unexpectedly divert there for summer thunderstorms, but were very pleasantly surprised at what we found spending the night. Upon arriving at the airport, it was recommended that we call the Plaza Hotel for their "pilot's special." They sent a van to pick us up, and we arrived at a beautifully-restored hotel (built sometime in the 1800's) with a saloon on the first floor. While the hotel has its own nice restaurant, you can easily walk around the town to other places (if it's not too cold in February).
The next morning the hotel manager was nice enough to give us a ride to the airport, where he took lots of pictures of our DA40 just because he liked the looks of it.
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Epic Aircraft E1000 GX
Former DA40XLS, DA42-VI, and DA62 owner
ATP, CFI, CFI-I, MEI
CFIDave wrote:We had to unexpectedly divert there for summer thunderstorms
We got trapped in Flagstaff for a major-league thunderstorm show. Surrounded on all sides.
but were very pleasantly surprised at what we found spending the night. Upon arriving at the airport, it was recommended that we call the Plaza Hotel for their "pilot's special." They sent a van to pick us up, and we arrived at a beautifully-restored hotel (built sometime in the 1800's) with a saloon on the first floor. While the hotel has its own nice restaurant, you can easily walk around the town to other places (if it's not too cold in February).
Excellent! Thank you! This sounds like a lot of fun.
The next morning the hotel manager was nice enough to give us a ride to the airport, where he took lots of pictures of our DA40 just because he liked the looks of it.
Make sure you go to the Perfect Landing at APA. It has good food, and a great view of the airport. When flying south from APA towards New Mexico, I suggest you do a 360 around Castlewood Canyon State Park, about 40 miles south of APA or so: http://www.parks.state.co.us/parks/cast ... nHome.aspx
It is really pretty from the air, at least in my opinion:-)
Finally, if you can, take a bit of time to look at the Spanish Peaks in Southern Colorado. Don't know if you want to do a day trip, but the drive around the Highway of Legends is well worth the time. This part of Colorado is not all that well traveled, and it has a distinct charm. If you do that, I can recommend the La Veta Inn. I think there is an airstrip there, but it is pretty beat up. There is a decent airport in Walsenburg, http://www.airnav.com/airport/4V1/A2#c that is only 15 miles or so from La Veta.
Sounds like you have a great trip planned, have fun and post some pictures!
