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Pointers for an epic journey?

F

foka4

Well Known Member
My wife and I are planning a two week sightseeing trip through the Intermountain West this August, and I'd love to get input on friendly airports, scenic routes, good places to stay, and fun things to see.

Our general route will take us from our base in Iowa around the northern end of Yellowstone, south through Utah to the Grand Canyon, and then east through the Four Corners area, and then back home.

While the flight itself and the major attractions will be fun and memorable, I hope to discover some out-of-the-way places and meet some new friends along the way.

Oh - and I'd like to find cheap gas, too. ;)

Any tips from VAF'ers in that part of the world?

M
 
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Colorado Springs was very friendly for a large airport.

Pikes Peak and the Air Force Academy are well worth a visit.

We also liked Main St. in Ft. Collins - the inspiration for Main St. USA at Disneyland.
 
Take a right at Wyoming and see anywhere northern Idaho!!!! Sand Point if you need a specific spot. :D
 
Cottonwood, AZ, to see Sedona area from the air...

was a great stop. Also, Cortez, AZ was a good location for touring the four corners area by car and RV(9), if you can work those in.
 
Epic

There are so many places to visit out here. I would think that Leadville, CO would be on your list of stops. At least so you can get the "Highest Airport" certificate. Deb and I like to go to Salida, CO for lunch at the Country Bounty restaurant. In fact we just flew there Sunday with friends. It's just down the road from Leadville. I personally like Telluride, CO the mountains are spectacular, it would be a great overnight, but it is expensive.

Yellowstone is Awesome, we have only been there once and we really need to get back there again soon. That's a required stop.

Keep in mind that mountain flying requires your utmost attention at all times, is unforgiving and even flying in the morning you are most likely gonna get beat up... :( If you've never flown in the mountains, it would be wise to get some training/reading in before you head this way.

Those are a few of my Colorado faves. Looks like you already have some great sites picked out. There's just so many places to visit out west, it's going to be hard to pick. :eek:
 
I used Airnav a lot on my trip out west and back. Reading other's comments was helpful in deciding where to land. In all the airports I landed at, I only had one experience that was less than desired. I met a lot of great people and all the other FBO's where fantastic.

Enjoy the trip. I would extend a little further west to Oregon and down the central valley of CA. The route past Mt. Shasta is pretty amazing and I could spend two weeks just traveling around Oregon.

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The red rock area near Sedona is not to be missed if you are near the Grand Canyon. Do some ridge soaring and see some spectacular scenery. If you look close you can see some prehistoric ruins of camp sites in the rocks where people lived. Alison you can land at Sedona and take a crew car into town for lunch. It is great scenery, a great and nteresting airport, and fuel stop.

Pictures just don't capture the raw beauty of this area, but this is a good attempt.


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Winslow AZ

After all of the amazing scenery on your trip you might want a change of pace.

Try the Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport and the La Posada Hotel.

http://laposada.org/

The hotel is a restored 1929 railway hotel and the airport was an important stop for Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) in the 30's and 40's.

Plus, you can always stand on the corner!
 
Thanks

Thanks for all the tips so far. It's exactly the type of input I'd hoped to get from this group! I'm having fun researching all of the recommendations.

M
 
We overnighted at Show Low (SOW) several weeks ago, cheap gas and reasonable lodging and several motels would shuttle to/from the airport. Temps from 50-80's sure beat 110 in PHX. I really wanted to stop at Payson (PAY) for food and gas, but I was in a Lance and needed more runway.
Clayton, NM was a very small town stop (kinda desolate) in the very western high plains. Gas wasn't cheap, but we did use the curtesy car (they have 2) and everyone was friendly. We used the car to checkout the museum in town and drive to the state lake to see dinosaur tracks. The "Rabbit Ear" was the recommended place to eat and the Eklund Hotel has a decent bar and patio area.
Tucumcari (TCC) had great service at the airport, but it was several miles from town. There was some Route 66 action through town (kinda desolate). Food was good at the recommended restaurant.
If you make it to the coast Mclellan Palomar (CRQ) was a good stop and was easy in and out.
I too used Airnav to plan my stops and the reviews were as stated at all my stops.
 
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