It's officially official - Colorado.

Teller1900 said:
It was tough. It wasn't THAT though, but it was a little tough :D. I think Junelle wants to stop in DSM on the way west, so we may be taking the I-80 route instead of the I-70 option.
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That means you'll be passing Lincoln, NE. A bunch of PoA here- please let us know when you guys are passing through.
 
Teller1900 said:
I think that's why I'll like the 135 side so much. You get the technical flying, the orderly and systematic approach that you have to everything in 121, without quite as many rules and limitations. It seems to be a happy blend between 121 and the, by comparison, anything goes world of 91.
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It's not so unbridled on our side anymore either. Even ultralight guys get squeezed. I think one needs to fly an An-24 in Angola if he likes anything goes flying.

Picture of N169SL, maybe your future chariot at a ramp across from my FBO: http://zaitcev.mee.nu/flying_piaggio_avanti
 
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You will likely be using some of the same OP specs, CO 55,57 79..etc or something close if those don't ring a bell.
 
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Cap'n Jack said:
That means you'll be passing Lincoln, NE. A bunch of PoA here- please let us know when you guys are passing through.
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Once I know what our plan is, I'll be sure to make it known.

AdamB said:
Congrats Matt!
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zaitcev said:
It's not so unbridled on our side anymore either. Even ultralight guys get squeezed. I think one needs to fly an An-24 in Angola if he likes anything goes flying.

Picture of N169SL, maybe your future chariot at a ramp across from my FBO: http://zaitcev.mee.nu/flying_piaggio_avanti
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I'm all for a little less paperwork, but I think that might be a little far in the other direction :)

That's a great photo, by the way. There's a better than average chance I'll be flying that plane at some point. What airport is that?

Ghery said:
What's wrong with Casa Bonita? <ducks and runs> :D
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http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s07e11-casa-bonita
taters said:
You will likely be using some of the same OP specs, CO 55,57 79..etc or something close if those don't ring a bell.
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We have several of those at my current shop. I'll let you know once I get my manuals for the new place. I'm sure it'll all be similar. What are you in class for?
 
Teller1900 said:
That's a great photo, by the way. There's a better than average chance I'll be flying that plane at some point. What airport is that?
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Thanks, it's my home base KABQ, on Atlantic's ramp. But we have Jet-A and nice airplanes on Cutter side too. I'm so jealous that you get to fly these nice airplanes and get paid for it. I am too old and decrepit to go career.
 
Ghery said:
What's wrong with Casa Bonita? <ducks and runs> :D
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Everyone has to go there at least once. It's required.

If you survive the trip to the hospital for food poisoning, you're good. LOL.

Okay, it's not THAT bad, and it's fun for the kiddos... I always seem to have tourists, ahem... guests, staying at my house that have heard about it and want to go... so I end up going along...
 
denverpilot said:
Everyone has to go there at least once. It's required.

If you survive the trip to the hospital for food poisoning, you're good. LOL.

Okay, it's not THAT bad, and it's fun for the kiddos... I always seem to have tourists, ahem... guests, staying at my house that have heard about it and want to go... so I end up going along...
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Oh my... That place is real? :rofl:
 
Teller1900 said:
We have several of those at my current shop. I'll let you know once I get my manuals for the new place. I'm sure it'll all be similar. What are you in class for?
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Ameriflight.
 
denverpilot said:
Everyone has to go there at least once. It's required.

If you survive the trip to the hospital for food poisoning, you're good. LOL.

Okay, it's not THAT bad, and it's fun for the kiddos... I always seem to have tourists, ahem... guests, staying at my house that have heard about it and want to go... so I end up going along...
Click to expand...

I went there on a date once. The trick is to have a few margaritas. :yes:
 
Ghery said:
What's wrong with Casa Bonita? <ducks and runs> :D
Click to expand...

denverpilot said:
Everyone has to go there at least once. It's required.

If you survive the trip to the hospital for food poisoning, you're good. LOL.

Okay, it's not THAT bad, and it's fun for the kiddos... I always seem to have tourists, ahem... guests, staying at my house that have heard about it and want to go... so I end up going along...
Click to expand...

flyingcheesehead said:
Oh my... That place is real? :rofl:
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I was when we lived in the Denver area 30 years ago. Glad to see it's still around. :D
 
The part of I-80 through Nebraska is likely to be the most exciting part of your drive. It parallels a transcontinental rail road and generally follows the Platte, a dynamic shifting river, across Nebraska.

Upon entering Nebraska from Iowa, I-80 delivers you to the top of the bluffs in South Omaha. These thick loess deposits mantle older Pleistocene hills and still older Mesozoic and Paleozoic rocks.

West of exit 432, I80 descends into the Platte valley. Looking upstream, north, is the combined flood plain of the Platte and Elkhorn rivers. The low country to the northwest is the Todd Valley, where the Platte River flowed during the last ice age. After ascending out of the valley around exit 426, look for outcroppings of Dakota sandstone around Mahoney State Park. Enjoy the gentle rolling hills of glacial till mantled by loess blown in from further west.

As you pass through Lincoln, you will be crossing the ecologically distinctive Salt Creek Drainage Basin. A number of saline wetland bodies are home to unique flora and fauna. Perhaps the best known is the Salt Creek tiger beetle, of which perhaps less than 1000 remain. The source of the salt is still unknown.

West of Lincoln around milepost 384, I80 drops into the Big Blue River valley which follows along the edge of a glacial deposit. About 5 miles west of York, I80 passes the western limit of glacial till as Pleistocene ice sheets didn't extend any further west than this area.

Near milepost 316, I80 crosses an barely discernable divide and descends again into the Platte River valley, which it will follow for the next 200 miles. The Platte river is the textbook example of a braided stream. This broad band of wetlands in the midst of otherwise dry plains provides habitat for waterfowl and the Platte is an important flyway for migrating birds.

I80 follows the south branch of the Platte River, as did the Oregon Trail. You'll pass Gothenburg, one of the stations of the famous, but short-lived, Pony Express. Looking north, you may see the sandy sediments on the valley wall marking the edge of the Sand Hills, the largest area of sand dunes in North America. Near exit 199, you can see the south valley wall with ravines cutting into Ogallala sediments. At milepost 102, you'll probably take I76 as it follows the South Platte into Colorado.

After crossing the border of Colorado, the trip will become boring.
 
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Jack, you somehow made that god-awful drive actually sound interesting.

It actually goes more like this...

It's flat. And grassy. And you want it to go by faster.

Then we give you false hope at the Colorado border... big sign, Welcome to Colorful Colorado... and you still have a long way to go.

Now you're annoyed and really tired, but you press on.

And we drop you into... Aurora. The least desirable suburb of the city, IMHO.

You're so excited to find civilization again, you think Aurora looks good.

Whoever built that Pioneer Bridge/Museum thing was brilliant. It's right there on I-80 where you'd rather shoot yourself than drive any further, and you get off to go see it just to get the heck out of the car.

My wife of many years went to school in Iowa City, IA - and we both traveled I-80 far too many times visiting each other back then. Complete with her going off the road into a ditch in her white car in a blizzard once... yeah... scary stuff.

Spent way too much time in Kerney, NE too. The only way I can even think of appreciating I-80 anymore, is by air. I can't get those days of my life back!!! ;)

But I always thought the town named "Cozad" just sounded cool... Co-Zaaaaad.
 
denverpilot said:
Jack, you somehow made that god-awful drive actually sound interesting.

It actually goes more like this...

It's flat. And grassy. And you want it to go by faster.

Then we give you false hope at the Colorado border... big sign, Welcome to Colorful Colorado... and you still have a long way to go.

Now you're annoyed and really tired, but you press on.

And we drop you into... Aurora. The least desirable suburb of the city, IMHO.
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I resent that! Lots of advantages out here in West Kansas...I'm much closer to FTG & APA. I don't have to deal with Denver politics & policies. I don't have to deal with Highlands Ranch absurdities. Altho I don't really care about it, the Cherry Creek school system is reasonably good.
 
glider pilots in Kansas refer to it as the "Splat" River. Nearly every northbound flight has from this area has ended shortly after crossing the Splat River.
 
murphey said:
I resent that! Lots of advantages out here in West Kansas...I'm much closer to FTG & APA. I don't have to deal with Denver politics & policies. I don't have to deal with Highlands Ranch absurdities. Altho I don't really care about it, the Cherry Creek school system is reasonably good.
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LOL! Aurora's actually pretty nice these days.

I just have to indoctrinate him in the "pick on Aurora" ethos from back in my youth when it was awful. Heh heh.

Maybe these days, you're right. It should be "Pick on weird Denver City & County" since the suburbs are all pretty similar. Denver itself is the odd-ball, politically and in a number of strange ways. ;)
 
denverpilot said:
Jack, you somehow made that god-awful drive actually sound interesting.
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Why thank you! I work in marketing (as well as the lab) so I can make almost anything seem good.

Except Chicago.


denverpilot said:
But I always thought the town named "Cozad" just sounded cool... Co-Zaaaaad.
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There's a few towns here with cool names. Cozad, Wahoo, Wee Town (accurately named?) , etc.
 
Sheesh, I almost forgot the required link for "Colorado Girls"! How'd I do that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYGpelWYFx0

There's a shot of Casa Bonita in there for you Kent. And Red Rocks Amphitheater, an overpass just barely West of Denver on I-70 in the "mountains", Mt. Falcon Park, the Blue Bear at the Convention Center, Cherry Creek Shopping District, the Flagship American Furniture Warehouse store, a Chipotle restaurant (doesn't look like #1 to me), Lakeside Amusement Park, Water World, and a bunch of other things I've forgotten already after re-watching it.

And yeah, my Nalgene's sittin' right here on my desk, and it has a Colorado Pilot's Association bumper sticker on it. :cool2:
 
Cap'n Jack said:
The part of I-80 through Nebraska is likely to be the most exciting part of your drive. It parallels a transcontinental rail road (railroad tracks are FLAT) and generally follows the Platte, a dynamic shifting river (which is FLAT), across Nebraska.

Upon entering Nebraska from Iowa, I-80 delivers you to the top of the bluffs in South Omaha. These thick loess deposits mantle (which is FLAT) older Pleistocene hills and still older Mesozoic and Paleozoic rocks.

West of exit 432, I80 descends into the Platte valley. Looking upstream, north, is the combined flood plain of the Platte and Elkhorn rivers (flood plains are FLAT).

As you pass through Lincoln, you will be crossing the ecologically distinctive Salt Creek Drainage Basin. A number of saline wetland bodies (which are FLAT) are home to unique flora and fauna. Perhaps the best known is the Salt Creek tiger beetle, of which perhaps less than 1000 remain. The source of the salt is still unknown.

West of Lincoln around milepost 384, I80 drops into the Big Blue River valley which follows along the edge of a glacial deposit (which are FLAT). About 5 miles west of York, I80 passes the western limit of glacial till as Pleistocene ice sheets didn't extend any further west than this area.

Near milepost 316, I80 crosses an barely discernable divide and descends again into the Platte River valley, which it will follow for the next 200 miles. The Platte river is the textbook example of a braided stream. This broad band of wetlands (which are FLAT) in the midst of otherwise dry plains provides habitat for waterfowl and the Platte is an important flyway for migrating birds.

I80 follows the south branch of the Platte River, as did the Oregon Trail. You'll pass Gothenburg, one of the stations of the famous, but short-lived, Pony Express. Looking north, you may see the sandy sediments on the valley (which is FLAT) wall marking the edge of the Sand Hills, the largest area of sand dunes in North America.

After crossing the border of Colorado, the trip will become boring.
Click to expand...

Fixed that for you.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
The part of I-80 through Nebraska is likely to be the most exciting part of your drive. It parallels a transcontinental rail road and generally follows the Platte, a dynamic shifting river, across Nebraska.

Upon entering Nebraska from Iowa, I-80 delivers you to the top of the bluffs in South Omaha. These thick loess deposits mantle older Pleistocene hills and still older Mesozoic and Paleozoic rocks.

West of exit 432, I80 descends into the Platte valley. Looking upstream, north, is the combined flood plain of the Platte and Elkhorn rivers. The low country to the northwest is the Todd Valley, where the Platte River flowed during the last ice age. After ascending out of the valley around exit 426, look for outcroppings of Dakota sandstone around Mahoney State Park. Enjoy the gentle rolling hills of glacial till mantled by loess blown in from further west.

As you pass through Lincoln, you will be crossing the ecologically distinctive Salt Creek Drainage Basin. A number of saline wetland bodies are home to unique flora and fauna. Perhaps the best known is the Salt Creek tiger beetle, of which perhaps less than 1000 remain. The source of the salt is still unknown.

West of Lincoln around milepost 384, I80 drops into the Big Blue River valley which follows along the edge of a glacial deposit. About 5 miles west of York, I80 passes the western limit of glacial till as Pleistocene ice sheets didn't extend any further west than this area.

Near milepost 316, I80 crosses an barely discernable divide and descends again into the Platte River valley, which it will follow for the next 200 miles. The Platte river is the textbook example of a braided stream. This broad band of wetlands in the midst of otherwise dry plains provides habitat for waterfowl and the Platte is an important flyway for migrating birds.

I80 follows the south branch of the Platte River, as did the Oregon Trail. You'll pass Gothenburg, one of the stations of the famous, but short-lived, Pony Express. Looking north, you may see the sandy sediments on the valley wall marking the edge of the Sand Hills, the largest area of sand dunes in North America. Near exit 199, you can see the south valley wall with ravines cutting into Ogallala sediments. At milepost 102, you'll probably take I76 as it follows the South Platte into Colorado.

After crossing the border of Colorado, the trip will become boring.
Click to expand...

denverpilot said:
Jack, you somehow made that god-awful drive actually sound interesting.

It actually goes more like this...

It's flat. And grassy. And you want it to go by faster.

Then we give you false hope at the Colorado border... big sign, Welcome to Colorful Colorado... and you still have a long way to go.

Now you're annoyed and really tired, but you press on.

And we drop you into... Aurora. The least desirable suburb of the city, IMHO.

You're so excited to find civilization again, you think Aurora looks good.

Whoever built that Pioneer Bridge/Museum thing was brilliant. It's right there on I-80 where you'd rather shoot yourself than drive any further, and you get off to go see it just to get the heck out of the car.

My wife of many years went to school in Iowa City, IA - and we both traveled I-80 far too many times visiting each other back then. Complete with her going off the road into a ditch in her white car in a blizzard once... yeah... scary stuff.

Spent way too much time in Kerney, NE too. The only way I can even think of appreciating I-80 anymore, is by air. I can't get those days of my life back!!! ;)

But I always thought the town named "Cozad" just sounded cool... Co-Zaaaaad.
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Gee, such different opinions; hard to believe such a scenic drive could be met with such hostility. :goofy:Jack, I think I'm going to have to print your tour notes. I'll make my wife drive that whole stretch so I can narrate, I'm sure she'll just LOVE it!


Oh lord no, not another Hawkeye. Hopefully it was just your wife so we can still be friends? (I graduated from Iowa State).
 
Teller1900 said:
Gee, such different opinions; hard to believe such a scenic drive could be met with such hostility. :goofy:Jack, I think I'm going to have to print your tour notes. I'll make my wife drive that whole stretch so I can narrate, I'm sure she'll just LOVE it!
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:D:D:D Actually, I moved here from out East, so it is still new to me. I've actually have seen most of what I described.....



...from the air :D. Somone could do ALL the requirements for a pilot certificate, instrument rating, maybe even commercial, without leaving their home state in these western states. I was pleased flying a C150 all the way from central NJ to Pittsburgh; I think that trip is only 1/2 way across NE.
 
3 things:

1) Congratulations
2) If you do drive through Nebraska, do not plan on overnighting in Scottsbluff. I spent a year there one night. Ugh. Gastly. So is Carlsbad NM, in case you were wondering.
3) If you're flying for AvantAir, odds are pretty good you'll be swinging through Caldwell NJ (KCDW). Give me a holler if you do. I don't hangar there any more, but it's only a 50min-1hr drive. I'd love to get a tour of an Avanti.
 
flyersfan31 said:
3 things:

1) Congratulations
2) If you do drive through Nebraska, do not plan on overnighting in Scottsbluff. I spent a year there one night. Ugh. Gastly. So is Carlsbad NM, in case you were wondering.
3) If you're flying for AvantAir, odds are pretty good you'll be swinging through Caldwell NJ (KCDW). Give me a holler if you do. I don't hangar there any more, but it's only a 50min-1hr drive. I'd love to get a tour of an Avanti.
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One other thing: I know lots of people that have gotten tickets in both Kansas and Nebraska. So when you're driving through, at least try to follow something approaching the speed limit. :)
 
flyersfan31 said:
3 things:

1) Congratulations
2) If you do drive through Nebraska, do not plan on overnighting in Scottsbluff. I spent a year there one night. Ugh. Gastly. So is Carlsbad NM, in case you were wondering.
3) If you're flying for AvantAir, odds are pretty good you'll be swinging through Caldwell NJ (KCDW). Give me a holler if you do. I don't hangar there any more, but it's only a 50min-1hr drive. I'd love to get a tour of an Avanti.
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1) Thanks!
2) Good to know. I figure that part of the drive is going to be fairly interminable...last thing I need is to make it worse. I suspect we'll be doing Nebraska in as close to one shot as we can.
3) The odds are very good, indeed. I seem to not have your phone number, though.

Obi Heed Kenobi said:
One other thing: I know lots of people that have gotten tickets in both Kansas and Nebraska. So when you're driving through, at least try to follow something approaching the speed limit. :)
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I'm all too well aware of that! 18 years I grew up in Kansas, plus another 6 in Iowa...ask me how I know. :thumbsup: And no worries, I always approach the speed limit at some point!
 
Teller1900 said:
1) 2) Good to know. I figure that part of the drive is going to be fairly interminable...last thing I need is to make it worse. I suspect we'll be doing Nebraska in as close to one shot as we can.
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I actually enjoyed a couple of overnight trips to Scotsbluff. There is a National Monument and some other Orgegon Trail history. Airport has a decent restaurant and the folks have been nice. Fly up for lunch several times a year.
 
Teller1900 said:
And no worries, I always approach the speed limit at some point!
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Yeah, as you're flying through it to your normal cruising speed. ;)
 
ejensen said:
I actually enjoyed a couple of overnight trips to Scotsbluff. There is a National Monument and some other Orgegon Trail history. Airport has a decent restaurant and the folks have been nice. Fly up for lunch several times a year.
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It might be a little different if we were flying, but by the time we hit western NE, me, my wife, and her idiot cat will have been in the car for 29-ish hours, so I think the idea of stopping for museums and monuments will have long since passed.

Looks like Scottsbluff will be a little north of our route anyways, at least as g-maps has it.

Ted DuPuis said:
Yeah, as you're flying through it to your normal cruising speed. ;)
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Even if only briefly, I do go the speed limit!
 
Teller1900 said:
Looks like Scottsbluff will be a little north of our route anyways, at least as g-maps has it.
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Scottsbluff is "a little north" of your route, if you're flying the Avanti. If you're ground-pounding, and you end up in Scottsbluff, you missed your turn a LONG time ago. But you did get to see The Other Oshkosh! (Oshkosh, NE, KOKS - Can't believe there's an airport there, because there sure as hell ain't anything else!!!)

The good news is, it's actually a lot easier to end up on I-76 going toward Denver than it is to stay on I-80, when you get to that junction, especially from a left-lane dweller like it sounds like you are! ;) http://goo.gl/maps/lKFS
 
Teller1900 said:
It might be a little different if we were flying, but by the time we hit western NE, me, my wife, and her idiot cat will have been in the car for 29-ish hours, so I think the idea of stopping for museums and monuments will have long since passed.

Looks like Scottsbluff will be a little north of our route anyways, at least as g-maps has it.


Even if only briefly, I do go the speed limit!
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You have my sympathy, I've traveled with cats before. :hairraise:

I know Scotsbluff is north of the route but someone else specifically mentioned it as a terrrible place so thought I'd add a different impression.
 
There is no national monument that could possibly make up for the unbelievable nothingness of Scottsbluff. Maybe the Grand Canyon. Maybe. IMHO. :cornut:

And ease up on cats. We have four!!! I helped my sister move, driving a Sub Legacy wagon from Sandpoint ID to Squaw Valley CA with her cat. Great driving companion. Let her out in the motel after a long day of driving, she did her biz, slept the next day until arrival. Now a dog? -- :cryin:
 
Hmm.

Then there was the move from PA to NJ with our 16yr old cat, a mere 1hr45min drive.

I didn't realize it was possible for a cat to ****, vomit, and pi$$ simultaneously. But, as it turns out, it is. :hairraise:
 
flyersfan31 said:
There is no national monument that could possibly make up for the unbelievable nothingness of Scottsbluff. Maybe the Grand Canyon. Maybe. IMHO. :cornut:

And ease up on cats. We have four!!! I helped my sister move, driving a Sub Legacy wagon from Sandpoint ID to Squaw Valley CA with her cat. Great driving companion. Let her out in the motel after a long day of driving, she did her biz, slept the next day until arrival. Now a dog? -- :cryin:
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Guess I'm easily entertained.:tongue:

I love cats. Have only one now, has been up to three. None though have been good travelers. Getting to the vet in a trial, cross country an ordeal. Current cat does settle down in minutes at the motel but in motion, she just don't like it and lets us know.
 
flyersfan31 said:
There is no national monument that could possibly make up for the unbelievable nothingness of Scottsbluff. Maybe the Grand Canyon. Maybe. IMHO. :cornut:
Click to expand...
Let's see you name a town with less "nothingness" along I-80 in Nebraska once you pass Lincoln. :D
 
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