Someday I will have a trip to go plan...

[Jim K]

But apparently it won't be this one:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2022/06/13/yellowstone-closes-roads-rainfall-flooding/

As we sat in the Wayne, NE Runza, I got a call that the hotel I reserved a year ago, just outside Yellowstone's east gate, was flooded, and the park itself closed.

Other than that we had a decent day, though the flight couldn't be described as pleasant. It was a choice between a 40 knot headwind and tolerable temps at 8000, or 10 knot HW and 85 degrees at 6000. So we sweated it out. On the bright side the airplane didn't give me any trouble.

Seeing Badlands NP from the air was cool, and we hit Rushmore this evening. Got my KRAP T-shirt. Drove a Tesla. Now we just have to figure out how to salvage this trip.

 

[ArrowFlyer86]

Oomph, I just saw an article about that flooding shutting down the park. That's such a bummer.
Luckily there's so many scenic places you could pivot to out west. And it looks like a great trip so far!

 

[asicer]

Seeing Badlands NP from the air was cool, and we hit Rushmore this evening. Got my KRAP T-shirt. Drove a Tesla. Now we just have to figure out how to salvage this trip.

Lane Wallace used to say the difference between a vacation and an adventure is that you know the outcome of the vacation ahead of time. Still, looks like you guys could have had a lot less fun. How’d you score the Tesla?

 

[Jim K]

Lane Wallace used to say the difference between a vacation and an adventure is that you know the outcome of the vacation ahead of time. Still, looks like you guys could have had a lot less fun. How’d you score the Tesla?

I always tell my wife "it's an adventure!"
She prefer a vacation...

Model Y through Turo

 

[Sinistar]

If you are delayed and wx is good around the area, go up to see the Devils Tower. Pretty awesome. Mt.Rushmore by air is a bit ho-hum but its fun to buzz by Crazy Horse. We just did laps around the little Mountain. Its hot and the kids might like one of the Cave trips (Wind Cave or Jewel Cave). A quick pass through the Bear Park is surprisingly fun. Hope you can get out West and your trip isn't to delayed. Maybe if you can make it to Jackson. Or overfly Yellowstone, time if for old faithful and then to West Yellowstone.

 

[Racerx]

Seem to be missing a few pax...sell em off to pay for the last aog?

Use a map as a dartboard. Let one of the kids throw.

 

[iamtheari]

Congratulations on your KRAPpy T-shirt. If you don’t get out of the area before the weekend, KBWW is doing a poker run fly-in on the 18th. Land at any 3+ airports in ND, SD, and MT that day (with selfies or other proof) and you can participate to win a prize. Or just show up for the food and camaraderie.

Maybe check out Deadwood and/or Lead for some more variety of fun. Old west photos, panning for gold, and trying not to draw aces and eights at the poker table are a few activities that come to mind.

Also, stop planning trips. Just go on them without a plan. You’ll save a lot of hassle making plans that never survive first contact with the enemy.

 

[Initial Fix]

Looks like everyone still had a good vacation in spite of the change of plans.

KRAP is on my list of airports to visit one day.

 

[Warlock]

Just nice seeing you and and your beautiful family…the rest is still gravy…getting there is half the fun even if there does not work out…the ability to pivot and enjoy is a skill that makes life so much easier in the long run…

 

[MauleSkinner]

Good news is that it wasn’t the airplane messing up your plans. Some fun options are still available out there (the gold panning sounds like a blast.)

Good luck, and enjoy!

 

[snglecoil]

Glad your trip wasn’t a total loss! Looks like some pretty great adventures there.

My family and I were flying out (commercial) this Friday specifically for Yellowstone. It was heartbreaking to hit the cancel button this morning.

 

[Rcmutz]

Glad things are going as well as can be expected. Keep the posts coming, I’m living vicariously through them!

 

[Mikey B]

If you haven't already, spend some time in Custer State Park -- more buffalo than you can imagine. Also the various loop roads through the Black Hills (Needles, etc.) are uber-scenic. We didn't care for Deadwood, but YMMV. And on the the way to Devil's Tower, there's some kind of Buffalo Jump archeological site that's interesting. Oh, and the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD -- indoor excavation,fantastic!

 

[Morgan3820]

Glad we went to YSNP last month. Terrible flooding.

 

[Terry M - 3CK (Chicago)]

So you got your wings back and wife and kids were comfortable going!

Huge win, IMO.

To say I'm envious is an understatement. You are living the dream my friend! Safe travels and blue skies.

 

[40YearDream]

Precious passengers!
If you're into geology and dinosaurs, the 'South Dakota School of Mines' in Rapids City has a very detailed museum, lots of dinosaur skeletons from the Bad Lands, and more than you'll ever want to know about rocks.

 

[455 Bravo Uniform]

I second Custer.

Devil’s Tower.

Badlands is fun to explore with kids, maybe on the way back.

Catch a rodeo in Cody, WY.

Jackson Hole & Tetons could salvage your Yellowstone desires.

The only thing we didn’t do above was the rodeo. Kids were in their early to mid-teens at the time and enjoyed it.

 

[DesertNomad]

Custer state park is a must-see.

 

[iamtheari]

If you haven't already, spend some time in Custer State Park -- more buffalo than you can imagine. Also the various loop roads through the Black Hills (Needles, etc.) are uber-scenic. We didn't care for Deadwood, but YMMV. And on the the way to Devil's Tower, there's some kind of Buffalo Jump archeological site that's interesting. Oh, and the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD -- indoor excavation,fantastic!

My wife and I recently got stuck in Rapid City for 5 days to attend a 15-minute event. One of the highlights was driving the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park. I lost count of the different types of animals we encountered.

And some of the roads are indeed beyond words. There is a motorcycle-oriented map of them that gives them ratings like ski runs for difficulty, which many hotels have at the front desk for free. Grab one of those and go do some driving. If you make it to Vanocker Canyon Road, be sure to check out Wonderful Wonderland Cave ("Next Right" and "Just Ahead").

 

[PaulS]

Sounds like it's gone from a trip to an adventure, have fun!

 

[Morgan3820]

The Tetons are wonderful, majestic. Jackson, meh.

 

[Chrisgoesflying]

Off topic: I see one of your kids is sitting on the plane with no headset. What's the noise level like on the Cherokee 6 or Lance compared to a regular Cherokee 140 or 160? I currently have a Cherokee 140/160 but my end goal plane is the Cherokee 6 in a few years down the road. I don't have kids (yet) but our dog rides along with us everywhere. It's a royal PITA to put hearing protection on him and I was wondering if the 6 is much quieter than the PA-28.

 

[Racerx]

Off topic: I see one of your kids is sitting on the plane with no headset. What's the noise level like on the Cherokee 6 or Lance compared to a regular Cherokee 140 or 160? I currently have a Cherokee 140/160 but my end goal plane is the Cherokee 6 in a few years down the road. I don't have kids (yet) but our dog rides along with us everywhere. It's a royal PITA to put hearing protection on him and I was wondering if the 6 is much quieter than the PA-28.

Significantly less. I've got a 180 and a pa32 in the hangar. Granted the pa32 has some sound proofing, thicker windows, and new seals the 180 doesn't. But having that long nose and baggage compartment doesn't hurt. My GSP wouldn't wear hearing protection if I tried and sleeps in either plane. Only time I can get her to not bounce off the walls, in the car or in the plane.

 

[Jim K]

 

[Jim K]

Off topic: I see one of your kids is sitting on the plane with no headset. What's the noise level like on the Cherokee 6 or Lance compared to a regular Cherokee 140 or 160? I currently have a Cherokee 140/160 but my end goal plane is the Cherokee 6 in a few years down the road. I don't have kids (yet) but our dog rides along with us everywhere. It's a royal PITA to put hearing protection on him and I was wondering if the 6 is much quieter than the PA-28.

I can't say I would call it all that different, but I also never take my headset off. She says it's "not all that loud".... but you know how kids are. @NealRomeoGolf says the 3 blade is quieter than his 2 blade. Still sounds pretty loud to me.

 

[kath]

If you pass by Lead, visit the Sanford Underground Research Facility ("SURF"), formerly the Homestake Mine, home of the physics experiment (giant vat of cleaning fluid) that discovered how solar neutrinos were mysteriously going missing (because it turns out they "oscillate" -- which we didn't figure out until decades later). They have a visitor center and stuff. And you can hit a golf ball into a giant pit that you can't see the bottom of.

 

[hindsight2020]

We did Rushmore and krap (and yes we got the t-shirt lol) in April when it was still cold and thus kept the crowds away, and it's our new must go for the wife and I. Looks like you hit the main attractions; personally we were absolutely stunned by the black hills. The monument was a nice picture memory with the kiddo, but Custer state park was absolutely fantastic.

We plan on spending a week or so the next time, and go kidless. We plan on hitting the airstrip at the park and do some camping. I've grown to have an appreciation for lesser frequented national and state parks. There's a lot of corners of this continent with great beauty and much less human presence. Honestly, your trip as flown was a success afaic. Cheers!

 

[Jim K]

Traded the Tesla for a Jeep

Drove Iron Mountain and Needles highways...awesome


Hiked at Custer SP



Today was Ellsworth AFB (pictures forthcoming) and Wind Cave NP

 

[Jim K]

Bone!


B52 with a tail gun


B29


Found these interesting



If @kaiser doesn't buy a T Bone, paint it as above, and park it in Warbirds.... I'm going to be very disappointed. Also, I'm going to call every 310 I see from now on a "Blue Canoe"

Apparently 310s are a dime a dozen in SD. I've seen two used as billboards:

 

[Racerx]

Surely @Pilawt can help out the museum staff for a picture of a blue canoe. I've got a blue canoe but I don't think they'd be interested in that

 

[kaiser]

If @kaiser doesn't buy a T Bone, paint it as above, and park it in Warbirds....

I’ll have to start a go fund me for fuel…

Apparently 310s are a dime a dozen in SD

There’s a 310R rotting on the ramp at KDPA if anyone needs a sign.

 

[Jim K]

Made the hop from Rapid City to Cody today. IFR at 12,000; DA calculated out to 14,400, and that was at 8:30AM. My first time seeing real mountains, never mind flying around them.


Spent 6 hours at the "Buffalo Bill Center of the West", and we're going back tomorrow. The kids even loved it. Cody is an awesome town, and the FBO is wonderful.

 

[Sinistar]

So those must have been the Bighorn Mountains?

Were you up high long enough to use O2?

 

[Jim K]

So those must have been the Bighorn Mountains?

Were you up high long enough to use O2?

That is correct.

We were at 12k for about 1.5hr. I did use the o2 just to make sure I was sharp, but my wife didn't and felt okay. She did get just under 90% though. The kids were all 97%+ on ambient air.

We were 4-5000' agl on V324, and got light- moderate turbulence. If it wasn't so hot I would've gone higher, but I wasn't sure I could get another 2k out of her. We had one drop that was the worst I've ever felt. Didn't lose measurable altitude, but it was definitely 0 G. We left RAP at 07:30 to beat the heat and high winds, but it still wasn't ideal. Not sure we could've done it mid-day. A couple times I got down to Vy climbing against downdrafts.

 

[kaiser]

That is correct.

We were at 12k for about 1.5hr. I did use the o2 just to make sure I was sharp, but my wife didn't and felt okay. She did get just under 90% though. The kids were all 97%+ on ambient air.

We were 4-5000' agl on V324, and got light- moderate turbulence. If it wasn't so hot I would've gone higher, but I wasn't sure I could get another 2k out of her. We had one drop that was the worst I've ever felt. Didn't lose measurable altitude, but it was definitely 0 G. We left RAP at 07:30 to beat the heat and high winds, but it still wasn't ideal. Not sure we could've done it mid-day. A couple times I got down to Vy climbing against downdrafts.

Congrats on your “mountain” flight! I know you were focused on getting it right from all angles. Looks like it was successful!

 

[Abram]

But apparently it won't be this one:

Seeing Badlands NP from the air was cool, and we hit Rushmore this evening. Got my KRAP T-shirt. Drove a Tesla. Now we just have to figure out how to salvage this trip.

Some of the greatest and most memorable times that my family ever had where on trips that didn’t quite work out the way we planned them. We had many days in which weather kept us on the ground and forced us to improvise and those are the times I remember to this day!

Abram Finkelstein
N685AS

 

[Jim K]

Weather was perfect for an aerial tour of the parks today. Hoping to get in at 0agl tomorrow.

Grand Teton


Old Faithful






Grand Prismatic Spring


Lower Falls of the Yellowstone

Grand Teton poking through the clouds


On the ramp at COD with Heart Mountain in the background


Had a snowball fight in June


Mountains on the way back to Cody

 

[ArrowFlyer86]

That looks amazing!

 

[GaryM]

Very cool. I love that part of the country. Great pics!

 

[Jim K]

Made it home yesterday. 18+ hours on the tach. Nice tail wind all the way home. Picked up a trace of ice on the way out of Cody, but had plenty of altitude and warm air below. Stopped at Pella for dinner and Dutch baked goods.