Western Trip

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Painter1

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Saint Louis
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Mike K
My wife and I are planning a trip to see and visit cool places west of St Louis and would welcome your thoughts and ideas;

Aircraft is a 1977 Lance (non-turbo) with a healthy but high time engine.
We have allocated 30 days for this trip and have identified the following place we want to stop.
Olympia, WA (friends)
California Wineries
Someplace that has good fishing (will hire guide)
Grand Canyon

We would like to see some National Parks but fear we my be too late to find lodging.

Thanks
 
with 30 days I'd loop up to KGPI and see glacier national park for sure
 
Cody is an easy airport for Yellowstone; if you don't mind terrain, West Yellowstone is right outside the Northwest Gate, which is a sight itself. Cody, though, is a real town with other things to do, and a rodeo every night.
 
Hank S said:
Cody is an easy airport for Yellowstone; if you don't mind terrain, West Yellowstone is right outside the Northwest Gate, which is a sight itself. Cody, though, is a real town with other things to do, and a rodeo every night.
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WYS is a lot closer drive to the park, and depending on what you want to see within the park saves some time. lodging is limited in WYS, nice airport and nice folks. Free camping too if you bring gear. They'll listen to CTAF and get your rental car from avis too and bring it to the plane.
I believe COD is about 2hrs from the park, no? But COD is a much nicer town, I agree.
 
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While down around Grand Canyon you should really check out Lake Powell, Monument Valley, Bryce, and maybe even Sedona. You could easily hit them all in one day, but suggest you maybe use Page (KPGA) as at least an overnight base. If it's going to be after late Spring or Summer, early morning flights will be your friend.
 
You're starting (St. Louis) where Lewis & Clark started; come visit here where they reached their destination 210 years ago this November.

Stop in here at Vancouver WA (KVUO), one of the oldest operating airports in the country, with lots of history to see within walking distance of the tiedowns. Nice hotels and restaurants are close by (lunch will be on me).

Then fly down the Columbia River to Astoria, Oregon (KAST), where L&C reached the ocean and camped for the winter. Do the circle around Mt. St. Helens on your way up to Olympia.

The Columbia and tributaries have great fishing. Let me know what time of year you're traveling and I can find out about options for you.
 
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I would think the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore would be cool to fly over.
 
Gucci Pilot said:
I would think the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore would be cool to fly over.
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It is although it looks much smaller from the air. I suggest talking to Rapid City approach and really keep on the scan. Quite a few folks have the same idea and the 15 minute helicopter rides pop up and down all day.
 
For park lodges you're probably right, they're sold out. At Bryce there is a big private lodge and campground right at the entrance. Ruby's will pick you up at the airport BCE. You can catch the park shuttles for hiking and other park activities. Nice place to stop, you never need a car.
 
CT4ME said:
While down around Grand Canyon you should really check out Lake Powell, Monument Valley, Bryce, and maybe even Sedona. You could easily hit them all in one day, but suggest you maybe use Page (KPGA) as at least an overnight base. If it's going to be after late Spring or Summer, early morning flights will be your friend.
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Monument Valley, Sedona, and Bryce all have lodging on/near field. Payson has a decent campground and restaurant.
 
Sounds like a great trip in the planning, lots of good stuff along the way. I'd do a big loop of sorts, working around any nasty weather.

If you go all the way to Olympia, may as well go to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands.
 
sourdough44 said:
If you go all the way to Olympia, may as well go to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands.
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good idea, could even jump to victoria BC if you wanted to play the customs game.
 
sourdough44 said:
For a short trip to Victoria I would leave the plane and take the ferry, much less hassle.
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it's an easy foray into international ops I would think. I'm actually considering it for a trip this summer, but you're right, cheaper to hop to friday or wherever I can catch the ferry easiest and head out from there.
 
PeeGee said:
it's an easy foray into international ops I would think. I'm actually considering it for a trip this summer, but you're right, cheaper to hop to friday or wherever I can catch the ferry easiest and head out from there.
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Probably the easiest is to just fly to Port Angeles (KCLM). It's a quick cab ride to the Black Ball ferry terminal, then a reasonably short ferry trip across the Strait to Victoria.
 
Out here in CA, check out Half Moon Bay (you can walk to restaurants and bay). You could certainly spend a couple of days in Napa/Sonoma, but you'll need a car. Yosemite is worth a couple of days (or even a week; it is the crown jewel of the national park system) and you'll need a car for that. Lots of great stuff along the coast (Shelter Cove, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Oceano/Pismo, Santa Barbara).
 
CT4ME said:
While down around Grand Canyon you should really check out Lake Powell, Monument Valley, Bryce, and maybe even Sedona. You could easily hit them all in one day, but suggest you maybe use Page (KPGA) as at least an overnight base. If it's going to be after late Spring or Summer, early morning flights will be your friend.
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Check out the slot canyons at Page. An overnight at Sedona is a must. There is lodging on the plateau with the airport. That's where people go to watch the sunset.
 
Custer Stare Park 3V0. Nice park, see Mt. Rushmore. Spearfish, SD KSPF is a friendly airport with all the services you need fuel... Were I got my PPL. Dead Wood, SD just down the road. Enjoy your trip.
 
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Durango, CO. Nice mountain town. Pretty easy approach from the southwest, and not deep enough into the Rockies to be a difficult to fly into. About 200sm from Lake Powell/Page, and 250sm from the Grand Canyon. Ride the narrow gauge rail up to Silverton, CO for a nice day trip.

Colorado Springs, CO. Ride the cog train up Pike's Peak.

I second Lake Powell. Very neat area geographically. Nice lake. Impressive dam (only a few feet shorter than the Hoover Dam).

Arches National Park in Moab, UT.

There are so many cool places out west, I can't imagine you could run out of stuff to see. Have fun, fly safe, and good luck!
 
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