We had a trip to South Dakota in the list for the first summer after Sandra retires. In late spring, we got notice that a Musketeer fly-in was being planned for Rapid City in June this year. The date was the weekend after school was out (for the admin staff), so by taking the last afternoon off, we could make it if the plane was ready and the weather allowed.
The fly-in date was June 18. I returned from Lubbock with the Mouse on the 9th and it seemed to be fixed so...... On the 11th, I went out to the airport to begin cleaning up the loose ends from the engine problems. I finish swapping the EGT/CHT leads, re-dress all the wiring and hoses on the right side of the engine compartment and removed the SCAT hose for the cabin air from the left side. Tuesday morning, I went to Tex-air for a replacement hose and out to the airport. Install the new hose, dress the left side wiring and put the top cowl back on. Then pull it out for a much needed bath. Now, the Mouse is ready to go.
Since Devil's Tower is only 40 miles west of Rapid City, and it is only 100 miles further to Sheridan, WY which is only a short drive from Little Big Horn, and since neither of us has to be any place until Jun 26, why not expand the trip? Best guess with good weather will be 7 days.
Now, another consideration enters in. It is already summertime and the temperature will be hot and density altitudes (see glossary) up. This will limit the performance of the Mouse unless we keep the weight down. How do we carry 8 days of clothing and enough gas to make 2-3 hour legs?
On paper, we have 937lbs useful load. This includes gas, bodies and baggage. For a 3 hour leg, we will need 40-45 gallons of gas or 270lbs. Bodies with clothing, cameras, purse, flight bag, etc are 425lbs. If we can keep the bags part under 40lbs, we will be 200lbs under gross. That should do it. The only way to keep the bags weight down is to plan to do laundry somewhere. We will leave on Thursday with 3 full changes and an extra set of underwear and shirts figuring that we can do laundry Sunday night in Rapid City and have a spare change of clothing less slacks or jeans for overruns.
All that done, we are almost ready. At Tex-Air on Tuesday, I also pick up the sectionals for Wichita, Omaha, Cheyenne and Billings. Now we can flight plan in earnest. Laying out the route, we can stop everywhere we want to see and only have one overnight at a place with no special interest. The Omaha sectional proves to have been unnecessary as we only pass across the overlap between it and the Wichita and Cheyenne sectionals. The only long day will be from Sheridan to Dodge City, but that is literally downhill all the way.
Wednesday morning, the long range forecast shows at least 5 days of good weather over our route. I spend all day flight planning and building navigation logs. Wednesday night, we pack carefully.
Getting to South Dakota
Sandra gets in shortly after noon on Thursday and after weather briefing, we head for the airport. Preflight and load up. We are in the air shortly after 1:30 for the short hop to Gainesville for fuel. Taxiing out at Gainesville, the OAT is 95 degrees and we realize that we have left our ventilated seat cushions in the hangar. Level at 4500', it is down to just under 70, so it will be bearable in flight.
The intended route is 345 degrees until we can pick up the Kingfisher VOR northwest of Oklahoma City. The briefing indicated that the VOR was out of service until 1800, so we will have to adjust slightly. We steer 340 and watch the sectional closely intending to pick up the highway from Chickasha to El Reno somewhere around Minco. The physical location of the VOR will be easy to find and there are some ground features there that will allow us to set up a course for Alva.
We reach the highway just south of Minco and turn north. Over El Reno and out to the highway intersections just SE of the VOR. Turn back to the northwest and setup for the next landmark. After we are a few miles past the VOR I get the crazy idea to turn it on. It is back up and it is only a little after 4! Even without the VOR, this would be easy. We have the Cimmarron River off our right wing for nearly 20 miles before it jogs west and we have it off our left wing for another 15 miles. By this time, we will only be 20 miles from Alva.
All goes as planned and we are in the pattern for 17 at Alva shortly after 4:30. Land and taxi up to a nice new FBO. The line boy (man) comes out to meet us and we chat while we clean up the cockpit and record the times. I make the picture and we all go inside. I had called ahead and they have made a motel reservation and will loan us the airport car for the night. We can see clouds to the west building towards a big thunderstorm and they offer to put the bird in a hangar for the night.
With the Mouse safely tucked in, we get in the FBO land yacht and head for town. The driver in charge has several chuckles getting used to the early 80s Lincoln Town Car, but it is really transportation in style (of a sort) for people of our age.
The first stop is O'Reilly's auto parts. Buy ventilated seat cushions! That little layer of fresh air between the vinyl seat cover and our butts makes all the difference. Then find the motel, a home owned and operated place that is clean and well furnished. Our first floor, king size has a refrigerator and microwave for $39. Small towns are wonderful!
The way you can tell if you are really in a small town is when you ask the FBO for recommendations for dinner. After eliminating the obligatory chain restaurants, you are left with the bowling alley cafe. The food was great and we had dessert (Boston Cream pie, homemade) that we literally had to stuff down because we were so full.
Come out of the cafe to a truly ominous sky. Glad the Mouse is inside. Explore town a little, winding up at the Wal-Mart supercenter for some breakfast stuff, as the motel doesn't provide the "continental" breakfast found in bigger towns. Back to the Motel with lightening all over the west and north.
We settle into the room as a few sprinkles of rain begin. Shortly, the sprinkles become a monsoon. Lightening becomes nearly continuous and the rain is coming in sheets with an occasional hailstone mixed in. Putting the Mouse inside was a truly great idea! Our door faces north and the rain is coming so hard and fast against it that it is soon coming under it and running across the entry tiles, wetting the carpet. I call the front desk and he says do what you have to, he'll bring more towels as soon as it lets up. I take the bath towels and mop up as much as I can, leaving 2 of them stuffed into the bottom of the door.
When the 10:00 news comes on, the storm, still in progress south and east of us is the whole story. Some tornadoes spotted, straight line winds higher than 70mph, power outages all over the area. Sure am glad we opted to put the plane in a hangar.
Friday morning is bright and clear, without a cloud to be seen. We get showered and dressed, eat our breakfast and head for the airport, arriving just as the line boy does. He pulls the plane out and adds gas while we load bags and install the seat cushions. Flight service says that we may arrive at our next stop before the morning clouds burn completely off, but they should be no problem.
Takeoff is shortly after 9:00 and it is 166 miles from here to the first VOR. With few references on the sectional except a few secondary roads, we hit our first identifiable location (crossing US54) right on. Then over the town of Kinsley and out across the nothingness of western Kansas. We soon pick up the Hill City VOR and cross it. Then out bound to the Searle VOR at Ogallala, NE.
Funny thing about VORs. Some of them are stout, some are weak. We have the Hill City signal about the time we cross Kinsley. Not locked, but useable. We didn't get a good signal from Searle until we were within about 30 miles. By this time we are flying above a scattered to broken layer of small puffies.
Soon, we have Ogallala and the South Platte river in sight. Into the pattern and land on 13 into a stiff wind. Taxi to the ramp and the only sign of life is a guy fueling his Tomahawk. The FBO is nice, but totally deserted. There is a sign on the door for local transportation, a shuttle bus for $2 a head. We call and he soon arrives. He drops us at the town center and we eat buffalo burgers in the "saloon". They were quite good!
The principle reason for stopping here is the prominent place that Ogallala has in "Lonesome Dove". The only items of interest other than the tourist lure we were at was The Mansion on the Hill and Boot Hill. Stuffed with buffalo, we decide to hoof it to those places and call the shuttle from Boot Hill. It is 10 blocks up (I do mean up) and 3 blocks over to the mansion. It was so named because it is near the top of the hill. Nice late 19th century town house with a number of period furnishings. Boot Hill was only 3 blocks up from there and then up the hill. Simulated headboards read and pictures taken, we called the shuttle.
Pull the plane over to the pumps and add 20 more gallons. Then off to Rapid City. This will be 183nm, starting from the Searle VOR and ending at the Rapid City VOR. We already know that Searle is weak and there will be few landmarks until we reach the road/railroad combo between Gordon and Chadron. Get a firm fix on the compass heading required to hold the outbound radial then maintain that out over the void. We finally get a firm fix on our location from a ranch/lake/road configuration 15 miles south of the road/railroad. We are 3 miles left of our plotted course line and over 100nm from Ogallala. Minor correction, then straight over Pine Ridge locking in the Rapid VOR as we go.
Out over the Badlands National Park. If you have never seen the Badlands, it is awesome. It is the west Texas caprock multiplied. But where there are several colors in the caprock, here there is only green and buff. It is nature's erosion on an unimaginable scale. It extends out the left side as far as you can see and then some. From the sectional, the park extends 70 miles, but the geographic feature extends another 70.
As we clear them, I look ahead and am looking down 32 at Rapid City 25 miles directly ahead. I tell Ellsworth approach I have the field in sight and the current ASOS and am handed over to the tower. The wind is 160@17G25 and the density altitude is 5900'. We seem to float forever, but make a good touchdown. Taxi in to the Westjet ramp and shutdown. While talking to the line boy, cleaning up the cockpit, etc., Bill Franklin (the Fly-in organizer) and Stephen walk over to welcome us.
Bill is waiting for at least one more plane to arrive, so after talking a while, we move the Mouse to the parking area. Steven takes Sandra and I to the motel, giving us a quick tour of town as we go. There are 2 other attendees already checked in, but I can't get either of them. Sandra and I are about to walk next door to Chili's for dinner when Bill comes in. He and Laura have come to take all willing to dinner. We go to the Chili's anyway.
We have just ordered when Bill gets a phone call. Two more pilots have arrived. He runs to pick them up and Laura, Sandra and I eat our meals. He returns and we all scoot around to make some more room at the table. They order and we have dessert. Then back to the motel for the night.
The Fly-in Fly-by
Saturday morning has a few low clouds, but by the time we eat breakfast and head for the airport, they are gone. By this time, there are 7 Mice at Rapid City and at least 1 more expected. We all gather in the flight school briefing room to brief the fly-by. During a break, I go back to the plane to check and order fuel. On the way back to the briefing room, I see another Mouse taxi in.
The plan is simple. Take off, hang a right to near Hermosa, 13 miles away. Try to be over 6000' by there. Rushmore should be visible 10 miles to our right from there. Head directly for it and turn parallel to it remaining at least as far away as the outer edges of the parking area. Then down the valley towards Custer with Harney Peak to our right. When clear of Harney, turn northwest to Crazy Horse. From there, 12 miles up the valley to Sheridan Lake and then back the 18 miles to Rapid City.
When our time comes, I position and hold. As soon as I can see sky under the Sundowner ahead of us, I roll. Density altitude is 6300' and it seems to take forever to reach rotation speed, but we are off and climbing before we pass Westjet. Love a 9000' runway. I am carefully maintaining Vy and trying to coax every last pony out of our engine, believing that the bigger engines are going to leave us in the dust. Halfway to Hermosa, we realize that we are not only out climbing the Sundowner, we are going faster. We are now several hundred feet above him and have eaten half the distance between us.
Bill radios that there is a downdraft over the ridge before Rushmore as we complete the turn. I set up for level flight towards the monument and someone says "I am now passing 500' under a Sundowner." Can't be us, we are a Musketeer. Then I see a white plane with blue trim scoot by under us about 30 degrees right of our heading. He was number two at takeoff and should have been 5 minutes ahead of us. Where has he been? The fly-by stream is now more like a gaggle. Just one more thing for me to keep track of.
Crossing the ridge, I feel the downdraft. Although we are maintaining our altitude, we are slowing down severely. Full throttle does very little. The EGT/CHT are still below limits, so I try to lean the mixture a little more. Big mistake! The engine stumbles, but before Sandra can do more than inhale, I push it back and we are purring again. That will check your heart rate for you.
I turn parallel to the monument, watching the white plane below us while Sandra takes pictures with both cameras. We fly on down the valley, just level with Harney Peak to our right. Past it, we can see Crazy Horse, but I have 2 planes in front of me. I want to remain behind them, so must wait until they turn. I finally find Dave's plane heading up the valley, but the white one continues almost to Custer before he turns. Since we are still several hundred feet above him, I turn to fall in behind him by about a half mile. He goes by the monument to the right and clears the ridge to the east by a few hundred feet. Knowing that the ridge may have up or downdrafts that close, I opt to go by to the left and stay over the valley until I can see Sheridan Lake.
Approaching the Lake, we can see the plains and the airport ahead to the right. The plan is for us to individually contact approach from here for landing instructions. We are told to report a right base for 14 and I begin a descent to pattern altitude. Reaching 4200' about 2 miles from the centerline, I set up approach speed and lower one notch of flaps. Tower then sends us on a right downwind for a regional Jet on a long final. By the time we turn final, we are over Ellsworth AFB on a five mile straight in. By the time I drop in the rest of the flaps on short final, I have been flying out of trim for 5 minutes and my left hand is beginning to cramp.
We flare smoothly but literally drop onto the concrete. I am a little late adding power and the second contact produces another bounce. But this one has little energy, so I just hold attitude and let it come back down. This time it sticks and we roll out with our fillings intact. Taxi back in for a final lineup and pictures of 7 mice all in a row.
Most of us then go to Bill's house for a burger burn. Slowly, they begin to leave and by 3:00 we are the only ones left. We have picked up our rental car after the fly by, so Sandra and Laura head for a craft fair in it while Bill and I go back to the airport to move our Mouse back to parking and clean up the briefing room. There are only 2 others on the ramp by then and one of them is firing up as we arrive. When we are driving back from the tiedown area to the briefing room, the other one is firing up. All good things come to an end.
On our own in the Black Hills
Shortly after 5, Sandra and I say our good-byes and head out on our own. Our plan is to do everything south of Rapid City this evening and to the north tomorrow. We will start down Iron Mountain Road and wind up back at Rushmore for the evening lighting ceremony.
Iron Mountain Road winds through the Black Hills southeast from Keystone through Custer State Park to the town of Custer. There are 3 tunnels and literally dozens of switchbacks. Some of them actually re-cross the road as you climb or descend the valleys. Each of the tunnels is oriented to frame the faces on Rushmore. We stopped at several lookouts to take pictures.
At one place on the east side of the ridge, the overlook was out towards the Badlands, some 30 miles away. While changing my position on the rock, I looked down and 30 feet below me was a deer grazing among the trees. Further down the road, the terrain changes to mountain meadows and most of them had some kind of animals grazing in them. Deer, antelope and finally, a buffalo.
We continued on, stopping in Custer for a Coke. Back up the valley towards the Crazy Horse monument. What a far cry from the Rushmore monument. It is 7:00PM and they close at 8, but they still want $20 to get in. We made a picture from the road and drove on.
Back around to Rushmore with nearly 30 minutes before the evening ceremony began. The presentation was inspiring with much history being well presented. The live narrator was a blonde ranger who read the first 3 verses of the Star Spangled Banner then sang the last verse a capella. She had a beautiful, true, soprano voice. The video was the story of our country and the impact on it by the four men on the mountain. Then the flag was lowered on the platform as the sculptures were illuminated.
After a quick visit to the gift shop, it was back to Rapid City for a late dinner and bed. What a day this had been.
Sunday morning again dawns with some low clouds which burn off before we have finished breakfast. We head north on I90 and go into Sturgis. The motorcycle culture doesn't truly interest us, but Sturgis is also the home of Fort Meade with a museum of the Plains Wars. We have to wait several minutes for them to open at 9:00, but the display is worth it.
The next stop is Belle Fourche, of interest to us from the movie "the Cowboys". You know, the one where Bruce Dern kills John Wayne in the most dastardly manner. We take the back road from Whitewood to Belle Fourche and find that there is really nothing of interest there on a Sunday morning.
From there, south to Spearfish and up the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. This road is beautiful, not as rugged as Iron Mountain, but still beautiful. Stops were made at several scenic places, including Bridal Veil Falls and Savoy.
Next "town" is Cheyenne Crossing. The only thing there is a gas station/general store/cafe. Looks like a good place for lunch. The food is excellent, topped of by dessert - blackberry shortcake! Wow! Now, on to Lead (pronounced Leed) and Deadwood. These two towns survive now on tourism, so they have as many "museums", art galleries and jewelry stores as there are buildings downtown. We walk the length of Main Street through the throngs gathering for a street concert. They have the street closed to traffic and it is full of lawn chairs full of people drinking beer in the blazing sun. Bet it will be lively by dusk.
Sandra buys a ring at one of the jewelry stores and we make some pictures. Then back to the car and up the hill to Mount Moriah. This is the Deadwood boot hill. Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane are buried here. Both graves are clearly and prominently marked and the tour buses stop there. We get to the graves just after a tour arrives. The tour gang blocks all access to the graves while the guide gives his spiel. The spiel includes extensive biographies of both persons along with most of the people who have played them in movies and many people only peripherally associated. When they are finally gone, we make our pictures and stroll back to the car.
This completes everything we had on the agenda and it is only mid afternoon. We look at the map and decide on the scenic route back to Rapid City. South out of Deadwood and down Nemo Road. Take the cutoff to Johnson Siding and stop at Thunderhead Falls. These "falls" are not really visible. What you see is a small cascade coming out of an old mine. The falls are 200 yards back inside the mine. The water drains from a fissure in the bed of Rapid Creek into this mine, forming these falls. Interesting diversion.
Back into town, pick up the laundry and find the Wal-Mart. Buy camera film, disks (film for the digital camera) and a couple more items. Eat dinner at a nice Italian place downtown, then hit the laundromat. Back to the motel and re-pack for tomorrow.
And finally, past the Devil to Wyoming
Monday morning dawns with low clouds again. They are almost gone while we are eating breakfast. I call the Sheridan FBO and tell them we are coming, could they get us a car and room? Sure thing says the cute voice on the other end of the phone.
When we start for the airport about 8:30, the clouds have stopped burning off and are now going the other way. By the time we get to the airport, VFR is obviously impossible. Check the satellite photo and there is a cloud mass forming on the west edge of a low. The mass covers from just east of here back into Wyoming. I call Flight Service and they say it should go away by late morning, so we wait.
Sandra drives the car back around to the FBO to turn it in and I taxi back to the FBO. Go inside, pay bill, go potty and saddle up. Although it is warming fast with the sun out, the OAT is still under 90 and the density altitude is only 5300' with a light breeze from the northwest. Taxi down to 32, do pre-takeoff and we are on our way. We reach 6500' well before Sturgis and slowly turn west towards Spearfish. From there it is due west to Devil's Tower. The haze is pretty bad, but the visibility is at least 15 miles. Sandra spots it from at least 10 miles away. I drop down to 6000 and aim just north of it. When we are about 2 miles away, I make a turn that will allow us to circle it clockwise and remain about a mile away. We circle 3/4 of the way around while Sandra snaps away with both cameras.
It is 100 miles further to Sheridan and the only real navigational aid we have is the Sheridan VOR. If it is stout, we will pick it up in about 40 miles. If it is weak, we may have to fly for 60+ miles before we get it. My intent is to fly a few degrees south of a direct course and eventually monitor our location by the Gillette VOR if we cannot see Sheridan in about 20 minutes. There are several reasons for "erring" to the south. There are more landmarks to the south; lakes, road/rail lines and worse case, I90. In about 15 minutes, a large town appears at 11:00 o'clock. A quick check with the VOR verifies that it is Gillette. We are at 6700' and their class C goes up to 6900, so I check in and am told to report overhead.
Overhead, "Gillette Tower, Four Lima Bravo is over the approach end of 17. That sure looks like a nice airport." "Why thank you. Come back and visit us sometime. We have a real nice diner on field."
I set up NAV2 with the outbound course from Gillette to Sheridan and now any navigation worries are over. We are some 12 miles south of where I plotted the course line which is the biggest error we have made in a long time. It looked even worse to us because the entire course line was on the Billings sectional and Gillette is on the Cheyenne sectional.
No harm, no foul. The balance of the trip to Sheridan was ho hum routine. Now comes the landing. Field elevation is 4021' and the ASOS says 6300 density altitude. Maintain tight speed control on approach and plan for wider turns. Smooth landing and taxi up to the FBO past all the construction of the new terminal building. The Line boy (He was probably close to my age) guides us to a parking spot and we shut down. I can look out my side at the snow covered peaks of the Bighorns.
We had originally planned to be here by 11 and it is now nearly 2. We have little chance to get to Little Big Horn and see all we might want to see today. We are both in need of lunch and a little decompress time. We had discussed the overall situation in flight and decided that we will now delay Little Big Horn until tomorrow morning and see what might be of interest in this area this afternoon. That will add a day to the trip. But who's counting? This has already surpassed New England in 2000 as our best trip ever, what's another day?
Get suggestions for a good place for a late lunch and head for town. The primary suggestion closes 2-4, so plan B goes into effect. Down the block is a sandwich shop similar in style to the one in College Station on our trip to Galveston. The sandwiches were large, hearty and delicious and the iced tea was good. We sat on the patio in the shade and watched the people going by. Unwind we did.
Then we notice that this main street looks like something out of the fifties. Brick and stone stores with facades from the time in which they were built. We see many "main streets" that look similar, but this one is different. In place of the artsy galleries, souvenir stores and antique shops, we see J C Penney, Saddles and Tack, Clothing, etc. This is a main street that still works.
Go find the Motel (3 blocks north) and check in. Park the car outside our door and go in to a room already cooled. Coffee pot, hair dryer and fridge and one unique and very nice feature. It has a door to the outside and a door to the interior hallway. We can get to the hot tub this evening without going outside.
Study the obligatory maps and brochures we had picked up to see what might be interesting. One of them indicates a scenic drive into the mountains. Now, these are MOUNTAINS! Within 20 miles of our current location are peaks reaching 11,000'. They still have snow on them and it is the first day of summer. Off we go, out to I90 and north 11 miles to the Ranchester exit. Through Ranchester and Dayton, then up the hill. And up the hill. And up the hill.
Ranchester sits at 3775' according to the city limit sign. In 25 road miles (12 air miles), we are in Burgess Crossing, at 9000'. I needed my jacket. On the ridge above, there is still snow pack. The walk into the store to get a Coke leaves us breathless. And you better open the bottle very slowly!
Back down to Sheridan and the Sheridan Inn for dinner. The Sheridan Inn is Buffalo Bills old home. The building is large and strangely beautiful. The meal is the best supper we have eaten the entire trip so far.
Then, the hot tub for 30 minutes and off to bed.
Custer wuz an idiot.
After the buffet breakfast, it is off to Montana. Little Big Horn is almost an hour drive, but the scenery is worth it. First stop is Garryowen, the museum and trading post virtually on the spot of Captain Reno's initial attack. After this on up the service road some 4.5 miles to the Little Big Horn Visitor's Center. Inside is more interpretive stuff, and then outside and walk up Last Stand Hill. Look at (and photograph) the markers where Custer, his brother and the last of his men fell, the monument, then over to the Indian memorial.
Back down to the parking lot and get in the car for the drive across the entire battlefield. See the coulee Reno retreated up to join Benteen. See the coulee Custer intended to attack across except that by the time he got there, it was full of Indians. See the saddle he retreated across until stopped just below the top of Last Stand Hill by the Indian sharpshooters on another ridge 100 yards away.
Yes, he wuz stoopid!. He watched Reno form a skirmish line and begin his advance on the south end of the Indian village. He went to the next coulee north (Medicine Tail) and started down it with the apparent intent to cross the river and attack the center of the village. Once he started down towards the river, he could no longer see Reno who by this time had been repulsed and formed a defensive line in the woods between his original position and the river. As Custer advanced down the draw to the river, every Indian brave in the whole wide world came across the river to meet him. So what does he do?
He goes north onto the saddle between the 2 draws that form Medicine Tail Coulee. This allows the Indians to advance up the draw he came down, effectively separating him from Reno and Benteen. As they attack from his left, he is forced further north to the upper end of the northern draw. As he is forced up the draw, he learns that the Indians have taken up positions on a parallel ridge immediately to the east and their sharpshooters pick off any head that pokes up over the top of the draw he is in. He is now in the upper end of a small shallow blind canyon. With Indians surrounding him and holding higher ground on 3 sides.
Had the Indians merely blocked his advance into the village, his action might have been understandable. Instead, they were on the attack and they outnumbered him at least 5 to 1. Withdrawal up the draw would have been the prudent course. This would kept the Indians in front of him or on the shallower saddle to the right. When he reached the top of the draw, he could have seen Reno retreating pell mell up the next draw south (to his left) and rejoined him. And at this time, Benteen was on the next hill south.
Reno and Benteen did join up on that hill and defended it until relieved by Terry 2 days later.
The tour completed, we head back out a little after noon. We stop at the trading post across from the entrance and decide to eat lunch there after buying a few souvenirs. This is another great lunch, now 3 days in a row.
Back down I90 to Wyoming. We had seen the signs to the Connor Battlefield in Ranchester the evening before, so this time we go looking for it. It is a nice city park with a memorial and a descriptive sign. We read the sign describing the small battle and drive through the park. Sandra parks the car in the shade of a cottonwood and takes a nap. I walked around the park and then had a short lie down myself.
Refreshed, we head back into Sheridan, stopping by the motel for the local map and then on the road to Fort Phil Kearney. There ain't much to see there either, after Little Big Horn. So, on to the Fetterman fight.
Seems that an officer named Fetterman had boasted that with 80 men, he could ride through the entire Sioux nation. He left Fort Kearney with 81 men to relieve a wood cutting detail and on a hill 3 miles north of there got himself and his entire command surrounded and wiped out.
Back into Sheridan and try to find the Trail End Museum. It is closed, so we drive through City Park (Kendrick Park) and then downtown for dinner. Our first choice is Italian and pricey. We had eaten pricey Italian Sunday night, so went to the Grub and Pub next door. The food was good, but nothing to write home about.
Back to the motel, hit the hot tub and then to bed. The 10:00 news shows rain and dying thundershowers over the mountains just west of us. Not to worry, the mouse is in a hangar again.
The longest day
Wednesday dawns with some residual clouds from the rain last night, but appears to be clearing. As we are finishing our breakfast, for some unexplained reason, I check my pockets. No airplane keys! Omigawd! We've already checked out of the room and turned in our room keys. What do we do now?
I take the cell phone and call the airport. As nonchalant as I can, I tell the cute voice that we are about ready to leave for the airport and would they get our plane out of the hangar. And by the way, if the keys are hanging in the baggage door, please call me back. Next go to the desk and tell them that I may have left something in the room, could I have a temp key so I can check. Sure enough, so I walk across the street to the rooms while Sandra gets the car. As I am walking across the front parking lot, the cell rings.
Cute voice says, "Mr. Boggs?"
"Yes."
"You can breathe now. The keys are hanging in the baggage door."
Out to the airport. Get the gate key and take it back out to Sandra. Tell the girl to call the fuel truck. Out to the plane and unlock the baggage compartment then check the fuel tanks. The guy arrives with the truck and I order enough fuel to get us to our next stop. Load bags and preflight. Add a quart of oil. Back inside and check the weather then call for my briefing. Go potty one last time and saddle up.
Off the ground shortly after 9. Next stop; Scottsbluff, NE, 264 miles away. The mountains to our left are gorgeous with their snow covered peaks in the morning sun. The valleys next to the mountains are green and lush, but each succeeding valley going east is less green and more gray. The haze is minimal and the air is clear and smooth at 7500'. Ahead, we see a big rig running down a valley on a dirt road trailing a cloud of dust behind him for 5 or more miles. Speedy Gonzalez is making his getaway.
VOR outbound from Sheridan and inbound to Gillette. Outbound from Gillette and inbound to Newcastle. The southern end of the Black Hills are right in front of us and we turn southeast, outbound from Newcastle to inbound to Chadron. After Newcastle fades out, I tune that nav to Scottsbluff. The leg from Newcastle to Chadron to Scottsbluff has a knee I can cutoff as soon as we can read Scottsbluff. We do cut off most of it and soon we can see the chain of lakes running east west north of the airport. The airport lies behind lake 3 (reading left to right). The wind is blowing right smart, but close to the runway. No traffic in the area, so we enter a left base and land on 12. Taxi in and finally see the guy waving us to parking. Shut down and Sandra heads for the FBO while I clean up and make the picture. Check the tanks and order enough fuel for the 300 mile leg after lunch as we are not sure of fuel at our intermediate stop in Wray, CO. Walk over to the terminal for lunch. The diner is clean and sparsely populated, but the food is good and cheap.
Crawl back under the yoke and wind it up again. Take off and climb straight out back up to 7500. The outside temp is 70 and we are sitting in the sun. The air is getting a little less than smooth and we are experiencing up and down excursions of 200+ feet. After discussion, we decide to abort the stop in Wray and push on to Dodge City. After all, I carried a flyover of Alabama for a year before we actually landed there and we have been carrying a flyover of Georgia since last summers trip.
We finally pass over Wray and time seems to be dragging by. 177 miles to go, but at this speed.....
"Denver Center, Four Lima Bravo. Could you give us our ground speed?"
"Uh Four Lima Bravo, we show 88 knots."
"Thanks, seem to have a little headwind."
Quick calculation time. We had 40+ gallons useable or 4+ hours fuel when we left Scottsbluff. Normal flight time would have been three hours. At this speed, we will take 3.5 hours or more if the headwind gets worse. If we can make it, it will be way too close for comfort. Quick look at sectional. We are inbound on the Goodland, KS VOR and it is less than 30 miles. The next available is Scott City, 65 miles further. Goodland it is.
"Denver, Four Lima Bravo. We need to make a fuel stop in Goodland."
"Headwinds will do that to you. Ya comin right back up?"
"Yep. Probably on the ground less than 30 minutes."
"OK, Just keep your squawk code. Call in at about 5500 on your way back up."
"Roger, see ya later."
Quick descent and again enter the left base. Nice landing and taxi up to the FBO. Check the tanks and order 20 gallons. At 10gph, that should get us to Dodge with the 15+ we had left. Drool over the 3 Cessna 195s in the hangar , potty and add some more cold water to the water bottle and head out again. The density altitude is 6900' with a field elevation of 3656. A 3250 foot difference would make our service ceiling about 8250'. 7500 is going to be hard to get to.
We make 7000 easily enough then begin to encounter the up down pattern. In the down periods, we gain no altitude. On the ups, we gain a couple hundred. It takes several cycles before we are back to 7500, but we make it. Nearing 5 o'clock, we finally have Dodge City in sight. Approaching from the northwest, I enter a left upwind about half mile west of the runway. Back around and land. After figuring out where the FBO is, taxi in and park. Guy comes out and starts tying us down. Sandra heads for the FBO while I take the picture.
This has been my longest day in the plane, 564 miles and 6.4 hours. The FBO has our car and motel set up, and the motel has a hot tub. I'm gonna need it.
Dodge City
Check into the motel and scan the brochures. Front Street, the main attraction, closes at 8 so we head there. The ticket will allow re-entry tomorrow morning, so we start in. We have examined Boot Hill and started on the museum when a guy comes through saying the gunfight will start at 7:00 sharp. Go back down to Front Street and find seats on the tables. The acting is lousy, but the choreography is great.
After the smoke clears, we check out a couple of the stores and then go to the Long Branch for the "variety" show. Again, the acting is lousy and we leave after 45 minutes to find something to eat. Then to the hot tub and bed.
Thursday illustrates one of the biggest advantages of our mode of travel. We have several more sights we wish to see after we finish Front Street. We will be fine if we are in the air by 2:00. If we are done earlier, we can takeoff and stop for lunch at Chickasha which will break the 315nm flight into smaller chunks.
We hit Front Street at 8:30 and are done by 10:00. Drive around, finding the El Capitan statue, the 9/11 memorial and the Wyatt Earp Statue. Then out to Fort Dodge and the Coronado Cross. It is a little past 11, the breakfast waffles are holding up well and we must go past the airport to get back into town, so lets eat lunch in Chickasha.
Fueled, preflighted and briefed, we take off about 11:45. It is hazy in the extreme, but we have no problem setting up an outbound from The Dodge VOR and holding that course after it fades. We run with the Cimmarron River bed on our right for a while until it jogs east (This section of the river is miles upstream and further west than the section we followed northward last Thursday). Then we run with it on our left, passing between Waynoka and Mooreland. Then across the west end of Canton Lake and back onto the DFW sectional. Past Watonga and Hinton and start looking for US81. We find the lake northwest of town that marks our descent point, but in the haze, I start an approach to an industrial park about 3 miles north of the real airport. Since I hadn't been able to identify the runway, we hadn't actually set up for a pattern entry when we realize the mistake. By this time, we can easily see the real runway. Minor correction and set up for landing. I swing far enough east to make a downwind entry, but as there is no other traffic, visible or on radio, we enter a left base,
Land, taxi in and shut down. Sandra heads for the FBO while I clean up and make the picture. The FBO guy walks from the FBO into the adjacent hangar as I am walking in and by the time I have gone potty, he is parking the courtesy car in front of the door, leaving the engine running and the AC going. Talk about service!
He suggests a place called Jake's Ribs on the south side of town. We find it with no problem. I order the sliced beef sandwich and Sandra the turkey. There is more meat than bun, the meat melts in your mouth and the sauce is mild and flavorful. We seem to have hit the mother lode of lunches this trip.
Stuffed, we head back to the airport, pull the plane to the pumps and add some gas and take off for home. We are just about to 5500, watching the OAT fall below 70 when Ft Sill approach warns us of a target at 12 o'clock, northwest bound indicating 5500. I hold at 5200 and turn slightly right.
"Four Lima Bravo, you're holding at what altitude? Target is 2 miles 11 o'clock."
"Four Lima Bravo is 5200. Target in sight passing to my left. Continuing to 5500."
It was a light twin, level and northwest bound at an altitude reserved for easterly traffic and talking to no one. Idiot! Sigh, back to the task of getting home. 5500' is smooth and cool, but the haze is almost bad. I can tell that the haze extends much higher than we wish to climb for a 130nm hop, so we do the best we can. Straight pilotage from here, as we are entering territory we are familiar with. Pass between the lakes north of Duncan and between Healdton and Ringling. Just west of Falconhead and across the Red River. We are back in Texas!
Over Gainesville, Our starting place 7 days ago, I begin a slow descent. Across Lake Ray Roberts and Celina into the normal approach to Aero Country. We touchdown shortly before 3:30 and taxi to the hangar. Unload stuff and then some more stuff. Can the trash and put the rest in the van. Put our trusty bird back in its nest, promising to come out in a few days and clean 7 states worth of bugs off it. We are home.
The statistical data.
8 days gone, (Thur through Thur) flying 6 of them.
7 States flown over; Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado.
4 new states landed in
8 new airports
20.2 hours in the logbook
We visited 3 places that are (or should be) high on everybody's list of places to see. Rushmore, Devil's Tower and Little Big Horn. And a number of other lesser places. We adjusted our schedule as needed to get the most out of the trip and were only delayed 3 hours by weather. We saw the country from an angle few see it. The Mouse performed flawlessly, giving us everything we asked of it. It made us proud of it in comparison to the other baby Beeches with more horsepower.
This was truly our best trip ever.
