Day 24 The Last Leg and Trip Recap

Leaving Monterey

 It was a very scenic flight from Monterey to Santa Rosa.

Bye Bye Monterey

We left the Monterey Peninsula behind.

Santa Cruz from the Air

Flew towards densely populated Santa Cruz area. Then over the hills and San Jose.

Over SFO

 It was definitely a bird's eye view as we were  very close to SFO at 3000'.

Over San Francisco

Then the City itself. We could feel home getting closer and closer.

SF and Oakland Bay Bridge

It was a perfect day for taking photos.

Marin & Golden Gate Bridge

 The Golden Gate Bridge is always a special sight from Bravo.

Landing in Santa Rosa

 

We went into Santa Rosa for appointments, lunch and a visit to the new Whole Foods store to replenish the fridge.

Home to TSR CA51

Home in sight!

Lots of Unpacking

The Fly Kaplan Air Trip 2010

 TSR
John Day, Oregon
Missoula, Montana
Spearfish, South Dakota
Lawrence, Kansas
Madison, Wisconsin
Chicago, Illinois
Lincoln, Nebraska
Erie, Colorado (near Boulder)
Gunnison, Colorado
Richfield, Utah
Bishop, California
Monterey, California
Santa Rosa, California
TSR

Trip Facts for our journey:
24 days
3875 Nautical Miles
25 hours flight time, 100% VFR
315 gallons fuel
12 States
14 Airports
Highest flight altitude: 17,500 over the Colorado Rockies

This is the last post from Captain Steve and Co-Captain Anita. It's been great to fly with you.

Day 22 & 23: Monterey to TSR

Sunrise over Monterey Bay

Wednesday
We attended our investment conference this morning and came away believing that our economy will rise again because of the  incredible innovative technology and products that are in the works. Of particular note is a product called livescribe, a pen that listens and records as you write.  You can learn about it at www.livescribe.com


In the afternoon Steve did a group bike ride along Monterey Bay while Anita did a walking tour of Carmel art galleries.


Tomorrow we head home.


Thursday morning… breakfast, meeting, packing, off to 
Santa Rosa and then HOME! 

Seagull Appreciating Sunrise from our Hotel Deck

Day 21 California...Almost Home

Entering California/first green after Nevada

We departed Torrey, Utah, early, breakfasted in Richfield at the Wonder Cafe, which is an hour's drive from our hotel. Bravo was waiting for us at the airport. We flew over Utah and the San Francisco Mountians through Nevada (smoothest ride ever over NV) and landed in Bishop, which is in a valley between the White Mountains and the eastern edge of the southern Sierras.

Creek around Bishop

Lunched at the tiny Bishop airport at the Thai Thai Restaurant and tried to convince the owner to move to the north coast. No luck with that. It was a tasty  stop and good to stretch after the 2 hour flight.

Mountains Ahead

The next leg of the flight took us over some snowy 14,000' peaks. It was already 80 degrees at 1 p.m. so climbing was slow.

View from Bravo

The scenery was beautiful across the Sierras and the flying was fine.

Front Window View from Bravo

This was only the second time we used oxygen on the trip. Steve commented that with all our flying we were never in IFR (instrument conditions) at all.

Rear Window from Bravo

 In fact, we had only one day of occasional showere on the ground for the three weeks we were traveling.

Salinas fields and city

Today's destination is Monterey and we are 14 minutes away as I'm writing this in the plane to get a head start on the blog. We are here for an investment conference. It is always informative as the company does investments with startup companies and cutting edge products and technology.

First View of Monterey Bay and Airport

Monterey Bay from the grou

  

Day 20 Calf Creek Falls

Calf Creek Waterfall

A Pretty Rock

A Rock Sheep looking backward

Hiking to Calf Creek Falls, in Escalente NP, was easier than other hikes as there was minimal elevation gain. We started early as it was going to get hot. At 7 am it was 45º and by noon it was 80º. We were dressed in layers. The hike was a 6 mile round trip along Calf Creek, so named because the early pioneers kept weaned calves in the natural pasture created by the box canyon above the creek. There are also pictographs visible along the way showing that this area was used by people for thousands of years. We stopped often to take photos on the way there, a few are below. When we reached the falls after an hour and 40 minutes we pleasantly surprised to see a gorgeous falls falling 126' to an icy pond.

Below are some photos of those fabulous rocks, some look very much like animals, others I named myself

Three Scoops Please

Calf Creek Waterfall with Steve & Anita

Calf Creek close up

Gambel Oak Leaves Along Creek

Graceful Dead Tree Along Creek

Day 19 Lotsa Rocks

Capitol Reef National Park is known as Utah's sleeper National Park. But it's definitely not one to sleep through (or miss). We hiked, had a picnic lunch, stopped in the Visitor's Center, and hiked again. Our legs are well exercised and so are our eyes. Every switchback on the trails reveal another sight at which to gasp. And the rocks in desert colors of ochre, beige, charcoal and sand are carved in shapes that have been named Golden Throne, Fern's Nipples, Navajo Knobs, Chimney Rock as well as Capitol Dome. Just let your imagination go and you can see a whale or a rabbit.

View from our room at the Best Western

Snake in our path on trail

Day 18 Conquering the Rockies

Steve with sister Joan and Brother -in-law, Steve

We bid Joan & Steve goodbye and took off by 9:30 am. This leg of the trip is my least favorite. With the Rockies in front of us I know that turbulence is likely and oxygen is necessary as we climb high enough to get over the peaks and clouds directly above the peaks.

The Rocky Mts. from Bravo

Today, though moderate turbulence was forecast, at 15,000'we experienced only short periods of light chop. Steve did get nervous when we started losing altitude because of down drafts. He had to struggle to keep us level. At one point we were doing only 90 knots ground speed. Normal cruising speed is 150 knots so we felt we could have been running alongside.

the Rocky Mountains in early October after the first snow

At the end of an hour and 10 minutes N1562B (affectionately known as Bravo) brought us to the end of high altitude flying and into Gunnison, Colorado (elevation 7700');. Our destination was the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. we drove for an hour in a loaner airport car to get there. This is an awesome gorge, so deep, so sheer, and so narrow that very little sunlight can penetrate it, thus it is called "black." The Gunnison River can barely be seen from the rim. It was cold but clear.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

Then back in the car & back in the plane and on to our final destination of the day. We flew for another hour and 45 minutes with a tail wind now to land at Richfield, Utah, where Steve just happened to know a good ice cream store. After refreshments we drove (rental car) to Torrey, Utah where we will be hiking for the next two days in Capitol Reef National Park.

Over Flying near  Canyonlands National Park

Day 17 Lightening Strikes

Steve Rosof doing computer jigsaw puzzles

Today was a weather induced "feet on the ground day." The forecasts were for thunderstorms over the mountains and we decided to take advantage of Steve's sister, Joan, & brother-in-law, Steve's, hospitality for one more day. Luckily they said yes, and we had a quiet and relaxing time together. Steve Rosof taught me how to do jigsaw puzzles on the computer on the New Yorker Magazine site that offers its covers in three levels of puzzles. This is dangerous for me as I had so much fun I can see it eating into my sewing time.

Pearl Street, Bould

Our morning walk was easy, on sidewalks and flat pathways. We all went for lunch and a stroll on Pearl Street, the beautiful pedestrian shopping street that runs for about 8 or 10 streets in downtown Boulder. Pearl Street has the usual benches and trees along with many shops and restaurants, but there's also a children's sandbox playground, a tall boulder with a waterfall, and many musicians to entertain right there to enjoy as you stroll. Boulder, nestled as it is along the front range, is a people friendly place.

The Old Courthouse, Pearl St., Boulder

The broken clouds gave way to threatening dark clouds over the mountains in the direction we were headed. Late in the afternoon the threat became real and the lightening show began. We were glad we waited before leaving.

Tomorrow we are headed for Capitol Reef National Park and Escalante National Monument via Gunniston/Crested Butte if the skies are favorable. The weather report is fine.

Day 15 & 16 Boulder

Sunrise from Lafayette, Colorado

Joan & Steve's house faces east so we had a treat of seeing a beautiful sunrise.

View of Sunshine Canyon from Mt. Sanitas

A visit to Boulder wouldn't be complete without a hike up a mountain. Niece, Allison, took us for a challenging morning hike up Mt. Sanitas. We started at 5400' elevation and climbed straight up 1400' over large rocks and small boulders. It was trial by fire getting the old lungs acclimated to the local altitude. Luckily the morning was cool which made the hike bearable. 

View of Boulder from Mt. Sanitas

 The view at the top was a wonderful reward as we had a birdseye view of Boulder and all surrounding communities. Here we are in the foothills of the Rockies looking out at the plain for as far as you could see. We also got to see some of the areas that were burned in their recent fire. It was sad

At the Top of Mt. Sanitas, Anita, Steve, Allison & friend, Felicity

After the hike we spent the rest of the day relaxing and feeling good to have our feet on solid earth. The weather here was perfect, mid 70's and sunshine.

Wren with doll, Tulip

On day two on the ground we found the local gym for an invigorating swim. I spent the remainder of the day with Joan shopping in unusual places like a vintage kimono shop that shared a building with a used car dealer.  Steve biked. After school we met up with Allison and kids, Jens, Trace and Wren. It turns out that  5 year old Wren is quite an artist. Her paintings are creative and vibrant. She and I did a swap between artists. Wren got a handmade doll and Anita got an original Wren Hybertson painting. Both artists are very happy.