Trip Out West

It was summertime and I was 20 years old and still in college.  In my logbook it shows that I had taken my instrument pilot check ride in Huntington West Virgina on June 8^th, 1990.  When I flip the page my next flight was on June 15^th and Dad and I were off on our big adventure.  We spent quite a bit of time working on the flight planning.  If you recall back then there was no GPS with a moving map that shows you terrain and airspace to keep you out of trouble.  We had all of the US maps and they were marked up with yellow marker to make sure we didn’t get ourselves into trouble in the high terrain of the West. 

I worked as a hostess/banquet server at the Hyatt hotel in Lexington.  One of the benefits was free hotel rooms anywhere that had a Hyatt hotel.  We also planned some camping in Grand Canyon and Yellowstone so we had a very full aircraft even with the backseat left in eastern Kentucky.  When my Dad was younger he did a trip similar to this one in a car with his Mom, Uncle Herman and Aunt ‘Neice.  He wanted to go to some specific places that they went to on that trip.  One of the main ones I remember was Knott’s Berry Farm.  I most definitely wanted to use my free hotel rooms in some of the most expensive places in the United States.  Of course I chose San Diego and San Francisco.  The most logical reason for us to be taking a trip of this magnitude was because I needed to build flight time for my Commercial and Flight Instructor ratings.

Our trip was 21 days and 54.4 flight hour adventure.  I am only able to touch on the highlights in this article.  This trip helped me to mature as a pilot and really as a person.  The United States is a very large country and during this trip I really was able to see that first hand.  We flew out of my hometown airport Combs airport with stops in Jackson, Tennessee and Paris Texas then we landed at Dallas Love Field in Texas where we spent the night.  I think I saw my first sky scrapers up close and personal.  We flew through Midland Odessa to El Paso.  In El Paso we stayed in the same hotel as the Globe Trotters.  I remember thinking those guys were so funny.  The landscape and the mountains were amazing.  I remember seeing mountains that were 50 miles away and thinking that is not possible.  Next stop, Phoenix, and that was my first BIG airport.  Back then they called them a TCA and now we call them Class B.  That is where I took the picture of the American jet.  We actually parked our airplane where there was a flight school.  I couldn’t believe you could learn to fly in that crazy environment with jets everywhere and the controllers were chattering non-stop.  Now it is funny because Phoenix isn’t really that busy compared to some other places I fly. 

Our next stop was to the Grand Canyon to camp.  We then went to Las Vegas and spent the day walking around Hoover Dam.  We did stay downtown and I was definitely captivated by all the lights.  It was, and still is, one of the most beautiful places to fly into when it is dark.  From Vegas we went to San Diego where we stayed about 3 days.  I remember the hotel staff giving us a fruit plate and champagne since I was an employee.  It was my first experience with getting treated like a first class individual.  The hotel was on the bay and the sailboats were so beautiful.  We did go to the zoo and I, being in love with all of God’s creations, was in heaven.  Even to this day San Diego is one of my favorite places and it might have started with this trip.  We flew into Santa Barbara, then Oakland California where we rented a car and drove into San Francisco.  This was probably a bad idea since we got lost and a cop stopped to help us and tell us that we shouldn’t be in this area.  He followed us to our hotel and once we were there we stayed in the touristy side of town.  Our room was amazing and we again stayed about 3 or 4 days and enjoyed the great food and piers of San Fran.  We flew to Crescent City in Northern California where had actual instrument approaches because of fog. We spent the night in Portland, Oregon where I remember it was a beautiful place.  From there we flew to Lewiston, Idaho where we saw a bunch of potato farms.  We stopped at Missoula, Montana before heading to Yellowstone National Park.  We camped and I even went swimming in the really cold lake, which was run off from the snow on the mountains.  We saw geysers.  One of the most vivid memories was the very large “deer.”  My Dad decided to get up close and personal with this giant beast.  The animal took a few steps toward Dad and we both had that moment of worry that this large deer/ moose could run over him.  Of course he was just bluffing, but we did get further away from him to give him more space.  On our way to Spearfish, Montana we did some turns around a point over the Devil’s tower.  We got some fuel at Deadwood South Dakota and while flying around Mt Rushmore I was trying to get some video and I was feeling pretty sick.  So we landed at Wall South Dakota and I ate and rested.  It was a little touristy town for Mt. Rushmore and it turned out to be one of the more interesting stops.  After that we headed on to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  I remember eating at a Mexican restaurant and having fried ice cream for the first time.  We landed in Peoria, Illinois and then onto Lexington, Kentucky.  From there we headed home to Eastern Kentucky after a long and exhausting trip.

I remember being annoyed with my Father sometimes during this trip.  Little things got on my nerves and I am sure I got on his too.  To be that close can be difficult especially for 21 days.  I think this trip probably was more of a life lesson for me than attending college.

Regardless of the fact that it was at times difficult to be together for that amount of time, we became very close after this trip.  We talk about this trip all the time.  I have a large map of the United States sitting in my office right behind me as I write this.  It shows our complete trip with red pins and the number and place of each leg.  I also have pins for my trips from flight instructing, other jobs and American.  But the reason for the map is to highlight one of the most magical trips I have ever taken.  Thanks to my Father who was willing to give up 3 weeks and who knows how much money to make a wonderful life experience for us.