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Arizona / Grand Canyon Trip

Greenley

Well Known Member
Thursday 5/31 I started the biggest trip yet with my RV. The plan is to fly from Michigan to Tennessee, pick up my dad and take him to Arizona. We will spend a weekend exploring around Page, AZ, then off to Flagstaff to meet the outfitters for an 8 day raft trip down the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon. Today trip was a quick 2 1/2 hours from C91 to KCSV, Crossville, TN, home of trade-a-plane.
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Low clouds and scattered showers made me really appreciate the autopilot and all the information you have on the big G3X screens for the IFR flight.
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About 30 minutes short of Crossville I had to cross a line of thunderstorms. While ATC helped find a big whole in the line, it was sure nice to also see it on the screens. A few minutes later the clouds were all gone, canceled IFR and reached the first days destination.

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Arizona / Grand Canyon Day 2

Today we flew from Crossville, TN to Page, AZ. The day started out slow. The plan was to leave at 4:30 am, an hour before sunrise. The FBO had given me the gate code, but they forgot to tell me you had to hit # before using the code. Could not reach anyone the number of after hours service, so called the city police department. They send an officer by who let us in. We finally left at 5:15am.
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Some low scattered clouds, especially tucked down in the valleys, but a beautiful morning. We did see evidence of flooding when we crossed the Mississippi.
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First fuel stop was Okmulgee, OK. Very helpful, and after 4.2 flight hours we were ready for breakfast. Out second fuel stop was planned for Sandia East (1N1) but with a healthy crosswind and a 30' runway I opted to pay a little more and stop at Moriarty (0E0). Wow was it busy. There was some sort of sailplane competition going on. It was a lot of fun spending a little time there watching the tow launches and the landings, some on the runways, some on the taxiways.
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From Moriarty we went north around Albuquerque, NM. Wow, there is some rough terrain around there.
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Arizona / Grand Canyon Day 2

Continuing for the Albuquerque area we headed by monument valley. I kept thinking, that the emergency landing opportunities were few indeed, and would fly a little higher.

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Shorty after passing Monument Valley, Lake Powell came into view, and we knew the end was near. Going by Navajo Mountain, it still had snow at its peak, even though that was only about 10,500 ft.
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After flying an extra long pattern to make way for a Gulf Stream that was determined cut corners, we finally arrived at Page, AZ. Flight time from Crossville was 10.0 hours, with a strong head wind the whole way. Hopefully those winds will bless us on our way home.
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The FBO had our car waiting for us, and we soon were on our way. The first stop was a river overlook, we had to get a look at the river we would spend 8 days on.
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The Glen Canyon **** is quite a sight.
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I hope the rental car company does not mind a little desert exploration.
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Tomorrow we are off to explore the area around Page, then Sunday flying Flagstaff to meet the white water outfitters.
 
Arizona / Grand Canyon Day 3

Saturday we went to church and explored the Page, AZ by car. I had never been here before, and would hate to drive this far, but by RV it was a fun ride. I am enjoying the different plant life.
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The Glen Canyon **** is also very impressive.
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Saturday afternoon we went for a hike to an out of the way section of antelope canyon. On the way we found these baby geodes, they covered the ground in some areas.
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Our hike was 7 miles there in back across the desert, we carried lots of water.
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Arizona / Grand Canyon Day 4

Today we are flying from Page, AZ, over the Grand Canyon to Flagstaff where we will meet the group to go rafting.

We started the day by hiking down to Lake Powell, we had seen it so much we should we should reach out and touch it.
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Yet more flower pictures, amazing where beauty can grow.
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Then off to the airport to depart for Flagstaff. While waiting on the fuel truck I noticed mine wasn't the only RV.
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After lift off we circled Lake Powell to gain altitude. Page is at 4300' and you want to be at 8,000' to start down Marble Canyon, and at 10,500' by the time you hit the Grand Canyon area.
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As we turned toward Marble Canyon we passed over Horseshoe Bend.
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Arizona / Grand Canyon Day 4b

We finally crossed into the Grand Canyon corridor. I saw several helicopters pass well under us. Here a few quick shots, I was uncomfortable taking too much time to set them up as I have been repeatedly told this airspace can be very busy.
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Here we are all tied down, unloaded and the plane put to bed as we prepare to head out on our big rafting trip. It has been several days of great scenery. Will post more when we get back from rafting. Can you imagine days of no internet or WiFi. :)

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Very nice Bill! I am dreaming of a Grand Canyon/Las Vegas trip! The raft excursion sounds like a must! Thanks for the write up and pictures!
 
Off on my next trip, so better finish up this report. 6:00am Monday morning we met the bus for the trip back to Page, AZ where the rafting was due to start. I was surprised by the group going. My dad at 78 was not the oldest in the group, there was another man who was 80, and a number of folks in the 70's. You are never too old to follow your dreams.


We donned our life jackets, loaded the gear and headed out.

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Heading down river.

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The water changed color after some other rivers brought in their runoff.

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Sometimes the splashes felt great when you were hot in the sun, but early in the day, when still in the shade it could get cold.

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Hard to describe the endless tableau of incredible scenery.

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The tour company put together great meals, these were Salmon steaks. I am a vegetarian, but it was clear people really enjoyed. They also made good vegetarian options.

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Come late afternoon we would find a sandy area by the river and set up camp.

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Breakfast the first morning was hash browns and eggs fixed how you would like.

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More incredible sites.

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Rafting is about getting splashed.
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Crazy to see this waterfall coming out of the rock wall.
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Here I am exploring a side canyon.
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More side hikes.
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An important part of life, the groover.
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The stars were incredible at night.
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More river.
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The little Colorado had a totally different color, we spent some time floating in it, it was MUCH warmer then the Colorado river.
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Here I am floating downriver.
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The little Colorado is incredible.
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Here I am taking a break on a hike.
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My dad is coming back from a hike we did to another side canyon.
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Our camp one night, notice the tripod setup for star photography.
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Supper on the grill.
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More canyon.
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A lot more water.
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Fresh baked brownies in a dutch oven.
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Someone brought an old Edmund scientific Astroscan telescope to look at the moon and stars. I remember dreaming of getting one of these. Sadly they are not made anyone.
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Elves Chasm, a short hike up a side canyon.
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Sometimes we found great showers, this beat washing in the river.
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Had a friend beside my cot one morning.
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This waterfall by the river had so much water coming down you could not get very close, the wind generated by the falling water was so fierce.
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Yet more splashing. :)
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Another side river, the Havasupai river.
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It looked very similar to the little Colorado river.
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One night the crew baked lasagna in the dutch ovens, along with a chocolate cake.
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Moonlit canyon wall with stars.
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Big horn sheep along river.
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Our last few minutes of rafting, a gentle float to our takeout.
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We got back to Flagstaff around noon, begged a ride to the airport and headed to Tennessee to drop off my dad.

Crop circles, I guess there really are aliens.
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The further east we went the greener it got.
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This lake in Missouri looks like it would be a lot of fun to boat.
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Had to throw this in, I had never seen irrigation canals like this.
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Back home for a few days then will be starting the next trip visiting friends and family in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Montana, North Dakota and back home.
 
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