Team RV Goes to The Black Hills and Yellowstone
Labor Day 2002 |
8/29/02 Once again, with a three day weekend ahead and a plane in
the hanger, why not take a few days off and make it a 5 day trip! After a bit of
planning with 2 other members of Team RV in Georgia, we were on our way
with a nice cross country adventure. (Team RV Web Site)
Our good friends Mike & Michelle and Danny & Matt,
flew up from Atlanta to start the journey. The plan was to make it to Rapid City, SD on
Thursday. Friday we would fly Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial and Devils Tower on the
way to Yellowstone. On Saturday we would do the Yellowstone drive and Sunday was back to
Kansas City for the night before our friends had to head home on Monday. Many Many miles
laid ahead and the weekend weather looked perfect. I think I'll let the pictures we
captured tell most of the story as our Team RV's Great Northwestern Adventure
begins. |
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8/29/02 Danny and Matt from
Anderson, SC, along with Mike and Michelle from Atlanta, GA, flew up to Liberty Landing
International airport. These 2 planes would have a long day with about 1100 miles of
flying, ending in Rapid City, SD this evening. |
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8/29/02 You may have heard
of Liberty Landing before. The Dawn Patrol is
based at our little airstrip. The infamous Dick Starks writes for Kit Planes magazine, and
was gracious enough to let Matt try one of the Nieuports on for size. |
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Of
course we can't go anywhere together without practicing some formation. Since that is our
favorite way to fly, and there is no better way to spend the day.
Time flew by as we jockeyed positions and busted each others balls for missed
signals and wide positions. I travel with a rough crowd, and we all had a blast. |
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Our first stop was Valentine Nebraska. Here our trusty steeds are gathered around the
watering hole. As you can see in the photo below, our Princesses are sitting on the
veranda waiting for the call to mount up.
Also seen below is our first and only maintenance concern. Mike's constant speed prop had
started blowing grease. The amount of grease on the windshield looked like a major
problem, however it turned out to be a very minor concern. |
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8/30/02 Upon arrival
into Rapid City, SD last night, we enjoyed a nice meal and a good nights rest before
heading off to fly the Faces on our way to Yellowstone. We were also able to get a photo
while flying by the Crazy Horse Memorial.
We all had a photo taken of our plane flying by Mount Rushmore. This kind of trip
was one of those I had always dreamed I would do while busy working on the kit. |
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The Devils Tower in
eastern Wyoming is a site to see!. Scientists believe that Devils Tower is the core of a
volcano exposed after millions of years of erosion caused by weather. The nearly vertical
monolith, doesn't look like anything I have ever seen before. Once again, each plane had a
photo op with great shots. It was pretty turbulent and we didn't find out till later that
right about now, Matt was Blowing Chow!
On our way from here to West Yellowstone, MT, we were able to stop in
Buffalo, WY for lunch with my Aunt Judy and Uncle Sonny. I haven't seen them for many many
years and to think a plane built in my garage was able to bring us together. Such a deal !
After lunch, Matt needed about an hour of rest so Danny, Mike and I
went out and flew some formation over the small town and airport putting on quite a
display. |
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The Big
Horn mountain range lies ahead. Sitting on the ramp at Buffalo, all of us were shocked and
amazed at how BLUE the sky looked. The absence of pollution made us wonder why we lived in
big cities. The view explains why they call this Big Sky Country. |
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Over the
top of the Big Horns cruising at 10,000ft. This is one of the many outstanding photo's
taken during our trip. Of course good photo's were easy with scenery like this to work
with. |
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The scenery was really
starting to overload our senses. Everywhere we looked was something new to see!
We made it into West Yellowstone, MT in the mid afternoon. The airport even
has very nice on site camping for flyers complete with hot showers.
After grabbing the rental van, we headed to the hotel. Another great evening
spent relaxing with our friends over dinner and some time in the Jacuzzi! |
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| Yellowstone trip Page 2
Paul's RV6A Home
Please submit all questions and comments to
rotrhead@yahoo.com
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