Day 1 - Del Norte, CO
Friday, June 26.
We were up early the morning of Friday, June 26 to start our week of flight-seeing and camping in Southern Colorado. For this trip we wanted to be comfortable so we decided to drive our 2005 26.5 ft mid-bath Lazy Daze.
My itinerary for driving the Lazy Daze was to follow I-25 to Santa Fe, 285 to Espanola, NM, and to Alamosa, CO, and at Alamosa, turn west on 160 towards Del Norte, CO. I stopped once for fuel and to stretch my legs just north of Espanola. Mike took off right after I departed Mid Valley, flying our Rans S-18, our latest flying aerial photo platform (photo above shows Mike with the S-18 at Del Norte after an afternoon shower).
We were up early the morning of Friday, June 26 to start our week of flight-seeing and camping in Southern Colorado. For this trip we wanted to be comfortable so we decided to drive our 2005 26.5 ft mid-bath Lazy Daze.
My itinerary for driving the Lazy Daze was to follow I-25 to Santa Fe, 285 to Espanola, NM, and to Alamosa, CO, and at Alamosa, turn west on 160 towards Del Norte, CO. I stopped once for fuel and to stretch my legs just north of Espanola. Mike took off right after I departed Mid Valley, flying our Rans S-18, our latest flying aerial photo platform (photo above shows Mike with the S-18 at Del Norte after an afternoon shower).
Mike's flight path was to follow the Rio Grande just east of our home airport to Del Norte. Since he has a transponder, he was given clearance to fly right over the North-South runway at ABQ International. He then joined up with the Rio Grande north of Albuquerque and followed it over Cochiti Dam and Espanola. While flying north of Espanola, he shot the photo above of the Chama River joining the Rio Grande, looking south back towards Espanola. The Chama is a vivid red, coloring the Rio Grande for some miles downstream.
Mike and I arrived at our destination, Del Norte’s Astronaut Kent Romminger Airport (8V1), nearly at the same time. As I turned west on 160, Mike called on the aircraft radio we were using for communications to ask where I was. He was surprised to see the Lazy Daze heading west on 160. And I looked to the south of 160 (while trying to keep the Lazy Daze "straight and level" on 160) and there he was - flying quite close to me, heading west!
I was a little concerned about the weather at Del Norte as it looked like Wolf Creek Pass and north of there had rainshowers that extended out over Del Norte. But luckily, it was only light sprinkles over Del Norte and Mike arrived safely at Del Norte.
I drove in to Del Norte Airport about 20 minutes after Mike had landed and saw the S-18 tied down. The S-18 and no Mike! Well, I saw an open hangar personnel door and there he was - looking at Vern McCallister's airplane restoration projects - two spectacular warbirds - a Sea Fury and an AT-11. Mike spent a few hours looking over Vern's aircraft while I got the Lazy Daze situated on the RV pad.
Bill Miller, another pilot at Del Norte, graciously allowed us to hook up the Laze Daze to his electric outlet from his hangar. The photo above of the Lazy Daze shows the reflections of sunrise in the Lazy Daze and the pink-tinged clouds.
This is the first small installment of a trip log for this blog. More coming as I sort through photos and write the story of our trip. We spent several great flight-seeing and camping days at Del Norte and then moved north to Salida. More to come - stay tuned!
