Arizona Bloom

Cathedral Rock of Red Rock State Park
It is 6 am at the Grants, NM, airport. The sun is  still hidden east behind the Sandia Mountains. My friend Manfried  from Epernay, France, and I are ready for the main event of this trip with our Zenith HDS 601, N314LB:  The westbound leg  from Grants to Prescott, AZ, via Gallup, Winslow, and Sedona. During the takeoff run, acceleration of the plane at gross weight and 8,500 ft density altitude is impressive. Using much less than half of the runway, the plane leaps into the air and begins a solid climb. This performance is due to the new Sensenich propeller, which  efficiently uses an engine output reduced to 50 hp due to altitude and  temperature.

As we pass through 1,000 ft AGL, the sun appears behind us over the horizon and illuminates ahead of us colorful sandstone formations, forests, and hills. We level off at 8,500 ft MSL, which translates to 2,000 ft AGL, our goal for the first part of the leg. Below us, Interstate 40 is busy with trucks and cars. An almost dry river bed  that can turn into a torrent after thunderstorms meanders next to the interstate. The views are so beautiful, I would like to just stay in place if that was possible and look and look. The air is smooth as glass, the engine purrs. What else would one ever want?
 
Interstate 40 west of Grants, NM

Once we are over Winslow, AZ, we leave Interstate 40 and turn WSW for the direct route to Prescott. It's time to climb some more since 8,500 ft MSL mountains are coming up. We easily go to 10,500 ft MSL. To the right, Meteor Crater comes into view.
  
Meteor Crater Near Winslow, AZ
We continue on to Prescott. The city is home to  Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Lots of planes are taking off  and landing. A number stay in the pattern. Surely most of them are connected with the university. Communication with the tower is precise  but unhurried, and easy to fit into. Approaching the airport and listening to the numerous calls and responses, it feels  as if we are watching a video demo of air traffic communications. 

We tie down at the Prescott FBO, pick up the rental car,  and take a scenic trip across the mountain range northeast of Prescott to Cottonwood, AZ, in the Verde River valley. During the descent into the valley, we pass through the picturesque town of Jerome, a popular ghost town destination for tourists.

Though we arrive midafternoon on a Saturday, the campground of the Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood is not yet full. We pitch our tent in a site shaded by several trees. One hour north are Sedona and its mountains, our main goal of the trip. We are staying in Cottonwood since camping in the Sedona area is more complicated due to the large of number of tourists passing through and the few, small campgrounds in that area.

Elevation of the valleys around Sedona is 4,000-5,000 ft MSL, and mountains top out at 6,000-7,000 ft MSL. This makes for perfect day-hikes to mountain tops. There are many choices for such trips. In three day-hikes, we go up to Cathedral Rock, Bear Mountain, and Wilson Mountain. A lady in the Visitor Center in Sedona is most helpful with the selection of the hikes. She explains the pros and cons of the various trips, supplies maps, and emphasizes the need to take plenty of water along.
 
View from Cathedral Rock
View from Bear Mountain with Cathedral Rock to the right
After each hike, we swim in Oak Creek of Red Rock State Park or the Verde River meandering through the campground in Cottonwood.
 
Manfried at Swimming Hole of Oak Creek, Red Rock State Park
During the hikes and trips in the Sedona area, we encounter numerous blooming bushes and flowers. We take lots of pictures.
 
Yellow Bird of Paradise
Purple Prickly Pear
Prickly Poppy
Prickly Poppy, detail
Soaptree Yucca
Jimsonweed
Palmer’s Penstemon
Doubting Mariposa Lily
Fishhook Cactus
Century Plant
Century Plant, detail
Prickly Pear
Oleander
Silverleaf Nightshade
Globe Mellow
American Threefold
It’s time for the return trip. We get up at 4 am, take down the tent, and drive the winding road from Cottonwood to the Prescott airport. The FBO opens at 7 am. Arizona does not switch to Daylight Savings Time, so the sun is already way up in the sky. We wish we had been airborne two hours earlier for a takeoff and climb in cooler air.

We load the plane and take off for Pecos, TX, with a refueling stop in Deming, NM. With a strong tailwind, we reach Pecos after 6.3 hrs of total flight time. The final leg Pecos-Dallas is delayed by a day due to thunderstorms in the Dallas area. We find out details of that weather in the Pecos Library, which graciously allows use of their computers to access the AOPA Weather data base. 

We use the extra day to visit Balmorhea State Park south of Pecos, which is famous for its huge spring-fed pool for swimming and relaxation. The FBO supplies a rental car for the trip. Before we depart for Balmorhea State Park, we drive from the Pecos Library to the airport to get swim suits and such from our plane. 

At the airport, a Cessna Twin is being loaded. I ask one of the passengers, ”Where are you going?”  The answer is, ”Midland.” This is not far, and I become curious. It turns out that a doctor and his entire staff - nurse, two assistants - have come from Midland to hold a clinic in Pecos. The doctor himself is the pilot! We saw the plane come in early in the morning. For these visits, the FBO has a van ready so that the doctor and his staff can drive without delay to the clinic building. When they are done, they drive back to the airport and fly back to Midland. With the same arrangement, they hold clinic in Fort Stockton and Alpine. 

This method of transportation saves hours of tedious highway driving and efficiently brings very much needed health care to these cities. All this information comes from one of the assistants. I don’t dare bothering the doctor/pilot with an interview since he is busy loading the plane and going through the preflight check. They board, the engines fire up, the plane taxis out to the closest runway, 09, due to no-wind conditions, and takes off into the blue sky. Here is a great example how general aviation efficiently improves our lives.

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