Balloon Fiesta and Canyon hopping

[N97SM]

I need another trip.

Starting today, Saturday Oct 3rd, I'll fight my way west against headwind. Hoping to avoid bad weather and trying to reach Albuquerque not later than Monday. Will be based at AEG.

Wednesday, I'll meet my wife in Las Vegas. We'll do some Canyon-hopping for 5 days.

Any suggestions from pilots who know the area?

I am aware of the special flight rules over Grand Canyon.

[N97SM]

Drove to the airport in light rain. Visibility 2 miles in mist, slowly rising.
Wheels up at 11:00 am. 20 miles west unlimited visibility and still light wind for a while. This changed soon. 25 kts from 250. Bearing 278. Groundspeed in the low 80's. I stayed at 3000 ft. which brings me just over the ridges of the Appalachies. Strong thermals. Got a good workout for my arms to keep wings level. I have the old style of ailerons that get really stiff at 100+kts airspeed.
Fuel stop at I23 in Ohio. Had to wait until FBO mgr/line boy/flight instructor landed to buy fuel. Take-off at 04:00 pm.
Hit some rain S of Indianapolis. Landed in Bloomington. The town has a big ball game tonight. Got the last hotel room at a rip-off price. The FBO was very helpful and gave me a Caddi to get to the hotel.

Needed a 1 1/2 beers some food and a shower - in that order.

You can track my trip online at: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/f...re6V1QnZRNutyJ

Data are real-time and stay online for about 1 week.

[N97SM]

One characteristic of flying VFR-only is that you get the opportunity to stay in places you never planned to visit.

On Sunday I had two legs in mostly ideal weather. The plan was to get to (or as close as possible to) Albuquerque for the ballons. Leaving Bloomington, IN I had planned fuel stops in Clinton, MO and Meade, KS. A few mile before reaching Meade I found low overcast and poor visibility. I diverted to Dodge City, just because I was sure to find somebody at that airport. The weather forcast for the route ahead convinced me to stay.

Today (Monday) was IFR until 5pm. I had a great experience learning about the Wild West in that really cute town. Also enjoyed their beef immensely. I used up the relaxation time originally planned for ABQ and Santa Fe - I'll do that another time.

Forecast for tomorrow morning looks ok.