A Long, Long Day...

This was a flight that I probably won't forget. Ever. It was the most scenic flight I have ever flown, and nothing comes close to it.

September of 2021. The association I manage operations for was having our annual "COPA Migration" event in Scottsdale, Arizona. After a long week, it was time to head home. We just happened to be departing Phoenix with a monsoon in the area.

Because of the weather patterns, mountains, aircraft weight/performance, and overall safety of flight; it was decided that we would not be taking a direct flight path home through New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and into Iowa. Instead, we planned a route to take us north into Utah, western Colorado, Wyoming, and then turning east to fly through Nebraska back to Iowa with stops in Page, Arizona, Dixon, WY, and a tiny town in Nebraska (I don't even remember the name of the town or the airport!).

We left in the afternoon from rainy Scottsdale and departed on our first leg to Page. After getting vectored clear out to the west from Phoenix for weather, we finally got our northerly turn and proceeded on route. Uneventful flight, and landed in Page to refuel.

At this point, the late afternoon sun was taking over and we got in the air to hit our next stop, Dixon. Departing Page allowed us an opportunity to see Lake Powell. Absolutely beautiful. As we progressed north towards Dixon, the sun began to set. We were flying over EXTREME remote parts of western Colorado where the golden colors took over for as far as the eye could see. This was the most picturesque thing I've ever seen. To be flying at 11,000ft with zero signs of human life anywhere, and the sun setting leaving a beautiful golden color across the entire landscape. Hard to explain just how stunning it was. I hope you find the pictures as awesome as I do.

From there, it got dark. Very dark. We landed in Dixon, WY in the dead of night. A high altitude airport that is situated in the Rocky Mountains. And, no, this is not a joke... The population in Dixon is 77 people according to the 2021 census. We were literally in the middle of nowhere. Needless to say, we got fuel quickly and departed back into the black hole of a sky and turned east towards our last stop in Nebraska.

A long leg... fatigue starts to set in after a long day. We land in Nebraska around 11pm only to find out that all the restaurants and fast food places to eat are closed. So, no food for us... That was a tough reality! We ended up fueling the airplane relaxing for a few minutes to mitigate the fatigue. Once the disappointment wore off, we were back in the airplane and on our final leg back to Des Moines.

This 1.5 hour leg felt like we were in the air for 5 hours. We couldn't haven't gotten home soon enough. But, finally, we got the "cleared visual approach" from Air Traffic Control and landed successfully around 2am. Once on the ground, we were greeted by a good friend who picked up whatever Casey's pizza and tenderloin sandwiches there were left in the warmers... Wasn't a 5 star dinner, but we didn't care.

This was a flight that didn't completely show the glamour of general aviation. Flying commercial would have gotten us home significantly faster. But, when you have a passion for what you do, things like how quickly you get home don't always matter. We were graced with stunning scenery nearly the entire flight home and it will always be a flight I think back on and feel grateful for the opportunity to be a part of.

Nothing beats these views. Nothing.

Blue skies.