Category: Travel

Zion National Park – Bryce Canyon Camping Trip – Day 1

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My family and I just returned from a week at Zion Canyon in Utah. When you see pictures of national parks you can usually bet they’ve been doctored up a bit to enhance the beauty of the place. I was expecting the same of Zion. However, I was taken aback by the rugged beauty of the place. Those photos aren’t doctored folks, it really looks like that.

There isn’t a whole lot to write about Day 1 of the trip. We packed up the van the night before. I hitched up the mini-van to the trailer and parked it out front ready to go. We stumbled out and piled into the van at 4am and drove. And drove and drove. Before the trip I was a little concerned with how the van would tow the trailer. The trailer is a bit on the heavy side for our van but it turned out there was no need to worry. The van had plenty of power for all but the steepest hills. I was a little concerned with the wind but I was able to hang on and we eventually arrived.

We pulled into Watchman Campground in the park at around 4:30pm. I was beat, the kids were grumpy, and, well, I was pretty grumpy too. All that changed after the hustle and bustle of setting up the camper and transporting suitcases and pillows to the trailer. It was after we all sat down and just looked around us that we (even the kids) were awestruck by the beauty of the place.

marker

First camp-out of the season

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Travel2 Comments

Thanks to the generosity and hospitality of the Hector family we got to enjoy a fun two days in beautiful surroundings with wonderful people. First off I’d like to thank the Hector family who had their water pump give up under the demand for water from all the invaders to their property, who had their septic tank over-run, who had their screen knocked out of their screen door, who had kids and toys, and cars and trailers and tents all over their property. Thanks to the Hector’s we all had a wonderful time.

The Hectors live up in what I would call the higher end of the Sierra foot hills. So for this flat-lander it’s always an adventure getting there. In previous years we slept in tents, this year we took the pop-up trailer we bought last Fall. I was a little nervous about pulling the trailer up to their property. The roads are narrow, the entry to their property is fairly steep and paved with gravel, and my trailer is close to the max towing weight for our mini-van. However, it turned out that all my worries were for nothing; the old Sienna pulled the trailer up the driveway just fine. I now know I can to that trailer *anywhere*.


Pop-Up row

The highlight of the camp-out is usually one of Dave’s famous bonfires. However, this has been a dry year so the fire captain in Dave (who incidentally REALLY IS a fire captain) decided not to have the bonfire. So instead he lit two smaller fires for the kids to cook their hot dogs and smores over. I elected to grill two buffalo burgers on my RVQ instead. We sang around the campfire for an hour or two and then sat and talked around the campfire until late into the evening. The older kids went down into the meadow and played capture the flag until late in the evening. It’s kind of a tradition.

Actually we did have one exciting event earlier in the day. Checkers went swimming. The picture says it all. The good news is that Checkers is very clean now.

My family retired to our PUP (camper) and fired up our portable heater. The kids and I were toasty warm all night but my wife said she still felt cold. I learned two things; one, the heater will have to be closer to my wife and two, I need to get the adapter that will let me run that heater off the propane bottle on the trailer. I went through two of the small propane bottles. However, all that aside my wife still loved sleeping in the PUP over the tent. She liked being able to change her clothes and prepare food in comfort.

The next day some folks went on hikes but I was content to hang around the house and talk with the other folks. I also got to play ball with Ginger, the most tireless yellow Lab in the foothills. Soon it was time to go so I folded up the PUP and we headed down the mountain. Thank you again to the Hectors for a wonderful two days!


Breakfast courtesy of the Hector family


The “Indian Head”


Who says you can’t pick your neighbors? Checkers and the sheep in the barn next door don’t snore too loudly.


Trail down to the meadow.

To see more photos of the Hector camp-out please see my online album: Hector Camp-Out 2008

Playa Del Carmen – Day 2

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Day two was our first full day in Playa Del Carmen. Our plan for the day had only two items on it: lay on the beach and be idle, and go into town to buy some shoes. They would not let me got to dinner without dress shoes.

The first part of the plan was very easy. Mrs. Dutchman and I headed down to the beach lounges and dropped our stuff off. We headed immediately into the warm Carribean Sea. The water there is just the best in the world. Warm, calm, and clear. Actually it wasn’t that calm as a major storm had just blown through over the last three days. The surf was a little high but still nothing like the Atlantic or Pacific oceans.

After playing and swimming in the surf for about an hour or so we headed back up to the lounge chairs to catch some rays. The security guard on the beach brought us a large shade for the lounge chairs. So we sat in the shade and sipped drinks until about 2pm. The waiter kept bringing us drinks as soon as it looked like our glasses were about half full. He also kept snacks coming too.

At about 2pm it started to get a little cloudy and drizzle a little so we thought this would be a good time to go into town to find shoes. I went across the street from the resort and found an ATM so I could get some local cash. While there I talked to a guy who told me a good place to buy some shoes. Mrs. Dutchman and I grabbed a cab and rode across town to a very nice shopping mall. We were a little worried as to how we would get back to the hotel but found that we didn’t need to worry. There are cabs everywhere. We found a shoe store in the mall but the folks there spoke less English than I spoke Spanish. Somehow we made ourselves understood and I was able to get a nice pair of shoes. We bought some socks in the superstore across from the shoe store and then went outside to find a taxi. There was one already waiting so we jumped and said “Zona Hotelero, por favor, Royal Hideaway” At which the cabbie said “si” and took off like a shot. A cab ride anywhere in Playa Del Carmen is $50 pesos, or $5 American. That’s a pretty good deal.

After getting back from our shopping mall adventure we rested up and got ready for dinner.  Dinner was one of the more mildly disappointing parts of the trip for me.  Don’t get me wrong the food was excellent.  Mrs. Dutchman loved it.  The problem was that it was all gourmet food.  Just wonderful.  But I didn’t come to Mexico to eat gourmet Italian, Asian, or Spanish food, I came to eat Mexican food!  Well… Mrs. Dutchman loved it so I just suffered (sic) in silence.


After dinner each night we followed the same routine.  We would walk down to the beach, kick off our shoes and walk along the shore in the moonlight.  The moon was full the week we were there which made it very picturesque and very conducive to making Mrs. Dutchman very happy.  And when Mrs. Dutchman is happy, the Flying Dutchman is even happier.

Playa Del Carmen Day 1

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We’ve been back from our vacation for a couple of weeks now. I haven’t have much time to update this site because of all the catch up I had to do. Catching up on work, catching up with friends I had been neglecting, catching up with church matters. It seems like trying to catch up when you get back from a vacation takes twice as long as the vacation.

Well Mrs Flying Dutchman and I really enjoyed our vacation. Playa Del Carmen is beautiful. I have to confess that I had some preconceptions about Mexico. The only other cities in Mexico I had ever visted was Tijuana and Juarez. Playa Del Carmen, or Xaman Ha (pronounced shaman hah) as it was called by the Mayan Indians, is nothing like those two cities. The people were very friendly and polite, the town was clean and well-kept, and the setting absolutely breath-taking.

The first day was a long travel day. We departed Sacramento at 6:30am, laid over in Houston for 3 hours and then flew on to Cancun and didn’t land there until around 6:30pm or so. Customs in Mexico is a fairly simple process. We filled out the tourist visa paperwork on the plane just prior to landing. The paperwork was provided by the airline. There is an odd lottery used in Cancun for customs inspections, just prior to exiting the customs area one member of the family presses a button on a traffic light, if the light is red then you have to let customs inspect your luggage. If the light turns green, you grab your bags and go.

We had purchased a transfer to our hotel in Playa Del Carmen and the transportation company representative was waiting outside. They identified us almost before we could identify them. They whisked us into a car by ourselves and our driver took us on our 40 minute drive to Playa Del Carmen. There are some interesting features of the highway we were on. They have topes in the middle of the highway just outside the towns. These things are speed bumps on steroids. Traffic slows to a crawl to get across these things.

We finally got to our hotel and were greeted with moist, scented, and very cold towels along with glasses of champagne. It was about 8:30pm by this time. The bell captain took us down the path to our building and room. The room was great. Cool marble floors, marble vanity in the bathroom, marble shower, it was all wonderful. There was even a small refrigerator in the room full of water, soda, and beer. All I could think was, wonderful, more alcohol. Those who know me will see the humor in that.

We just had time to clean up before we headed over to the restaurant where the front desk had made us reservations for dinner. This particular restaurant was chosen because it had a loose dress code and I didn’t have dress shoes. I was informed that I would have to get some dress shoes before I would be allowed in the other restaurants on the resort. Oh well, something to put on the list of things to do. Even the casual restaurant was very formal. Dinner was served in courses and the waiter wore a tux.

After dinner we took a quick walk on the beach and then headed back to our room to collapse into unconsciousness.

Oshkosh. You gotta’ be there!

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Aviation, TravelLeave a comment

Well where does the time go? I had intended to document every day of my visit to Oshkosh but that just never happened. We were either too busy or just plain too whooped to do anything when we got back. So now I’ll just give you a run down of this my 3rd and best trip to OSH yet.

Two things made my trip to Oshkosh this time around much more fun; one, I went with my buddies from our local EAA Chapter 90, and two, Skype. More on Skype later.

The trip to Oshkosh was a long one. We first drove from Modesto to San Jose. This was made more bearable by my not having to drive and sharing a car with 3 other guys who love airplanes and talking about aviation. The traveling buddies were Brian Braun, Keith Braun, Kevin Haslebacher, and myself. (Many thanks go to Brian Braun for driving us to and from all airports on our journey.) The first leg of our trip took us from San Jose to Salt Lake City where we had about a 4 hour layover. Again this was made bearable by having your buddies around. After the layover the second leg of the flight took us to Milwaukee. The first thing we did was to pick up the rental car. The friendly and courteous agent informed us that we were late, and after not being helpful assigned our mini-van. After a brief 45 minute search and going back to ask the friendly agent where the van was, the van was finally located and we were on the road to Oshkosh. But what the hey, you’re with your airplane buddies.

We finally arrived at the rental house at around 2am. Ah, home at last. Kevin BenZiger who arranged the rental house warned us ahead of time that the house may not be that clean. Well, he was right. When I got into my bedroom I pulled back the comforter to find… cat fur. So I pulled back the top sheet to find… cat fur. Okay, kitty fur is soft and fun to pet but I don’t want to sleep in it. Luckily I found a blanket and was able to sleep on top of the comforter where at least I couldn’t see the fur. But what they hey, you’re with your airplane buddies. All of Chapter 90’s Oshkosh contingent were finally together; Ken Scott, Kevin BenZiger, Kevin Haslebacher, Keith Braun, Brian Braun, and Scott VanArtsdalen.
When we finally got to the show on Tuesday morning, all was forgotten and all we could think about is the magic that lay before us. All airplane, all day. We spent part of the first day just walking the flight line looking at all the Van’s RV aircraft that were parked there. The number of RVs in attendance every year grows. There was even a 35 ship formation of Van’s RVs doing flyovers. 35 RVs flying together sound pretty spectacular. We checked out paint jobs, got some great building ideas, and just generally enjoyed seeing the variety of aircraft there. One of the star RVs in attendance was Trey Johnson’s amphibious RV-7. The workmanship was excellent and was somewhat reminiscent of the Schneider Cup racers of yesteryear.

Next we visited some of the kit aircraft and engine manufacturers. I can’t begin to remember all the booths we stopped at but among them were Eggenfelner, Van’s, Zenith, and Sonex. We also looked at several automotive and diesel conversions.

Then it was off to the exhibit halls. I’m not even going to try to name every vendor and manufacturer we saw. Just think of one and they had a booth there. One of the highlights of the show for me was the Vertical Power booth. Vertical Power is doing for electrical systems what the EFIS did for flight instruments. Their flagship product is something they have nicknamed the digital copilot. It’s basically an electrical system in a box that is wired to a computer. There are only three switches to the whole system. You punch in a security code and the computer starts your engine for you. Flaps are deployed, boost pump is turned on, lights come on all automatically at just the right times. A lot of people ask why you would want to do that but a lot of people ask why anyone would want to use an EFIS and those are becoming very popular. In fact anyone and everyone is coming out with an EFIS. Up and coming are the Czechs who had two separate companies displaying their avionics.

Another highlight of the exhibit halls for me was to meet an old internet friend who use to work for Control Vision on their Anywhere Map product and has since started working for Dynon. He told me some of the things you can expect to see from Dynon in the near future; a moving map and an auto pilot for starters.

Even though we were all pretty tired by the end of the first day I had arranged to meet some friends of mine ( http://www.rivetbangers.com ) for dinner. The rest of the Chapter 90 contingent (dubbed the 209 Posse) agreed to come along. As testament to what a wonderful hobby we engage in even though our Chapter 90 gang didn’t know anyone there, within minutes all were talking to complete strangers about homebuilt aircraft. The restaurant was called The Black Otter Dining Club and their specialty is prime rib. I ordered the little girly cut called the Queen Cut. It was a mere 32 oz of DELICIOUS prime rib. They also have what they call the King Cut which is 160 oz, yes that’s 10 pounds of prime rib. Two people have finished one and gotten their dinners for free. The staff would not tell me where those two people are buried. We then returned to our rental house tired, fed, and happy. And that was just the first day.

To write all the things we did each day would take a couple hours to read so I’ll just hit some of the highlights. Cessna previewed their new light sport aircraft called the 162 Sky Catcher. I’ve heard it called everything from Sky Chicken to Sky Scratcher. Call it what you want it was a slick little bird with an all glass panel designed exclusively for Cessna by Garmin and even had two cup holders. Long overdue Cessna. They were taking $5000 deposits and had a board showing the running total; close to 600 by the time we left Osh on Friday. This was making the other LSA manufacturers feel very good. When Cessna steps in you know there is money to be made. There were also a couple of very light jets which held the attention of several members of Chapter 90. Sonex announced their battery powered prototype airplane.

Also worth noting was the barbecue we attended on Wednesday evening. It is put on by Bob Collins who puts out a weekly RV newsletter and host a Yahoo group dedicated to RV-7 builders and entusiasts. It was a veritable who’s who in the world of Van’s RV. The only notable absence was Van’s Aircraft but I have a feeling that will change next year. Bob put on a GREAT spread for only $10 a head. Even the short downpour didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. Bob had some great door prizes to give away including t-shirts, hats, and some even better stuff including a free e-mag or p-mag, $5000 off on a Superior engine, and even a free empenage kit from Van’s Aircraft. Chapter 90 even had a winner when Kevin won an Angle of Attack display from Advanced Flight Systems worth $800. Again, we didn’t know most of the people there but you could start up a conversation with anyone simply by saying, “So, whatcha’ building?” Bob Collins has a winner in this BBQ and I can’t wait to attend it again.

That was two of the things that really made this Oshkosh one of the best I’ve ever attended. Having my friends with me, meeting friends I have made on the Internet and never met in person, was a fun experience. Skype also made the convention more fun for me. Skype is a software program that you can run on any PC and use like a telephone. If you have a video camera built into your PC then you can have video calls. This is exactly what I did each evening. It was easier being far away from my family if I could see them in full video on my computer every evening. Nothing like watching your kids make silly faces for 20 minutes or so. The best part about Skype is that it is completely free.

There were a few downsides to Oshkosh this year. One was that Kevin BenZiger was sick the whole time. Many thanks go to Kevin B for arranging our housing this year. Cats and all, thanks for setting that up for us Kevin and a BIG thank you from me personally. Also the landing accident between two P-51’s on Friday afternoon which left one man dead. You hate to hear about anyone getting hurt in aviation and when they take a historically significant aircraft with them it’s a double loss.

Happily for us we all made it back safe and sound to Oakdale each with his fill of Oshkosh for the year. I was pretty much done with Oshkosh and not eager to go back. I have a feeling though that next July I’ll be wishing I could go again. If you’ve never been to AirVenture please try to attend it just once. It does get tiring after several days but while you’re there it is just magical. Oshkosh: You gotta’ be there!

On the ground at Oshkosh

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Just spent my first full day at Oshkosh. My feet are killing me, my sinuses are killing me, but I’m happy, what a fun day. My friends and I spent the day browsing the aircraft vendors, checking out new products and technologies, and the different airplanes on the flight line. That actually took ALL day there was so much to see. Some of my favorite technologies were:

Possibly one of the biggest news items of the week so far is Cessna’s new LSA offering the Cessna 162 Sky Catcher: Cessna Sky Catcher website

This will be a plane to watch. It will signal whether or not the LSA market will be viable or not. Cessna joining the LSA fray has emboldened other LSA manufacturers and is actually a welcome development to them.

Tomorrow promises to be a more laid back day. We’re going to casually walk the flight line and just check out all the airplanes.

Sacramento, CA (KSAC)

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Aviation, RV-4, TravelLeave a comment

This past Friday I found myself needing to attend a meeting in the morning in Sacramento, Ca and another in the afternoon in Turlock, Ca. The two cities are about an hour and a half apart. Coming back from Sacramento in the afternoon wouldn’t be so bad but driving up their in the morning would involve sitting in traffic. Not one of my favorite passtimes.

So I called up my counter-part up in Sacramento and asked him if he’d pick me up at Sacramento Executive (KSAC). Being a lapsed private pilot and looking for any excuse to go to the airport he readily agreed.

Friday morning came and I pulled my trusty RV-4 out of the hangar and preflighted. It was a little chilly but I didn’t bother bringing a jacket because by the time afternoon came I knew I’d be sweating. I put KSAC into the GPS and pointed the RV northwest. 20 minutes later I was on downwind at SAC. I touched down and taxied to what I hoped was transient parking. My partner in crime was waiting in the terminal just as promised and we headed off to the morning meeting.

Four hours later we had accomplished our mission (working with HP to figure out how to redistribute our OSPF routes into BGP… fascinating, I know) and had finished lunch. My buddy dropped me off at the airport again stating that he needed to get back into the air. I took a leisurely stroll out the the RV. It was right where I left it with no parking tickets or anything so I guess I really was in transient parking. That or it was too hot for the airport meter maid to walk out there.

Ten minutes later I was climbing out of SAC at 1700 fpm and hit the one and only glitch of the whole trip. I received the following radio transmission: “1SV, sir, do you have a transponder on that thing?” Thing? THING? Bud not even that BizJet that just left can climb out of your airspace while still over the runway! My reply: “Um.. YES I do, my apologies.” I switched on my transponder just as I climbed out of his airspace.

Twenty minutes later I was on final at Oakdale (O27). I made a great landing with no one there to see it and taxied back to the hangar. I was getting my laptop out of the back seat when my phone rang. It was my co-deacon at church. His message was that the afternoon meeting at church had been cancelled, no need to rush. Cool. I put the airplane to bed and headed home feeling far more relaxed than I would have if I had driven.

Did I save any time? Not really. I could have driven there in about the same time. Did I save any frustration. Yep. Did I have a whole lot more fun? You bet!

We’re back

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Travel4 Comments

Well the family and I are home and have finally adjusted to being back in California…mostly.  The trip was wonderful.  It’s an experience that neither the kids nor my wife and I will soon forget.  But now I face a dilema…sort of.  I really, REALLY liked Tennessee.  The scenery is beautiful, the cost of living is lower, and the people are nicer.  It’s a slower pace of living back there.  I’ve lived in California for 32 years but I have to confess my heart never really left the South.  Also, my dad lives there now.  I’d really like to live closer to him.  

That’s the dilema.  I’ve got roots in this dusty old city now.  My kids have friends here.  God led me to a good church with good people in it.  I’ve got good job prospects here.  I own my hangar at the airport and have my airplane based there.  I’ve got some good friends at the airport.  But oh, my heart, my heart.  My heart is pulling me back to the South.  The green trees, the four seasons, the history, the culture.  And family.

The elders at my church stress multi-generational living.  At least they do with each other, I’ve not heard them espouse it to the congregation much.  It’s a good concept but I’m glad they don’t push it too much.  I for one can’t afford it.  I’ve made several comments about properties that some of the elders own which I’m afraid they must construe as jealousy.  I would have to admit to some jealousy, but it’s not malicious.  Mostly I’m just dissatisfied that I can’t live that way.  At least…not here.

Such is the dilema.  Do I stay in California and enjoy my church, my friendships, my job?  Or do I move to Tennessee where I can be close to my father and have land that I can build a house for my son and enjoy that multigenerational living that some here enjoy?  Do I stay and enjoy being with my airplane buddies and having my own hangar?  Or do I go and live where I can afford to build another hangar?  Do I go and be close to my father and quite possibly be the only example of true Christianity he may have witnessed for some time.

I just want to make sure I’m not stepping out in faith only to trip over my own feet.  I want to make sure that it is our Sovereign God that is guiding me to go, or to stay.  But then I guess that since He is sovereign, I have no choice but to do his will. 

Show me your will O Lord that I might please you.

The Flying Dutchman is travelling

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Hey!  What are you doing here?  You ought to be over on our vacation site!  We’ve been having a blast touring Tennessee.  We’re driving into Virginia tomorrow to visit Lexington and surrounding areas.  Come on over and join us!

http://www.airprayer.net/vacation