|
Maule Trip Report |
Creede, CO & Mineral Canyon, UT May 2002 |
Aurora Airpark to Creede, COThough it was a bit cloudy at the start of the trip, the long-term forecast was for excellent weather throughout Colorado and Utah. To safely get out of Aurora and on course to Creede, I filed IFR. The course ran South past Colorado Springs and Pueblo, turning west near Walsenburg to head straight toward Alamosa. Over Alamosa, I canceled IFR and flew on to Creede VFR. IFR to AlamosaRoute: Aurora Airpark [01V], Falcon VOR [FQF], V389 to Pueblo VOR [PUB], V83 to Alamosa VOR [ALS] and finally to Alamosa airport, which is named San Luis Valley Regional [ALS]. I filed for an initial altitude of 9,000 with 6 hours of fuel on board. Expected flight time was 2:45, so I had plenty of reserve fuel. This was my first time flying actual IFR, as there was a low ceiling over the Denver area to Colorado Springs, with the clouds turning to scattered toward Pueblo. Here are a few pictures showing the weather and scenery enroute. You can click on any picture on this page and see a full screen image (1024x768).
Heading West the scenery (and weather) improved, with views of the Spanish Peaks, the Cuchara Valley ski area (sans snow) then some of the 14-thousand foot peaks at the Southern end of the Sangre de Cristo Range (Blanca Peak and Little Bear being the most prominent). For this portion of the trip Denver Center had me up at an altitude of 14,000' for a short while, as that is the MEA for that portion of the V83 route westbound.
The day's trip ended at Creede, Colorado. Creede has a very interesting mining history from the late 1800's that lasted well into the mid-1900's. While in Creede I met one of the local aviation enthusiasts (as well as his outstanding family) and quickly learned what super people make up our great state and country. The airport at Creede, referred to as Mineral County (Q39) has a newly resurfaced runway and ramp. Note: No fuel is available at Creede. One has to obtain fuel at Monte Vista or other airports in the region. The transient aircraft tiedown area [at the start of runway 25] is at the top of the picture below (note: it is not where the private hangers are at the other end of the field).
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Created by Ted Waltman, Integrity First Consultants, Inc. Updated
5/14/2002 |