Today was a BIG day. It would have been big and ambitious even if it wasn’t so turbulent along Route 66. But rather than getting our kicks, we were kicked in the butt by the persistent shaking on our first leg – Flagstaff to…nnottt Santa Fe but Tucumcari. Let me back up. We got away a little late from Flagstaff (boring story – really not our fault), so it was already a little hotter and a little windier than planned. Heat really makes a difference to a small plane’s performance, especially flying out of an airport at 7000′. And it increases turbulence, as the earth is warming up and destabilizing the air above. Turbulence isn’t dangerous if you fly the plane positively and properly. It just FEELS dangerous. And tiring. And annoying. And NOT relaxing.

But the views in the Southwest are gorgeous. We sure enjoyed seeing the geology and geography of Route 66 from the air. The rivers, dry river beds, rocks rising up in columns and steps, the desert vegetation.

As we neared Santa Fe (elev 6300′), we checked the temperature there and it was 76F/24C. Not scorching but potentially too high and hot to be able to take off again safely. So we flew on to Tucumcari NM which is officially the middle of nowhere. They had fuel (self serve – no sissy fuel truck), and clean toilets (thank you), but no food of any kind. No soda machine, nada. We drank water and dreamed of dinner. And now we were closer to our final destination today, Weatherford OK. I’ve never been to Oklahoma before, and we picked this little airport because it’s meant to be a cute place to stop, and it has an aviation museum.

But we forgot we’d be losing 2 hours in time zones today, and we already left late, so when we arrived in Weatherford, it was deserted. Nobody there. Not even any planes parked on the ramp (weird, are all the planes there parked in hangars?). Museum closed. No uber or lyft (yes we are aware this is Oklahoma). We tied down our plane (yes, we always carry our own tie-down straps) and eventually got Dave in his local taxi to take us to the hotel and show us the best nearby Mexican restaurant. With cold beer. And really delicious food. It you are ever in Weatherford OK, it’s call El Patio and we highly recommend it.

It was a big adventurous day, and we went from high desert and red rocks to the farms and trees of the plains. Also lots and lots of wind farms. It was actually an amazing day. Exhausting, but amazing.

Aviation lesson of the day: when flying in turbulence, focus on keeping wings level, your pitch and your speed, because the up- and downdrafts can make it impossible to hold altitude well. Also, next time we fly cross country, we’ll do fewer miles per week I think.