Skagit Washington to Plymouth Massachusetts

Flying PA-12 from Whidbey Island Washington to Plymouth Mass mid May.
Have the route through the Cascades covered. Any advise travelling across Idaho panhandle through Northern Montana and North dakota would be greatly appreciated. Planning on three hour legs---perhaps three a day---depending on rest/amount of sleep the previous evening. My big concern is the easiest way through or over the Rockies. Best [b]passage[/b] I guess would be the most accurate descriptor. Iwould prefer the more scenic route. Flying over Rte 2 all the way to Minnesota is an option. I would love to make this a two week trip, but not this time. I've got five or six days max.

I like to head over to Sandpoint Id, and then down the river to Thompson Falls, MT. Then I shoot for Seeley Lake, Lincoln, and then Great Falls Mt. All you need is 7500 to safely clear the pass between Lincoln and Great Falls. That route has way more options for landing than just following I-90 to Missoula, and usually better weather too! Try to stop in Baker MT (far E. side of the state) Take the old airport truck into town and have a steak at the "Corner Bar" if it's still around. A friend and I made it to Hibbing Minnesota in 3 days flying a 90hp Champ no problem. It took me 6 days (37hrs) to fly my Tcraft home from NY to Seattle. 65hp + climb prop + 40 Kt head winds makes for some slow flying! I'd call in sick to work and take my time to enjoy the trip.


Good Luck, Wish I was going with ya!

Jason
N43643

Skagit Regional to Plymouth.

Well----the trip took five days, had the weather not been so lousy on two days we could almost have done it in three.

Skagit Regional, in Mt Vernon Wash--just south of Bellingham to Coeur d'Alane Idaho. Massive walls of thunderstorms and we spent the night. Had to go to 11, 500 over the Cascades because of weather, FSS said "wouldn't" be there. Right.

Couer d'Alane to Cut Bank , MT. Talk about a desolate place. Cut Bank to Glasgow, MT. Nice folks at the airport, took the beater into town for a late lunch. Wind howling out of the west. Glasgow to Bismarck ND. Spent the noght. Real nice town, all prices for everything very reasonable and excellent service. Bismarck to Granite Falls MN. Now there is a fascinating place. A million dollar facility and not a soul around for miles. New loaner car to go into town for lunch. Spectacular facility---gas was cheap. A gazzilionaire by the name of Ron Fagan built the place out of his own pocket. He has some beautiful museum quality, WWII A/C there as well as some other old A/C. He has a SPECTACULAR P-51--"Sweet Revenge" on premises and is rebuilding two P-40's and a P-38. Spent the night and Prairie du Chien Wisconsin. Motel across the street from the airport and a nice Chinese reastaurant naxt to the airport and across the street from the motel. Apparently Cabellas--outdoor equipment is only a couple miles away. Only problem is they haven't any self serve gas and the help doesn't show up until 1000. Go Figure? What they do have is spectacular scenery. The airport is right on the Mississippi.
Next stop was a real small airport, down south about twenty, minutes for gas. Plattesville I think. Very helpful. Then onto Rockford, Ill for a maintenance stop for a few things. North American Aviation is the greatest. They gave us a lot of help and didn't charge us a dime. They figured two folks flying a cub across country deserves a huss. The gent who owns North American in Rockford imports L-39's and spiffs them up and resells them. Judging by his facility , he's doing OK. From Rockford off to Goshen, Indiana. Very nice airport and nice people. I was quite surprised by the number of folks working there and the size of the facility and there weren't a whole lot of A/C around. From Goshen we turned east and stopped in Portage, Ohio for fuel. Very pretty and scenic and not a soul around---anywhere. Almost took the roof off a car on final approach. The expression on the drivers face said it all. We the flew off to Williamsport, PA. We were continuously using carb heat because the ice kept on bulding. The engine would run real rough with attendant loss off RPM over nowhereville, western PA. MY stomach was tied up in a knot. Spent the night in Willamsport. Kinda of a pretty little town on the Susquehanna. Left the next day for Hartford, CT and then Plymouth.

All in all the folks in Wesern, central America (Red States) ---I just can't say enough about. We knew we were close to home when we arrived in Hartford when the gas attendant at the FBO told us to not hold our breath re gas because everyone was a lunch break. Welcome to the "blue states". Great trip, great airplane (PA-12) and great people and spectacular scenery. I'll post some pics soon.