International Fellowship of
Flying Rotarians (IFFR)
The Great Southwestern Flyout
June 21 to July 6, 2001
The Great Southwestern Flyout with Rotarians from all over the world was a big attraction for Peter & Shirley More to attend this year's Rotary International Convention in San Antonio. Having studied the detailed itinerary covering some of the most scenic destinations in the Southwest, the Mores were anxious to get on board. The only factor of concern was weather.
The evening prior to departure, Shirley checked The Weather Channel and saw reports of thunder storm in El Paso and San Antonio forecast for the next few days. She told Peter there's no way she will fly to San Antonio on a single engine plane in thunder storm. The following morning, June 21, 7am Peter showed Shirley a satellite photo of a "clear flight route" and said that's the weather pattern is clear in the morning with cloudy isolated thunder storms later in the day. So they got ready within minutes and took off from Santa Monica Airport. After four hours & fifty minutes at 15,500 feet, they arrived in El Paso where they spent the night at the historical Camino Real Hotel. The next morning, they departed early for San Antonio Stinson Airport. An hour from San Antonio there were scattered clouds from 7000 to 15000 feet. Peter decided to get under the clouds through an opening and worked our way through light turbulence for the last hour of our trip, arriving San Antonio in three hours and fifteen minutes.
IFFR held a briefing for all flyout participants during the Rotary Convention. They handed out a book detailing our tour plan, necessary navigation charts, list of all pilots and aircrafts, schedules of arrival & departure, hotel & programs at each destination, they also covered high altitude flying. It was an incredible prep job to make sure we have a fun trip.
The day following the close of the Rotary International Convention in San Antonio, 22 planes and 57 Rotarians set off on the Great Southwestern Flyout. Rotarians from all over the globe joined in, England, Scotland, Luxemburg, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Australia, Hawaii, California, Washington, Texas, Louisiana, Illinois, Ohio, Rhode Island and New York. There were four lady pilots. We departed San Antonio Stinson Airport for the following stops:
Big Springs, Texas (T49)
Midland, Texas (MAF)
Carlsbad, New Mexico (CNM)
Santa Fe, New Mexico (SAF)
Farmington, New Mexico (FMN)
Bryce Canyon, Utah (BCE)
Big Spring & Midland in Texas were our two stops on the first day. We were fortunate to have the Big Spring Rotarians gave us a tour of the "Hangar 25" museum and they also hosted lunch. That afternoon, we flew to the Confederate Air Force HQ in Midland, a short forty minute away. The Confederate Air Force Museum has the largest collection of operating World War II aircrafts. It was founded by four aviation enthusiast interested in restoring & preserving WWII era aircrafts. Bob Rice, executive director of the CAF and the RC of Midland hosted dinner in the museum.
Carlsbad, New Mexico was our destination on the second day. The Carlsbad Caverns was world famous for its size and interesting formation of stalactites & stalagmites. It was so impressive that we were in awe by the force of nature. That evening, we made a second trip back to Carlsbad National Park. This time to watch the bats fly out of the cave at dusk. Shirley wasn't so keen on seeing thousands of bat fly. Out of curiosity, she went along and found it wasn't so bad as these bats were small & they didn't fly over the spectators.
Day 3 was Santa Fe, New Mexico. The place is haven for artists and art enthusiasts. Santa Fe Opera premiered the previous night, some of us were fortunate to get in that evening of our arrival. Those who didn't, had plenty to keep them busy with art galleries, museums, shops and world class restaurants. It's a gem of the Southwest. The following day was excursion to nearby Taos on a coach followed by a Mexican Fiesta dinner hosted at the home of our tour guide Clarice. It was a wonderful way to celebrate our wedding anniversary.
Day 5 was Farmington, New Mexico. It's the border town of the Four Corners. Again, we were hosted by two local Rotary clubs for dinner at a park. They brought in plenty of food, and even a story teller of Navajo stories. Day 6 was another excursion, this time to Mesa Verde, Colorado through the scenic country of the Four Corners. We were fascinated by the cultural heritage and activities in this area where the Ancestral Puebloans made their home over 1000 years ago. Farmington was celebrating their centennial and put on a great firework display, it was also July 3rd.
Day 7 was Bryce Canyon. The flight to Bryce was probably the most scenic. We flew over Monument Valley, Red Rock Canyon and Lake Powell. Bryce Canyon was simply spectacular. The rock formations form castles, theatres, or whatever your imagination make of it. That same evening, our group gathered for a farewell dinner at the hotel and gave our thanks to Tony Watson & Phil Yoder who spent months planning this trip for all of us.
Day 8 was an excursion to the north rim of Grand Canyon. It was a long bus ride. The scenery was breathtaking. We were in cowboy country, driving across Escalante National Park. The next morning as the group was saying goodbye, the most frequently said words were "we'll see you next year in Barcelona". We returned to Santa Monica, logged over 3,000 miles in about 22 hours.
There! The More's first flyout with a group of Rotarian flyers and their family. It was a fantastic experience that took us to some of the most beautiful places in the country, introduced us to many Rotarian clubs on route, enjoying their hospitality, and during those 8 days, we also made many friends with Rotarians from all over the world. A few of them entertained us with their varied talents such as Herman Hessinger's humorous but fitting limericks, President Sam Bishop's harmonica and the father & son team of Buddy and Rob Hall's Cajun jokes with their cute Cajun accent. Peter, especially, had a grand time, talking airplane anytime, anywhere, learning from other's experience. Shirley, after this extended trip, has become more comfortable with flying. Maybe she might even take up the pilot seat one day!
The pictures that follow only partially shows what Rotary Fellowship is all about. It was nine days of non stop sightseeing, partying, flying, swapping club project ideas, and lots of fellowship. These pictures were down sized to facilitate faster loading. Full size images (2048 x 1360 x 24b) are about 500k and are available upon request. For more pictures, be sure to check out the IFFR site: http://www.iffr.org Thanks to Tony Watson and Phil Yoder for putting together this great week.
Shirley More, peter@petermore.com
Westwood Village Rotary
Club,
www.wvrc.net
July 10, 2001