Here a basic report:::
1st: Do i fly 1200 nautical miles IFR or have fun and see the country as it should be seen flying low VFR. Easy!!!! I'm going VFR
So how do you get 2 cars, 1 Maule, 1 wife, and an entire apartment from Detroit to Durango Colorado
Well have your wife drive your car so you both have a car when we get there and you fly the Maule of course 
Then fly back commercial and pick up the moving truck with her car intow.
Day 1: Detroit to Iowa City Iowa
Her drive: about 10 hours My flight: 4.2 hours (hobbs time)
This was a great leg. After I got out of class B airspace area I
put on one of my favorite cd's and headed towards Chicago while
buzz low over all the beautiful lakes in Michigan. People waving
and enjoying the low fly byes. Even saw some nice bikinies
She left about 6 hours before me and my mom made me launch
and food for the flight. THanks mom
We meet up at an avaition theme motel. we slept in the Corsair
suite. Very cool motel great owners, both pilots
Day 2: Iowa City, Iowa to Denver
Wifes drive: about 11 hours My flight: 7.2 hours (hobbs time)
I could have done this section much faster but i was having
too much fun. I landed on about 12-15 grass strips and
spoke with a bunch of different local pilots. I even found
my girl barreling down the highway and did some showing off
for her, and everyone else on the highway. Even dropped
some flaps and flew next to her at 80 MPH over the farm
land. we meet at one airport where she slept in the pilots
launge for an hour while i Bullshitted with some pilots.
It was really cool keeping my same altitude out of
Nebraska and finally in to Colorado and watching the
ground get closer and closer
Day 3: While my wife slept and hung out with her parents i went for
my mountain flying leason. 4 hours with Jerr Eberhard
cruising around the Rockies, hitting 14,000' when needed
and learning alot. We landed in Leadville Co. which was
beautiful. No, i'm not a little sissy girl but at one point we
were at 14,000' with the Maule at idle soaring on the windup
side of this awesome range about 100' away from the rocks
cruising past the peaks and i got so emotional with tears in
my eyes i had to have the cfi fly for me
What can i
say, i'm a flat land pilot and i really really love flying. He
taught me so much and we crossed about 5 passes. Some of
the best money i've ever spent in avaition.
Day 4: Denver to Durango
Wifes drive: about 7 hours My flight: 2.3 hours (hobbs time)
This is one of the greatest days of my life. I flew myself over the
rockies to a beautiful mountain town were i now live. I airplane
performed perfectly as always and the senery was beyond words.
It was really interesting using dead reckoning for such a long
distance especially after not using it for so long. My mountain
flying instructor Jerr showed me the importance of old school
navigation in the mountains. My Maule has a GNS 530 but it
doesn't tell you what mountain you're looking at or where the
multiple passes are that you need to go over. well at least mine
doesn't have topo software. great flight!!! everyone needs to go on a long vfr cross country. and flying is amazing in the Rockies. Peter
