Page 18 - Volume 14 Issue 3

Equal Beauty on a Smaller Scale
While the NPS is vast, the 50 State Park Systems and thousands of County and City Park Systems are even more so. Every state, most counties and many cities (from large to tiny) have a park system in place with protected sites following much in the same vein as the NPS. While the parks themselves are generally much smaller than national parks or monuments, they offer similar sites of natural wonders, unique topography, memorials, historical markers or just quiet green space for relaxing while enjoying the view. It is difficult to find an airport that can accommodate a King Air within the U.S. that is not also within a short drive (or sometimes even walking distance) of a state, county or interesting city park site of some type. Two of my favorites over the years have been:
Devil’s Lake State Park near Baraboo, Wisconsin: Situated
between several small-town airports in south/central Wisconsin, only 30 minutes from the popular Wisconsin Dells, and an hour from the Wisconsin capital of Madison. This park is stunning! Centered on a 360-acre lake, the park’s hiking trails range from quaint strolls along the lake front to strenuous climbs up a natural staircase of quartzite rock to areas of sheer cliffs, balancing boulders and towering chimney rocks.
Brown County State Park, Indiana: Only an hour from both Indianapolis and Louisville, this park lies immediately north of (but not within) the Hoosier National Forest. It is about halfway between the medium-sized towns of Columbus and Bloomington, Indiana. Not only is it the largest state park in Indiana, at nearly 16,000 acres, it is one of the largest state parks anywhere in the U.S. Most don’t think of hills when they think of farm states like Indiana. Yet, this part of Indiana is mostly steep and rolling hills, densely wooded areas and stunning vistas. Very popular during the autumn foliage viewing season, the park can be enjoyed via several scenic drives (which include creeping through wooden covered bridges) or by getting out and hiking any of the miles of groomed trails (through thick forest or across open meadows).
Conclusion
When pursuing your layover bucket list, the only limits are your imagination and energy. It could be museums, architecture, hiking, city walks, scenic drives or bike rides, music stores or venues, 5-Star restaurants or dive cafes, or any other of a million different things that hold the interest of us pilots. The point is equally about checking off items on your list(s) of places and experiences not to be missed and about not wasting a good portion of your life waiting in FBOs and hotels!
Layover bucket lists can be effectively endless for filling an aviator’s downtime, while also pursuing one’s personal interests. Many great smartphone apps and websites exist for locating hiking
trails, parks, museums and other points of interest near you. The NPS and most State Park Systems have informative websites to help you narrow down your options based on the time you have to spare. Sometimes just heading out on a blind search for mental stimulation can be just as rewarding. In the end, use whatever information and motivation is necessary to go out and explore. If you just can’t take another minute of mundane waiting, that’s your subconscious telling you that life is passing you by and to seize the day. Killing a few hours at some awe-inspiring site sure beats killing a gallon of stale coffee at an FBO for me! KA
Copyright 2020, Matthew McDaniel.
First publication rights granted to Village Press, for King Air Magazine.
All other rights reserved by copyright holder.
Matthew McDaniel is a Master & Gold Seal CFII, ATP, MEI, AGI, & IGI and Platinum CSIP. In 30 years of flying, he has logged over 18,500 hours total, over 5,500 hours of instruction-given, and over 2,500 hours
in various King Airs and the BE-1900D. As owner of Progressive Aviation Services, LLC (www.progaviation.com), he has specialized in Technically Advanced Aircraft and Glass Cockpit instruction since 2001. Currently, he
is also an Airbus A-320 series captain for an international airline, holds 8 turbine aircraft type ratings, and has flown over 90 aircraft types. Matt is one of less than 15 instructors
in the world to have earned the Master CFI designation for 9 consecutive two-year terms. He can be reached at: matt@progaviation.com or (414) 339-4990.
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16 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
MARCH 2020