4R5 - Madeline Island, WI (Apostle Islands)

Taking off from the middle of the corn fields of Iowa and landing 2 hours later on an island in the middle of Lake Superior is one of the many perks of having friends that own a Skylane.   Madeline Island (one of the Apostle Islands) offers a paved airstrip with FBO and plenty of reasons to visit.

The island is ~4 miles off-shore and has no fuel services - Ashland (KASX) south of the airport has fuel services.

Bikes or mopeds can be rented on the island (give Motion to Go a call for the ride into town).   It's a 1.5 mile walk into town if you don't opt for the ride.  All the major attractions on the island are accessible by bike.

Approach and landing:

Big Bay State Park has beaches and trails:

Aerial shot of the main town of the island (La Pointe) which is very walkable:

The rest of the Apostle Islands are not accessible by land planes - so grab a kayak:

Courtesy Car:  No, but call Motion to Go for a ride into town for bike / moped rentals
Food:  Several restaurants clustered in the main town
Adventure:  Big Bay State Park, Kayaking, Bike/moped the island

KCJJ - Cresco, Iowa

Ellen Church Field lies within walking distance of Cresco which is useful since no courtesy cars are available.  

Unfortunately, the weather was against me today as the 10% chance of rain came true which discouraged the walk into town.   The water tower in the picture below is a few hundred rods from the restaurants that were worth visiting (Teluwut Grille House).   

The weather wasn't getting any better so I hung out in the lounge and ended up taking off before the next wx cell hit.

Testing the seals of the trusty C150 by flying through a wall of rain:

• Courtesy Car: No, but can walk 0.5 mile into town
• Food:  Teluwut Grill House, other chains
• Adventure:  The streets of Cresco, Iowa

K3MY - Peoria, Illinois (Mt Hawley)

Mid-sized midwestern cities typically don't offer much for surprises when it comes to GA and Peoria, IL was no exception.   With two courtesy cars and a variety of mediocre things to do, you will not be too bored or too blown away.

The approach to the airport is scenic with Peoria Lake in the distance:

The highly-rated One World Cafe was the highlight of the trip.   The waterfront area of the city had potential but nothing was active on the Saturday we were there.


Overall, Mt Hawley is an OK destination if you have a specific purpose but offered the casual visitor nothing unique.

• Courtesy Car:  Yes, two (Daewoo Leganza, Chevy Corsica)
• Food:  Yes, all varieties (Recommend  One World Cafe)
• Adventure:  Probably, nothing obvious, depends on the day

C74 - Cassville, WI

It was too perfect of a day to not head up to Monticello.  Ended up meeting up with a friend who was out in the Cardinal all morning for a trip to Cassville, WI (C74) for lunch.


Visibility was nearly unlimited today - the trees were starting to change color as we headed NE:

Make up your own parking spot:

Sand Bar restaurant is just a few rods away from the airport - food here is good:

Haulin cargo in the 150:

Barely clearing the trees during the departure from Cassville in a loaded Cessna 150:

Cassville, WI (C74):

• Scenic & challenging approach
• Restaurant (Sand Bar) across the railroad tracks

Local @ Monticello/Manchester

Beautiful day but had to keep it local due to time constraints.  Lots of people out flying at KMXO between ultralights and jets.

Falcon jet that held up the first takeoff of the morning:

Lots of clouds building all morning to weave through:

Flew over the Delhi dam on the way to Manchester (C27) for touch & gos:

Overall a great day to be out: