Bartlesville, Oklahoma ~ Belen, New Mexico

Route:  KBVO ~ JWG ~ OJA ~ TCC ~ E80  557 nautical miles

Downwind for left traffic for Stafford Airport (OJA).

Thomas P. Stafford Museum at Stafford Airport, Oklahoma.

Taking off from Batlesville, Oklahoma we fly to the Watonga Regional Airport where we use the courtesy Bronco to go to lunch while the FBO personnel work on the fuel pump which will not pump or accept my credit card?  Finishing lunch the self-sevrve pump will not work, much to their consternation! (A potential 20 gallon fuel sale down the drain!)  And we fly to another airport just a short hop away at the Thomas P. Stafford (OJA) and get fuel there.  Apparently Stafford, a Lt. General was also a Astronaut and there is a small museum in the building, which some of we get to see - the rest is still locked up, not opening until later that day.

The Museum was closed, but some was available.

General Staffords Space Shorts!

Future sites for wind machines.

Oil wells dot the country side here.

Tucumcari Airport, New Mexico

The attendant at Tucumcari was great!  Fueled our plane, help push it into a nearby hanger out of the sun (it was really hot!) and gave us a curtesy car to go into town and have lunch!  A quick lunch at the local McDonalds intetween stopping tourist bus loads of people and we are back on the freeway to the Tucumcari Airport, retrieve out plane from the shade of the hanger and we are off for Belen, New Mexico.

I wondered if they were at the same altitude?

Or, maybe, just waving at each other?

Just another view up

Airport is on the plateau above Belen, New Mexico just below the Mountain in the picture

Left Bartlesville, Oklahoma and ended the day in Belen, New Mexico.  I did learn one thing, if you arrive after 4 pm at the airport - Don't expect anyone to still be there!  Fortunately at Belen, New Mexico "Tony" was there and helped arrange a ride in the courtesy car into town. 

Where we ate dinner, walking distance from the Holiday Inn Express

   Just before our arrival, four swifts arrived from a convention and took the courtesy car to the same motel that we had reservations at.  They graciously came back out and picked us up.  We all left about the same time the next morning.