In May of 2001, I took a trip in my Piper Cub airplane from Michigan to the west coast and back. My plane has a short range, so I carefully planned my route and fuel stops on aeronautical charts before I left. The most difficult part of the planning was near Death Valley, where there are few airports with fuel and very high mountains. The lowest elevation in the U.S. in Death Valley is -282’, and it is only 85 miles from the highest peak in the “lower 48”, 14,491’ Mt. Whitney. Except for three weather detours, I followed my preplanned course for the entire trip. I completed the 5,600 mile trip in 73 flight hours, landed at 42 airports in 17 states, and flew over 11 national parks. I wish I would have owned my F707 then!