ABC Weds (2 days late) - R is for Rain!

Weds. just came and went so fast, I missed the usual ABC Weds. It is Raining here in the ABQ area today so guess R is for RAIN. A gully washer type of rain! Very nice, considering we have been parched for quite a number of weeks and maybe months. The weather forecasters promise more for the weekend so I plan to enjoy it while it lasts.

I would like to honor all military veterans on this upcoming Memorial Day! Thanks to all of them and their families who have given so much to keep us free! The photo above shows Old Glory waving in the wind at our Annual July 4th Picnic here at Mid Valley. I think the flag was being flown by the winner of the lawn mower race or perhaps a runner-up.

ABC Weds - Q is for Quiet - Utah Backcountry Airstrips

ABC Weds - Q is for Quiet - peaceful backcountry airstrips of Utah.

These are photos of us enjoying the quiet and relaxing atmosphere of Mexican Mountain Airstrip in Utah. We had flown the Rebel there on a nice April day this year, intending to camp. While Mike went in search of petroglyphs or pictographs, I relaxed in the shade, enjoying the quiet.

To learn more about Mexican Mountain and other Utah backcountry airstrips, see http://www.utahbackcountrypilots.org/

We plan to visit more of these beautiful airstrips in the future!

Visitors on Wings

This week and next, we will have hosted a number of pilots winging their way west. Since we live at an airport, we have sometimes been the destination for flying friends.

Recently (May 8th), we hosted two flying friends - Arty Trost and Randy Simpson - who are flying their "ultralights" (now Light Sport) aircraft on quite an aerial adventure. The first photo shows Randy's Carrera, the second photo is of Arty with her Maxair Drifter, and the third shows Paul, a Trike pilot from ABQ, Arty, Randy, and Jeff, another Trike pilot from ABQ. NOTE - Arty does not have an enclosure, just a windscreen. She has all her belongings strapped down to the fuselage. She also has to get into a snowmobile suit (even in 90 degree weather on the ground) and secures her maps to her leg with large rubber bands - it gets very breezy and cold at altitude! She tells me she loves being "out there" where she can see everything! Amazing lady!

Arty and Randy are returning to their homes in Oregon after they flew to the Sun 'n Fun Fly-in at Lakeland, Florida. They left Oregon in late March and arrived in time to enjoy Sun 'n Fun in mid-April. On their return trip, they have been dodging (or not) all kinds of weather on their return flight back home and made lots of new friends along the way. You can read more about their trip at Arty's blog at http://www.lessonsfromtheedge.com/b2evolution/blog1.php. You can also follow them on their SPOT websites - the URLs are on her blog. SPOT is a device that links to satellites to let your loved ones know your location - via emails, text messages, and/or your very own SPOT website. SPOT can also be used to signal for help or emergency assistance.

On May 7th, we started tracking Arty and Randy on their SPOT websites as they crossed the Texas/New Mexico border where they planned to follow I-40 to Moriarity NM and then to our airport, E98. They didn't make it to E98 on May 7th as they got a late start and winds and turbulence caused them to wait it out at a rancher's airstrip near Montoya, NM (Arty describes this airstrip in graphic detail on her blog). Later that day, they flew to Santa Rosa Airport to spend the evening.

Early on May 8th, they started their flight towards E98. Late morning, they met Paul and Jeff, the ABQ Trike pilots at Moriarty and then flew with them to E98 (our home). We gave them hangar space for their aircraft for the afternoon. Mike took them to Denny's for lunch and then brought them back so they could prepare for the next leg of their trip - as it turned out - to Grants, NM. They spent the night of May 8th at Grants and are currently on their way towards Kanab, Utah as shown on their SPOT websites. They are making great progress towards home and their loved ones. We wish them more blue skies, no turbulence, and tailwinds!

I had to interrupt this Blogging for a few minutes to check out a great sounding round-engine airplane coming into Mid Valley awhile ago. It was a WWII T-6 flown by another lady pilot - Julie Smith, who was once also an acrobatic champion, but now she flies her beautiful warbird to Oshkosh for AirVenture, joining other WWII warbirds for a fantastic airshow.

It is great fun - living at an Airpark - when you are a pilot!

Next week - we expect anywhere from 1 to 6 pilots coming from Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas - they will be stopping by for RON on Weds. May 13 on their way to Monument Valley. The upstairs entertainment center has been reserved for however many pilots make it to E98. On Friday, May 15, we will be joining them at Monument Valley for the 7th or 8th Annual Unplanned/Unorganized/Unofficial Kolb Fly-in. We will have either the Rebel or the Rans S-18 (depends on an oil cooler arriving next week).

And the week after the fly-in, Mike will be joining our friends on a longer flight to Oregon to visit the Alvord Desert, the Rock House, and the Cottrells at their home and airstrip in SE Oregon. Mike will have a SPOT onboard whichever airplane he takes so we can track his flight to and from Oregon. I will be going back to work on Monday, but will be tracking the Oregon flight on SPOT. My turn for fun comes in July when we plan another Idaho backcountry vacation with the Rebel.

Jan Rebel Pilot is Back

I am back to blogging. I haven't written a thing since April 14th according to this blog. We had a nice long vacation from April 17th until April 26th to Utah with the Rebel and the Lazy Daze.

We started our vacation on Friday April 17th by attending the RV Rally in Albuquerque at the Fairgrounds (aka Expo NM). It was a good Rally for us as we got to talk to some of the vendors - in particular, we are interested in satellite internet for on the road, a big priority for us. That way I can keep blogging as well as check the weather for flights and driving and of course, keep in touch via email. We also saw a friend Perry Pahlmeyer. Last fall, we spent a few days with Perry and his friends at Hanksville Airport. Perry and his friends have powered parachutes - a fun way to view the world from aloft. We have also seen Perry at Bluff Airport too.

Our intent was to drive the Lazy Daze and fly the Rebel to Grants Airport on Friday, but the weather turned wintery and stormy. In fact, we had snow on April 17th in the northern part of the state. We delayed our departure until Sat. Apr 18th. Even then, we had to change our drive and flight plans a little. I decided to drive the LD as the weather looked a bit iffy to me, but fine for Mike. So he flew, delaying his take off a little. For me - my drive was to go up 550, but it was snowy and probably icy. I drove I-40 to 371 to Farmington and then 491 to the usual road we take to Blanding.

Mike got really lucky with his photography - he took a photo of Cabazon and one of its sister peaks, snow capping the peaks just as if someone sprinkled powdered sugar all over the peaks. Awesome photo. If I can get a small enough photo, I will add one to this blog. It is on his disk somewhere.

After a wintery start to our vacation, we were able to enjoy a beautiful week of flying out of Hanksville for early morning and late afternoon photo-flying and a few days of Capitol Reef camping, hiking, and mountain biking (Mike only). I got to have a turn at flying the Rebel all by myself when I flew it from Blanding to Hanksville while Mike drove the LD to Hanksville.

This is kind of rambling, but just had to put something in - I have also missed a few ABC Weds and really enjoy doing that. I will catch up next week (maybe).

But - busy travels continue --- we have friends coming from the east on their way to Monument Valley where we will join all for the 5th or 6th Annual unofficial Kolb fly-in (May 14-17). This year, it seems everyone is flocking (flying or driving) to MV. Tomorrow, we will be hosting some flyers (very extraordinary flyers) who will probably be stopping at MV (Arty Trost and Randy Simpson. They flew their ultralight aircraft all the way to Florida from Oregon in March for Sun 'n Fun Fly-in at Lakeland and now they are on their way home. See Arty's blog at http://www.lessonsfromtheedge.com/b2evolution/blog1.php. We have been tracking their flights using their Spot Shared pages. They landed somewhere west of Tucumcari today and plan to fly here to E98 tomorrow.

Next week, we will be hosting around 5 or 6 more pilots who will be flying to MV as well. John Hauck is the lead guy for this gaggle. The pizza will be on for all those that make it to our place on Weds, May 13. They depart for MV on Thurs. May 14. Then we depart on Friday May 15.

I will be at MV until Sun May 17. Mike is going to continue with John H and the rest on to Oregon where they will be visiting famous locations such as the Rock House, Alvord Desert, and enjoying the hospitality of Larry and Karen Cottrell (who will also be at MV). What a busy bunch of folks.

The MV fly-in should attract a variety of aircraft, Kolbs, Cessnas, Rans (ours), Carrera (Randy), Drifter (Arty), a Flight Design CT (I think), and more! What fun it will be to see friends from all over the country gathered together at MV. I will try to get some photos.

This is it from here - gotta make supper now...