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I've wanted to fly Moab for a long time. This was my opportunity. My
only regret was needing to get somewhere. We blew through the park
knowing that this evening would be our only chance to fly. And the park
was absolutely gorgeous - with great hiking trails and amazing scenery.
At 3pm or so we looked at our watches, the sky, the park map and
simultaneously concluded that we must just drive through the rest of the
park and go find a launch site.
What we came accros was the remains of an airfield. From the ground
it looked like there had been hangars and tie downs here at some point
then, from the air, that was confirmed. We knew of the charted airport
but that was a couple miles away so this caught us off-guard. It was
perfect for PPG, though. And we made good use of it. Tim launched
first into a bumpy sky. He didn't like it and landed pretty quickly. I
gave it a half-hour to mellow out then gave it a go while Tim took
pictures. Conditions improved so, after I landed we both refueled and
planned a long one. After I launched, the Mesa out east lured me in
and I drifted away. We didn't have radio contact so I didn't know when
Tim launched but it was only a short while after I did. He headed south.
It's too bad we didn't get to fly together because that adds so much,
not the least of which is comfort that, if one goes down, the other
knows where. When I came back, Tim was nowhere around and I got a bit
worried. Thankfully, he soon showed up and we had a great time comparing
notes. Next time, though, we'll either stay in sight or have our radios
working.
    
    
   
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After
leaving the Enterprise behind me I headed for this Mesa. The beauty
sucks you in. I forgot about time, about Tim and just went exploring,
paying attention only the hues below
and winds around. This was one spectacular flight. |
