I took a little trip today (little by Texas standards!), and figured I share it with the group. You can view a bunch of pictures here
I'll include a few along the way to wet the appetite!
I love mountains, and I love deserts. Although my definition of REAL mountains requires terrain where many people like supplemental oxygen, I can squint and call the Big Bend area of Texas mountainous?at least compared to the flatlands of the Texas coast! It had been a number of years since I had been to the Big Bend, primarily because it is such a stinkin? long drive from Houston ? but some recent discussions of a fly-in camping trip had re-aroused my interest to the point where I had been looking at maps and charts, as well as staring at Google Earth a lot. Since I am burning the rest of last years Use-or-Lose annual leave this week, I figured that maybe the time was right to take a recon trip for myself, and check out the flying and landing possibilities. I was originally planning on making it a two-day trip, camping for the night somewhere, but the weather forecast for the second day was not promising, and the temperatures were down around freezing ? with no way to offer protection or pre-heat for the airplane - so I figured a day trip would work.
I left Houston about 0800, with WeatherMeister predicting a 2+30 trip to Alpine if I flew at 8500?. Sure enough, I pulled into Alpine (E38) with 2+28 on the clock to top up with fuel. While there are numerous airstrips (mostly marked private) down south of Alpine and Marfa, none of them have fuel, so I figured it was a good idea to fill up before exploring, The trip out to Alpine reinforced why I don?t like to drive it ? once you get beyond San Antonio, you are confronted with nothing but miles and miles of?.miles and miles! This is kind of like going to the moon ? don?t expect much but rocks and hills. The weather was good, with light winds and some thin scattered layers of clouds along the way.
Alpine airport is a nice place to stop, and while there was no one there, the self-serve pump was working, and the restrooms were open and clean. For those of us that routinely operate out of the coast, it is unusual to set the altimeter at over 4,000? while still on the runway, but the runways are long enough to compensate.
My first destination was to be Big Bend Ranch State Park (BBRSP). This is a huge former ranch that the state has acquired, located to the west of the National Park. The state inherited the runway (paved and smooth) as well as the old ranch compound ? the ranch house, bunkhouse, stables, mechanical buildings ? everything that was there as part of a working cattle ranch. The airstrip is marked ?private?, but just give the State Park office a call before you go ? it is publicly owned, and they are happy to let you land there. The identifier is 3TE3, but don?t look for it in the Garmin or Jeppesen databases. It is on the charts, but that doesn?t make it easy to find,. In fact, the tricky thing is that when you are coming down from Alpine, you will pass one airstrip that is charted, and then, just when you expect the BBRSP strip, up pops a runway, oriented in the right direction, the right length, with a ranch compound about a half mile to the west ? as expected. Of course, it is NOT BBRSP, but another ranch located about three miles north of there. I got suckered in, walked around, but couldn?t find anybody. The only thing that didn?t match was that it was gravel instead of pavement, and I almost convinced myself it was the right place?but when I took off, I headed south a couple of miles and bingo!
Shortly after I landed at the RIGHT strip, a truck pulled up with a friendly fellow who said he was a park volunteer. He and his wife drive down from Michigan for the winter with their fifth-wheel, and help out running the place for three months. He said he was there to serve, and could he give me a tour? Well, that?s what I was there for, so I hopped in! The first stop was one of the primitive camping areas, a few hundred yards from the airstrip. Just a flat area in the desert, nothing more. Personally, I LIKE that! You could walk over there after landing if you wished.., or they?ll come over and ferry you if you prefer. Most of the park is just wide open for backpackers. Basically, it is a flat desert environment on mesas. There are some pretty rugged hills as well, but expect to walk ten or twenty miles to get to the really interesting terrain that can be seen from the air.
The next stop was the ranch compound. There are two kinds of accommodations ? the dormitory/bunkhouse, and the Ranch House. The dorm is actually quite nice, with separate areas for men and women, and in each areas, little divided cubicles with two beds each. There is a common sitting area with fireplace, and a dining area. They will provide meals on request, and I was told that breakfast was about $6, and dinners about $10. Accommodations were $25 per person per night. It sounds like they rarely have more than a few people there at any one time, although groups do come in and book the whole place for a weekend. Considering the length of drive you have to make on bad roads to get there, I think they are probably the loneliest park people in Texas?.
The ranch house is beautiful turn-of-the-century Texas ranch classic. Think any western movie you have ever seen with a rustic yet refined house, and that is it. There are three or four bedrooms, and it will sleep 8- 10 people. Food can be arranged, or you can bring your own. Beautiful dining room and sitting room. Rates are $100 per person for a night ? or, you can book the whole place for a group for $400 per night. Having paid close to $100 for a Best Western in many cities, this sounds pretty good!
The only ?problem? you have in any of the fly-in options in the Big Bend is ground transportation., There isn?t any. You fly in, you are where you are. Except?.the folks at BBRSP will arrange for guided day-long tours to the National Park. They also have day-long horse-back trips in the State Park. So if you?re kind of cheap, like me, you can just splat down and relax. But if you want to spend a little money, you can book the excursions. The price of the excursions is less than you?d pay for a rental car or jeep anyway, so it sounds like a pretty good deal. Everyone here was really friendly ? maybe it was cause they were just starved for company!
I'll include a few along the way to wet the appetite!
I love mountains, and I love deserts. Although my definition of REAL mountains requires terrain where many people like supplemental oxygen, I can squint and call the Big Bend area of Texas mountainous?at least compared to the flatlands of the Texas coast! It had been a number of years since I had been to the Big Bend, primarily because it is such a stinkin? long drive from Houston ? but some recent discussions of a fly-in camping trip had re-aroused my interest to the point where I had been looking at maps and charts, as well as staring at Google Earth a lot. Since I am burning the rest of last years Use-or-Lose annual leave this week, I figured that maybe the time was right to take a recon trip for myself, and check out the flying and landing possibilities. I was originally planning on making it a two-day trip, camping for the night somewhere, but the weather forecast for the second day was not promising, and the temperatures were down around freezing ? with no way to offer protection or pre-heat for the airplane - so I figured a day trip would work.
I left Houston about 0800, with WeatherMeister predicting a 2+30 trip to Alpine if I flew at 8500?. Sure enough, I pulled into Alpine (E38) with 2+28 on the clock to top up with fuel. While there are numerous airstrips (mostly marked private) down south of Alpine and Marfa, none of them have fuel, so I figured it was a good idea to fill up before exploring, The trip out to Alpine reinforced why I don?t like to drive it ? once you get beyond San Antonio, you are confronted with nothing but miles and miles of?.miles and miles! This is kind of like going to the moon ? don?t expect much but rocks and hills. The weather was good, with light winds and some thin scattered layers of clouds along the way.
Alpine airport is a nice place to stop, and while there was no one there, the self-serve pump was working, and the restrooms were open and clean. For those of us that routinely operate out of the coast, it is unusual to set the altimeter at over 4,000? while still on the runway, but the runways are long enough to compensate.
My first destination was to be Big Bend Ranch State Park (BBRSP). This is a huge former ranch that the state has acquired, located to the west of the National Park. The state inherited the runway (paved and smooth) as well as the old ranch compound ? the ranch house, bunkhouse, stables, mechanical buildings ? everything that was there as part of a working cattle ranch. The airstrip is marked ?private?, but just give the State Park office a call before you go ? it is publicly owned, and they are happy to let you land there. The identifier is 3TE3, but don?t look for it in the Garmin or Jeppesen databases. It is on the charts, but that doesn?t make it easy to find,. In fact, the tricky thing is that when you are coming down from Alpine, you will pass one airstrip that is charted, and then, just when you expect the BBRSP strip, up pops a runway, oriented in the right direction, the right length, with a ranch compound about a half mile to the west ? as expected. Of course, it is NOT BBRSP, but another ranch located about three miles north of there. I got suckered in, walked around, but couldn?t find anybody. The only thing that didn?t match was that it was gravel instead of pavement, and I almost convinced myself it was the right place?but when I took off, I headed south a couple of miles and bingo!
Shortly after I landed at the RIGHT strip, a truck pulled up with a friendly fellow who said he was a park volunteer. He and his wife drive down from Michigan for the winter with their fifth-wheel, and help out running the place for three months. He said he was there to serve, and could he give me a tour? Well, that?s what I was there for, so I hopped in! The first stop was one of the primitive camping areas, a few hundred yards from the airstrip. Just a flat area in the desert, nothing more. Personally, I LIKE that! You could walk over there after landing if you wished.., or they?ll come over and ferry you if you prefer. Most of the park is just wide open for backpackers. Basically, it is a flat desert environment on mesas. There are some pretty rugged hills as well, but expect to walk ten or twenty miles to get to the really interesting terrain that can be seen from the air.
The next stop was the ranch compound. There are two kinds of accommodations ? the dormitory/bunkhouse, and the Ranch House. The dorm is actually quite nice, with separate areas for men and women, and in each areas, little divided cubicles with two beds each. There is a common sitting area with fireplace, and a dining area. They will provide meals on request, and I was told that breakfast was about $6, and dinners about $10. Accommodations were $25 per person per night. It sounds like they rarely have more than a few people there at any one time, although groups do come in and book the whole place for a weekend. Considering the length of drive you have to make on bad roads to get there, I think they are probably the loneliest park people in Texas?.
The ranch house is beautiful turn-of-the-century Texas ranch classic. Think any western movie you have ever seen with a rustic yet refined house, and that is it. There are three or four bedrooms, and it will sleep 8- 10 people. Food can be arranged, or you can bring your own. Beautiful dining room and sitting room. Rates are $100 per person for a night ? or, you can book the whole place for a group for $400 per night. Having paid close to $100 for a Best Western in many cities, this sounds pretty good!
The only ?problem? you have in any of the fly-in options in the Big Bend is ground transportation., There isn?t any. You fly in, you are where you are. Except?.the folks at BBRSP will arrange for guided day-long tours to the National Park. They also have day-long horse-back trips in the State Park. So if you?re kind of cheap, like me, you can just splat down and relax. But if you want to spend a little money, you can book the excursions. The price of the excursions is less than you?d pay for a rental car or jeep anyway, so it sounds like a pretty good deal. Everyone here was really friendly ? maybe it was cause they were just starved for company!
