Greg Arehart
Well Known Member
In four parts....
It was a year ago that I was just embarking on my 40 hours constricted to within 100 miles of Reno, so we decided that this year we should do something a bit more interesting. It was cold but beautiful in Reno, and we were thinking it was time to go someplace warmer for the holidays. With relatives in warm, sunny Dallas, that seemed like a good place to go.
So we did the present-opening business Christmas eve, and early Christmas morning, we planned to launch for Texas. The weather was predicted reasonable, but with potential for freezing fog locally in the valleys until it burned off mid-morning. Upon arising, there was no fog in the valley around Reno, but sometimes the stuff will form early in the morning. So we hustled out to the airport, only to see a fogbank in that general direction. When we got there, we loaded up, pulled the airplane out of the hangar and got ready to depart. The fog was just north of 08-26, and covered the N part of 14-32. With clear skies and no fog to the S, we launched just in time.
Beautiful morning and nobody else in the skies! We headed east toward Fallon, NV and passed over Soda Lake which was generating its own fog.
Headed for Eureka (05U), we obtained clearance through the Fallon Naval Air Station bombing range (glad that they weren't bombing on Christmas day, as it would seem out of context) and past the Stillwater Range. In this photo you can see the old shorelines of Lake Lahontan, a Pleistocene-era large lake that covered most of the valleys of western NV.
Further east we passed by Austin NV where the BLM is doing some sort of testing by churning up the ground in patterns. Snowy areas are where the sagebrush is gone from the churning. The Toiyabe Range is just behind the patterned area - some of the best remote hiking in NV.
Julia had called ahead Christmas eve to several airports to determine where we could make a fuel and pit stop. Almost nobody in NV was going to be open on Christmas. However, when she called Eureka, the fellow who answered said "of course we're here 24/7! You can certainly get fuel on Christmas." So Eureka it was. Turns out they live on the field and own the FBO so it was easy for them to be there. We stopped and chatted for a bit, and Julia noticed some photos on the wall. Blue Decathlon with a round-faced guy in front of it. Turns out this was Steve Fossett. The story is that he was there about a month before his accident in 2007 and really was planning on attempting the land speed record just N of Eureka. He had made arrangements for fuel and logistics through the FBO folks. Of course we all know the sad end of that story. Anyway, John and Vincie provided us with fuel and Christmas cookies. John was interested in the RV so we got talking and it turns out that he had recently bought a RV-4, so we had to get a look and talk some more. By the time we left, we were a bit behind schedule, but no big deal.
On we headed. Winds were favorable at 15500, with tailwinds of 35-65 mph! This would make up for the time spent on the ground talking. We passed by Wheeler Peak NV, the highest point in the state at just under 14000 ft. Part of Great Basin National Park and Lehman Caves. Another great place to hike in the summer.
Winds continued to be favorable as we crossed into the Colorado Plateau in S central UT. The red rocks of the plateau contrasted nicely with the green trees and white snow, but there was some significant haze that made photos wash out a bit.
On past Bryce Canyon, UT with the high country of the Aquarius Plateau in the background. Here again, there was enough haze that photos (particulary distant ones) didn't do the scenery justice. Much better looking at it in "surround scenery" from an RV at 15000 ft.
We started our descent into Page, AZ for fuel and a break.
To be continued next post....
It was a year ago that I was just embarking on my 40 hours constricted to within 100 miles of Reno, so we decided that this year we should do something a bit more interesting. It was cold but beautiful in Reno, and we were thinking it was time to go someplace warmer for the holidays. With relatives in warm, sunny Dallas, that seemed like a good place to go.
So we did the present-opening business Christmas eve, and early Christmas morning, we planned to launch for Texas. The weather was predicted reasonable, but with potential for freezing fog locally in the valleys until it burned off mid-morning. Upon arising, there was no fog in the valley around Reno, but sometimes the stuff will form early in the morning. So we hustled out to the airport, only to see a fogbank in that general direction. When we got there, we loaded up, pulled the airplane out of the hangar and got ready to depart. The fog was just north of 08-26, and covered the N part of 14-32. With clear skies and no fog to the S, we launched just in time.
Beautiful morning and nobody else in the skies! We headed east toward Fallon, NV and passed over Soda Lake which was generating its own fog.
Headed for Eureka (05U), we obtained clearance through the Fallon Naval Air Station bombing range (glad that they weren't bombing on Christmas day, as it would seem out of context) and past the Stillwater Range. In this photo you can see the old shorelines of Lake Lahontan, a Pleistocene-era large lake that covered most of the valleys of western NV.
Further east we passed by Austin NV where the BLM is doing some sort of testing by churning up the ground in patterns. Snowy areas are where the sagebrush is gone from the churning. The Toiyabe Range is just behind the patterned area - some of the best remote hiking in NV.
Julia had called ahead Christmas eve to several airports to determine where we could make a fuel and pit stop. Almost nobody in NV was going to be open on Christmas. However, when she called Eureka, the fellow who answered said "of course we're here 24/7! You can certainly get fuel on Christmas." So Eureka it was. Turns out they live on the field and own the FBO so it was easy for them to be there. We stopped and chatted for a bit, and Julia noticed some photos on the wall. Blue Decathlon with a round-faced guy in front of it. Turns out this was Steve Fossett. The story is that he was there about a month before his accident in 2007 and really was planning on attempting the land speed record just N of Eureka. He had made arrangements for fuel and logistics through the FBO folks. Of course we all know the sad end of that story. Anyway, John and Vincie provided us with fuel and Christmas cookies. John was interested in the RV so we got talking and it turns out that he had recently bought a RV-4, so we had to get a look and talk some more. By the time we left, we were a bit behind schedule, but no big deal.
On we headed. Winds were favorable at 15500, with tailwinds of 35-65 mph! This would make up for the time spent on the ground talking. We passed by Wheeler Peak NV, the highest point in the state at just under 14000 ft. Part of Great Basin National Park and Lehman Caves. Another great place to hike in the summer.
Winds continued to be favorable as we crossed into the Colorado Plateau in S central UT. The red rocks of the plateau contrasted nicely with the green trees and white snow, but there was some significant haze that made photos wash out a bit.
On past Bryce Canyon, UT with the high country of the Aquarius Plateau in the background. Here again, there was enough haze that photos (particulary distant ones) didn't do the scenery justice. Much better looking at it in "surround scenery" from an RV at 15000 ft.
We started our descent into Page, AZ for fuel and a break.
To be continued next post....