MARS (AKA Ibex Hard Pan)
North 38 Deg 58 Minutes
West 113 Deg 22 Minutes
This is a dry lake bed that offers miles of landing surface. West of Fillmore UT and south a few miles off Highway 50. Usually when I've visited here in the past, we were the only humans for miles, however now, there's a few folks around and soon there will be Martians! As a reader of Tarzan in my youth, I couldn't help but be excited about the filming of another Burroughs' story.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carter_of_Mars_(film))
I stopped for a few minutes on the 4th and fortuitously joined a Utah BC flyin on the 7th. The film crew had politely asked if we could keep the wheel prints on the West side of the lake bed, so they didn't show up on the Mars shots
We camped on the SW side of the large "rock island" and seemed to be out of their way.
Just as the John Carter Crew was surprised by an airplane Tuesday, I was surprised to see all the vehicles and activity. Now that the John Carter crew has seen a Utah Backcountry flyin over the weekend, I suspect they will soon get a radio so they can coordinate with visiting airplanes.
The lake bed can be unusable after rain and some areas are smoother than others, a consideration for small tired rv's.
More info on the Ibex Hard Pan
www.utahbackcountrypilots.org
Google maps also has some detail and photos under the location- Tule Valley Rd, Garrison-Sevier Lake, UT