After dinner, upwards of 50 people watched the movie. In anticipation of temps a bit chillier than what they ended up being, Rosie had chosen to show the short 47-minute IMAX documentary, Space Station. A good flick, in keeping with the projectionist’s stipulation that movie night selections must include flying.
It was 49 degrees on the ground at LØØ as we topped off our tanks and headed to the run-up area in preparation for departure. As always, the folks at the Dew Drop Inn had taken exceptionally good care of us. Many thanks to Paul and Victoria for their outstanding hospitality and their friendship.
Following our 696’s trail of bread crumbs (aka flight plan in reverse), we landed back at KSJN 3.25 hours after leaving the Mojave.
Though our aim was to get all the way back to Broncos Country, Scott had anticipated the possibility of mountain conditions preventing us from getting through the pass. The information he was seeing online at Weathermeister.com seemed to confirm his suspicions, but we kept a wait-and-see attitude.
While the climb out of St. Johns was rather BuMpY, the remainder of our northeasterly flight was smooth and scenic.
As we neared the notch where we would enter the pass, images of Mordor’s Mount Doom sprang to mind.
Things weren’t looking much better up close, so we turn-tailed it back to the San Luis Valley Regional Airport/Bergman Field. While we probably could’ve climbed a few thousand feet higher and made it over the top without incident, we opted for an overnighter in Alamosa.
John, a helpful FBO attendant at the aptly named Mountain View Aeromotive, topped off our tanks, stowed 339A in a hangar for the night, and called us a cab—no courtesy car at KALS. We had a 45-minute wait before one of Little Stinker’s drivers would be showing up, so we chatted with John and surfed the net.
That night it was Valentine’s dinner for two at Chili’s, just a short walk from the HI Express. Our ears were about frozen off by the time we made our way back to the hotel after dinner. It was mighty cold next morning, too; -7 degrees F outside our hotel at 8:00 a.m. John reported that it had been negative double digits when he arrived at the airport at o’dark-thirty. (Still doesn’t beat the 27 below that Scott encountered while driving through Fairplay a couple weeks back, but that’s another story.) The San Luis Valley is apparently known for its particularly cold winters.
Although the desert was sounding pretty dang good at this point, it was a wonderfully clear and crisp Colorado morning. As we headed back to the airport along Highway 160, the sun seemed to sparkle off the snow with greater intensity that usual. Not sure if this was due to the position of the sun, the extra cold temperature, or over-active imagination, but it sure was pretty to look at.
By the time the bird and the occupants had been readied for flight, the temperature outside had “warmed up” (obviously a relative term) to minus 2.
(That’sFBO-attendant John on the right.)
We hit the skies over Alamosa and headed toward La Veta at 8:45ish. By 10:15 we were back on the ground at Front Range. The early-morning flight was absolutely beautiful.
And that, aviators and friends, is how you spend $600 flying out for a movie. Strictly speaking, of course, trips lasting longer than a couple of hours don’t really qualify as $100-hamburger ventures. But the moral of the story is this: You don’t have to embark on a full-scale adventure to enjoy good times in your RV. At the end of the day, it’s not about the duration of the jaunt, the destination, the meal you eat, or the movie you watch. It’s about the freedom, the fun factor, the flying, and the friends.
KPR … It is SO worth it.
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Trip Stats:
11.8 hours air time (plus 1.0 of day tripping)
2,180 miles round trip
$560 ($420 fuel, $70 meals/snacks, $50 hangar space, $20 taxi, $0 room cost—gotta love those hotel points)
Scott & Deb's EXcellent Weekend Excursions: Movie in the Mojave
She has already bought another lens (telephoto) which should be here any day.
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