From Sky Ranch to Temple Bar
and an unsuccessful stop in Boulder City
Lake Mead, an artificial lake between Las Vegas and Grand Canyon
I made a direct approach to the next airport, which was in Boulder City, a suburb of Las Vegas. There was no way I could put up my tent on this busy concrete-covered airport with all its
commercial traffic going to the Grand Canyon, so after a pilot helped me find some food, I
left again, this time in a hurry. The sun was beginning to set, leaving me one last chance
to find a decent place to spend the night.
I took off again and climbed high enough to avoid the small hills east of Vegas, discovering Lake Mead as I did so. Lake Mead is an artificial lake which was formed as the result of a deluge
which flooded the valley. The color of deep blue water contrasting with the light sand is so beautiful
that you could circle the lake for hours. However, it was going to be dark soon so I flew on reaching Temple Bar a few minutes later.
On the Airport Directory, in "Airport Remarks" they have this to say: Unattended.
Use extreme care, wild livestock on and in vicinity of airport. Watch for livestock. Bush
runway.
Landing on the rough runway, I understood immediately what they meant. I
made it to the tie-down area where a fuel truck was there, refueling an helicopter. Rolling on
the dirt, my front wheel got struck in the sand, and I couldn't move the airplane any
further, even with 1500 RPM. The helicopter pilot gently helped me, and with his expert
advice we soon managed to get the plane rolling on safe, hard ground again. He
explained to me that he was building a cellular antenna on the anvil-shaped rock on the other side of the lake. With my backpack, I climbed on the fuel truck and we descended towards the
resort area.
This beautiful resort is actually very close to Vegas, but it takes a few hours
to reach by car which was good news because that meant the resort was not overcrowded. I found an excellent camping ground for my second night where I spent the evening chatting with the
retired couple who run it and some people who live there in a trailer one half of the year while for the other half, they live in Mississippi. |
Return to François Micheloud's Homepage
