I was really looking forwards to the Mystic Bluffs Fly-in, August 16 and 17 this year. Unfortunately, the forecast winds were looking a little strong (30 mph headwinds) for my trike to make the trip 99 mile flight in time for breakfast. My flying buddy Paul Dressendorfer and I opted to flyout Friday afternoon/evening and camp overnight. The wind would be blowing a more tolerable 20mph for our trip out. I delayed launching until 5:45pm to let the winds and thermals to mellow out some, leaving us just enough time to get there by sunset. We had a nice flight out, and once we passed over Bandara Crater, the winds died off I knew we had plenty of time to get to our destination.
Arriving at a remote airstrip at sunset that is one of the most peaceful and mystical experiences of flight that you can have. The air was glassy smooth. I didn't want to land.
I counted 9 planes on the ground when we overflew the runway. We weren't the only who were camping. Perry Null flew back home, and our two trikes made for a total of 10 aircraft to spend the night at Mystic Bluffs. What a beautiful spot. And about an hour after sunset a spectacular full moon rose in the east to keep us awake all night. We had a blazing campfire and Arlan and his 5 year old son (who flew in from Portales) provided everyone with marshmallows and a full somores kit.
I set up my tent, but kept the rain fly off so I could see the stars and get plenty of air.
About an hour before dawn the balloon crew arrived. No need for an alarm. I had planned getting up early to pack up my trike for the flight home anyway.
Breakfast was at least 7 course meal. Breakfast burritos, blueberry cake, egg dish, posole, green chile stew, coffee cake, cinnamon rolls, coffee. Probably some more stuff that I forgot to count. I did not need to go back for seconds and did not eat for the rest of the day.
It was very impressive how the entire community of about 100 local people turned out to welcome us to this hidden scenic treasure of New Mexico. Around 9 am, I pried myself away from the breakfast table and started my journey home. 45 minutes later Paul and I took off, and over flew the runway to see how big a crowd was there.
The winds were light on the ground, I headed over towards Ramah Lake and there was some rough air over there. I climbed up to check out the lake, then turned east and picked up a tailwind for the flight home.
Some of the pilots arriving that morning told me they had battled 30 knot head winds on the trip out this morning from the Albuquerque area. I was very glad we flew out last night. We had a nice 30 mph tailwind all the way back to Belen, but had an easy landing. The winds were only 8 mph on the ground, although I could see them pick up as I unpacked my trike in the hangar. All in all, it was a very fun, trip. This event seems to get better and better every year. Thank you Perry and all the crew who put on such an enjoyable event -- Jeff Gilkey