| ISSUE 704 - September 14, 2021 • Over 9,000 Total Ads Listed • 1,000+ NEW Ads Per Week |
| Red Dust |
| Dana Brejakova, Contributing Writer & Photographer |
|
I stopped counting of how many times we got hypnotized by the sheer volume of dead bugs on our Husky's leading edges while pushing her from and to the hangar. Golly! So many splats in so many colors! Only imagining washing this high wing bush plane again, soaking and scrubbing those poor critters off, and running around with a chamois made me dizzy. However, I could not look at that mess any longer. "We really need to wash her, let's do it today", I shared my frustration to Jimmy.
"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the dirtiest bird of them all?" Not our Husky! This dear airplane of ours had look beautiful to match her spirit, period. Especially when attending a Breakfast Fly-In in New Mexico the next day. Don't get me wrong, bush planes always need to have that rugged cool dirt and dust patina, however, if our patina had stayed un-attended any longer it would have gained consciousness.
|
|
| Several hours of sweating and "gosh darn it's" later, there she was - squeaky clean, happy little bird. While she was ready for an adventure right there and then, we were ready for an ice cold beer, nice shower, and an early night. |
|
| Wheels up by 6AM plan worked out and off we went. As I said many times before - lovely views open to those who wake up early and stunning views open to those who wake up early to go flying. Once again, that statement proved its validity. We were leaving West Texas to welcome the agricultural patch of pecan farms in New Mexico. |
|
| Detail of the Caballo lake shore. Sadly, the intriguing view was rather unsettling as the level of the water was unusually low. One would have thought that all the precipitation this region received over the last few weeks would have filled the lake. Wait a minute, it probably did and that was the result. Ouch! |
|
| The view on charming topography was our reward once again. After several days of rain - the usual dry desert biome was now completely transformed, so beautiful, and greener than I have ever seen it. |
|
| Little billabongs curling along the mountain range where the green patches of vegetation were in full bloom painted a lovely picture. If only there was someone to take a photo of us in that picture, now when our Husky was so clean. |
|
| Only one more hour to the Breakfast Fly-In spot in New Mexico. Slowly but surely the terrain started rising a bit exposing charming hills and mountains. |
|
| Look how velvety green the hills and mountains turned out! Lush green colors around here? No way! Well, way. |
|
| Mesmerized by the views, we were enjoying the morning flight to the max. Do you know about any better way to start the day? |
|
| Sun peeking out of the clouds dressed the hills in golden hues. |
|
| Almost there! Switching from flat areas to hilly and mountain terrain back and forth was quite exciting and a little scary too. Look at those sharp teeth the mountain was showing us. |
|
| Somewhere around the marble rocks, we could hear the radio communication between another approaching aircraft and the ground. Sounded like a good amount of pilots were going to the same spot for the breakfast. |
|
| The final left turn offered a lovely view on marble rocks and yellow vegetation around the spot. |
|
| What a lovely surprise - a gorgeous hot air balloon! "Jimmy slow down a bit, I see a photo!", I yelled and snapped this cool shot. |
|
| What a nice little place. The red sandy runway - very well suited for bush planes - offered a fantastic contrast with the green shrubs. Time to take some cool pics of the birds that were landing and taking off in such texture rich environment. |
|
| It could might as well be Africa. Cessna 172 just landed and was taxiing around us. Perhaps, crucial supplies for the local ranch just arrived and somewhere in the distance one could spot giraffes' long necks while the braying zebras who were spooked by the sound of the engine sprinted farther away. My imagination was running wild. And who could blame me? There are certain spots in New Mexico that resemble African ambiance so well. This was a third one for my "Almost like in Africa" collection. |
|
Charming little spot for a breakfast, would not you say? Two hours of flight and waking up very early paid off handsomely. Not sure exactly what the breakfast would have looked like at the middle of nowhere, I packed several sandwiches and power bars, just in case. Well, I can state with confidence that I happily abandoned the food supply I prepared the night before. We had a fantastic blueberry soufle-like cobbler, scrambled eggs with veggies, delicious cup of coffee and we even received little presents - colorful dry corn necklaces and a ball cap. WOW! Shout out to this lovely spot. We felt welcomed. As the sun was getting higher and the temperature was rising, it was time to say bye and hop in our Husky to fly back. And so we disappeared in a cloud of red dust just like the birds that took off before us. What a cool way to depart.
|
|
| On our way back to KELP. A perfect position between the sun and the land allowed me to take a picture of Elephant Bute and Caballo lake in the best color hues possible. And once again, I could not believe how low the water level was. |
|
| Even though the colors reminded me of a stunning view on a Great Barrier Reef from an airliner when I was leaving Australia back in 2014, I was shocked by what I saw. I could see the bottom of the reservoir here and there! That is not good at all. Is this place going to disappear? |
|
| On approach to KELP and about to enter West Texas while leaving New Mexico agricultural long stripe behind. One look from a bush plane and you can get a pretty clear picture of how much pecans, green chile, alfalfa, and cotton this region produces. |
|
What a trip! Another wonderful flying adventure to be remembered and documented. Not only did it charge us with a great dose of the spirit of aviation, it also brought a fresh batch of bug splats - those poor critters. They did not even know what hit them. The glamorous life of an aviator. Scrubbing dead insects from the leading edges of a bird may not be loudly celebrated but it surely is a part of it.
|
| By Dana Brejakova, Contributing Writer & Photographer |
|
| |
|
