Day One: Bryan Texas to Santa Rosa New Mexico

IMG_1369I got in air this morning at about 9:00. There were low clouds early so I did not get started at 7:00 like I had hoped. It took me about three hours to make it to Slanton, TX. The winds were 16 with gusts to 22 but they were close to runway heading.  After landing I bought fuel  then parked the aircraft in the grass behind the fuel tanks. The nice people at Neal Aviation loaned me a truck so I could go into town and buy something for lunch. I brought a sandwhich back to the airport and ate while planning my next leg. I planned for Santa Fe, New Mexico. I got back in the air about 2:00.

IMG_1370As it turned out I only made it to Santa Rosa, NM. About 80 miles from Santa Fe. The bumpy afternoon air was wearing me out so I decided to land in Santa Rosa for a break. But they have an unattended but air conditioned pilots lounge and I decided that it would be a comfortable and cheap place to spend the night. I was able to fix something for dinner and plan my flying for tomorrow. Just looking at great circle distances, I have flown 489 of the 1261 miles to Burning Man. Almost 40 percent so with three days planned to get to an airport close to Burning Man I am in good shape. I hope to wake up Sunday morning at one of the airports less than an hour away so I can arrive soon after the airport opens.

IMG_1368It is interesting that my airplane is the only flying aircraft on the field. There is this A7 attack aircraft but I don’t think it will ever fly again. There are not even any hangars that I can see. Otherwise the airport has great facilities. I have not seen another soul since I landed.

 

IMG_1367It is getting cool quickly and I think I’ll take a walk and then turn in for the night. Morning clouds are not typically a problem here so I should be able to get an early start. I’d like to make Richfield Utah by tomorrow afternnon. I realize there are a couple of items I need and they let me use a car last year on my return. It was my first stop after leaving the playa in 2013.

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