Hitchhike to El Paso
Judy With Her RV-6A
Now is the Saturday fly-in breakfast season in West Texas and New Mexico. There is one just about every Saturday and I go to a lot of them and enjoy them all. One thing about it though; the food at these things in just plain not good. What do we expect? It is usually a local civic club or business that supplies the cooks. There is only one exception I have found. The 99's in El Paso, Texas have a monthly Sunday breakfast that is not just OK considering the circumstances, it is just plain excellent. I look forward to it all month.
This particular Sunday I was in a bad way because my airplane was down for maintenance. Lucky for me, my friend Judy, from Lubbock, volunteered to come by and pick me up and haul me over to El Paso in her RV-6A.
Arc of the Capitan Reef. Guadalupe Pass at Left.
The route from Carlsbad to El Paso covers some very interesting terrain. The Guadalupe Mountains are known around the world as an exceptionally fine example of an exposed fossil reef. There are many canyons that cut down through the reef allowing first hand inspection of the inside. This is also one of the best cave areas anywhere.
Ogle Cave Entrance is a 180 Foot Vertical Drop
After the Guadalupes is a Small Island of Agriculture. Dell City.
Sometimes quite a few people fly in and sometimes not many, but there are almost always Young Eagle flights. The El Paso EAA Chapter does this as well as any group I have seen. It is highly organized, safe and efficient and they make a lot of kids happy while educating them at the same time. The normal Young Eagle airplanes are an Ercoupe, a couple of Champs, a Cub, and old, immaculate 172, a Tripacer and a Colt. Just perfect!
Pilot Waldo (Right) After a Ride
Breakfast is cooked to order and the choices include bacon and eggs, omelets, huevos rancheros, pancakes, pastries, orange juice and coffee. My choice is the huevos rancheros. Boy, they are just right. Fried eggs on tortillas with a little cheese and salsa on top, refried beans, crispy bacon and a little fruit. The meal is consumed on outdoor picnic tables under a shade structure with squealing kids running all over. The runway is immediately adjacent.
After breakfast it is time to walk around the airport. Phil, the owner and manager is quite a character. He has a museum out back that includes a Vickers that crashed here years ago and many other aviation items, including several airplanes up in the rafters. The airport is dry and sandy but the hangars are full of all kinds of homebuilt and sport aircraft and the doors are often open. Phil's latest idea was to convert the airport to a dragstrip on some evenings. Everyone is happy. The kids like to drag race the city fathers like the kids off the streets and Phil likes the money he makes, which he says is more than from the aviation operations. Just watch out for the drag race equipment when you land on runway 8.
Jim Gives Judy a Cockpit Check in His CJ-6
The 99's Breakfast operates during daylight savings time months. It is generally the second Sunday of the month. When that day is Mother's Day, the 99's move it to the first Sunday. Occasionally it will be cancelled or there will not be Young Eagles. Give Phil a call at West Texas Airport at El Paso, 915-852-3554.
I recommend the whole deal, most highly.
Larry Pardue
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