Alamos, Mexico - Hacienda de los Santos - March 2006
Al & Teri's repeated insistence that the
Hacienda's periodic "Club Pilotos" bashes qualify as a do-not-miss attraction
finally wore us down, so in late March Teri's slick Cardinal (with Al at the
helm) and John & Dani in the scruffy Skylane departed under, through and over
some chilly & rainy SoCal weather toward the sunny climes further south.
Click on the thumbnails to view full-size picture.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Talking Flying (probably) |
|
There I was, 30,000 feet and no heater.... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Social Hour |
|
A great Antelope Valley late summer day made it even better. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here's The Beef! |
|
Paul was the official chef & slicer |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kitchen Staff At Work |
|
Many hands made light work. THANKS to all!!! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Keep It Moving! |
|
A bit of wait but worth it |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food? We Wanna Swim! |
|
At least the kids worked off a few calories... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Dessert Parade |
|
No "Baked Alaska" but we gave a nod to the cruise line tradition |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Around Alamos
On the mainland about 110 miles southeast of Guaymas
and maybe 45 miles inland...for
Baja buffs, at about the same latitude as Mulege...the old Spanish Colonial
village of Alamos has found favor as a retirement/wintering ground for
Americans. Some of the villas they now occupy date back to the 17th
century.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Runway |
|
By sundown the snow has started to stick. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Runway Inspection |
|
Bubba checks things out. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Postcard Time |
|
Darkness brought a surreal (to us) scene. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Morning Accumulation |
|
The day-long snowfall moved on overnight, leaving blue skies. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sunrise |
|
Dawn temps were around 21 degrees, making things fairly crisp. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Decorated Joshuas |
|
The AV's icons actually love snow (or at least the moisture it brings). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Rare Sight |
|
Bob Carlson does a bit of snow removal, a chore we are definitely not used to here! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Final Look |
|
Within a few hours after this picture, the sun had made this sceneic view history. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Early Afternoon, Dec 18th |
|
By early afternoon, the ground cover was already getting spotty. Oh, well, another 10 years & it'll come again... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
And Some Flying, Too!
A a group of us launched one morning for a
round-robin flight over the famous Copper Canyon area. Billed as 'Mexico's
Grand Canyon', the area encompasses some wild & wooly terrain, yet isolated
homes and small villages are scattered everywhere.
|
|
|
|
Tuning up for Flight
A (semi)organized air tour of the Copper Canyon area filled one morning, with eight planes aloft and GPS waypoints set. |
|
|
|
Alamos Airstrip
4000 feet now, with expansion in progress on the west (right) end. Airport of Entry status is in the works. |
|
|
|
Rail Bridge, Lower Left
Constructing the Copper Canyon railway was a world-renown engineering feat and of course is today an equally renown tourist run. |
|
|
|
Canyon Rim Hotel (1)
The town of Divisadero is one main rail terminal, with overnight stays at these spectacular hotels a popular option. We were at about 7400 feet at this point. |
|
|
|
Canyon Rim Hotel (2)
Think this one is the Divisadero-Barrancas, but not positive. |
|
|
|
|
|
Candamena Canyon & Basaseachi Falls
Falls are barely visible slightly above and left of center. It drops, at a guess, about 1400 feet and would be spectacular during rainy season. They were mis-identified to us as "Abigail Falls", which are in the same canyon. |
|
|
|
Basaseachi Falls
A closer look. These falls mark the head of Candamena Canyon. The Sonora area is experiencing a prolonged drought which is becoming a real problem for many towns and for agriculture. |
|
|
|
Hi Speed Tfk Passing
Charles Patton's Lancair zooms past the Skylane in a blur |
|
|
|
Debriefing (AKA BS Session)
Pilots love to fly and love to talk a good flight. Or maybe we were solving the world's problems. Whatever. |
|
|
|
Variety is the Spice...
Great variety of aircraft represented at this gathering, ranging from Sam & Sandy's CJ1 all the way down to.....(next picture) |
|
|
|
|
|
...Of [flying] Life
....John & Dani's rode hard and put away wet Skylane (sure it gets love....tough love). |
|
|
Bottom line on this trip: This excursion was
a little pricey by our normal short-trip standards but definitely worthwhile.
They treat you right!
For more on the Hacienda de Los Santos, check
out their WEBSITE
