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United States Pilots Association |
This report comes from Bob Worthington, President of the New Mexico Pilots Association.
On Friday morning of 14 July four NMPA planes flew into the Clayton airport to start the NMPA Fly-in weekend at Clayton. The pilots and passengers were Ron Keller of Bosque Farms in his C 182; Richard Benito and Sharon Newson of El Paso, TX in his DA 40: Jack and Zelda Megerdichian of Deming in their C 182; and Bob and Anita Worthington of Las Cruces in their C 182RG. Ron Keller picked them all up using a city van.
The weekend was set up by Clayton rancher (and former NYC attorney) and NMPA member Kendyl Monroe and NMPA Meetings Chair Ron Keller. Transportation was provided by the city which loaned NMPA a van and it only cost us gas money. Everyone met at the famous and historic Eklund Hotel in downtown Clayton to check in and convene for lunch. Also joining us for lunch were local ranchers Herb and Carrell Blakely (Herb owns and flies a C 172 off his own airstrip on his ranch; they also joined NMPA at this meeting).
After a leisurely lunch Herb and Carrell guided us to the Clayton Lake State Park where one of the rangers took us on a personal two hour tour of the Park. We began in the museum and then went to the brand new observatory (which was constructed because the Park is one of the best star night observation areas in the US) and then toured the 100 million old multiple dinosaur tracks which are one of the largest and oldest finds in the US.
Upon completing our stay at the park everyone returned to the Hotel for happy hour and to gaze at the old pistol bullet holes shot in the ceiling in 1920 above the bar by an over-enthusiastic drinker upon learning that Harding had been elected president. The Hotel was built in 1892 and had gone through many add-ons and restorations during its life with the last being done by a local investment group in 2003-2004. The restoration has returned the Hotel to its original splendor. It also boasts of having the nicest dining facility in the region (which we can attest to). That evening we enjoyed a long and neighborly dinner with ten for dinner.
The next morning Bob Worthington and Ron Keller presented an FAA WINGS safety seminar at the airport in the community auditorium. Ron presented the latest things going on in the FAA which would impact GA pilots and flying. Bob spoke on the new FAA Sport Pilot Certificate and discussed special use airspace in the Southwest and the potential problems with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles flying around the US-Mexico border areas when in some instances the pilots on the ground can lose control and not know it or FAA controllers are not informed about where they are flying. Two more NMPA planes from Double Eagle II flew in for the seminar and lunch. Ron Harmon and a friend arrived in his Cessna twin and Chace Mayhew flew a new C 172 (Chace joined NMPA at this meeting). We had 13 attendees at the seminar.
We returned to the Hotel for another excellent lunch with 14 folks eating. After lunch Kendyl (who grew up in Clayton before leaving for college and law school and spending a career in law in NYC. Ironically Bob Worthington grew up in CT where his father ran a bank on Wall Street in NYC and The law firm where Kendyl worked represented Bob’s father’s bank. Small world, huh?) and Dr John Seller, a local Clayton man who used to be the Chancellor at the University of California University system, gave a fascinating history of both the Eklund Hotel (both are investors in the Hotel) and the local area.
After lunch, which was about 2 pm, everyone walked to the nearby Herzstein Memorial Museum where we were guided by Barbara Monroe, Kendyl’s wife and her sister. The museum has several different collections, each depicting a slice of life in the history of the railroad town and commerce center of Clayton and Union County. The museum is actually housed in a two story stone building built in 1919 which is the former historic Methodist Episcopal Church of Clayton which moved into a new church building in 1967.
At various times during Saturday both Carrell Blakely and Dr “John” took some of us on tours of their homes and local sightseeing and shopping. We met again for happy hour at the hotel and then another perfect dinner with ten diners. The next morning, Sunday, Ron took all of us out to the airport so we could return home. The flying weather both arriving and departing, throughout the state was beautiful for excellent VFR flying. For those of you who did not attend this weekend fly-in you missed an excellent opportunity to fly to an historic but out-of-the-way part of New Mexico and to meet some very nice people. For many of us this is what makes flying so much fun. We learned a lot about a part of the state some of us had not really spent any time in. We were able to see the history through the eyes of those who have spent much of their lives in the area and to make new friends. All of this because we fly airplanes.
Special thanks goes to Ron and Kendyl for setting this up, to Herb and Carrell for being excellent guides, to Dr “John” for taking the time to spend with us each day, and to Thedra McDowell, manager of the hotel, and her excellent staff for putting up with us for three days. This was an enlightening experience and NMPA thoroughly enjoyed every minute spent in Clayton and the very friendly people we met.
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director
United States Pilots Association