Salida, CO (0V2)

A classic flight in the mountians

8/10/02

(Click on the pics for a larger view)

     A picture perfect Colorado morning!  Blue skies, no clouds, smooth air and  dogs that had been groomed two days earlier.  And, they were still clean!  Salida is a historic mountain town nestled in a valley along the Arkansas river.   The airport (Harriet Alexander) is at 7489' surrounded by high terrain.   If you are not experienced in flying into mountain airports it can be more than a little disconcerting to see mountainsides in your windscreen as you are taking off and landing!  I strongly suggest mountain flying training and a mountain check out before venturing over and through the rocks.   I normally have a survival kit in 8565T as well as a med kit.  When flying in the mountains, regardless of the time of year, I always add a pack that includes long pants, hiking boots,  a fleece jacket and extra water. 

     I like to fly direct to Buena Vista (7V1) from Boulder which requires continually gaining altitude to clear the front range ridges.  This then takes me over the wide flat area known as South Park where there are many, many options for an emergency landing.  Hopping another ridge line gets me to  Buena Vista and a left turn takes me down the Arkansas River Valley to Salida, giving me a chance to lose all the altitude I had gained.   Pull out a Denver Sectional to see what I'm talking about.

     There is an automated Unicom at Salida that you access with 3 mic clicks on 122.7.  This will give you wind, altimeter and an option for doing an automated radio check. As is fairly common with mountain airports, there is a recommended runway for landings and another for takeoff.  At Salida,  left traffic for Rwy 24 is typically used for landing with 6 for takeoffs. 

    The "terminal" is dog friendly - they gave Simon and Idgie treats and they also have a water bowl.  Very nice surprise.  Even better, they have several courtesy cars and the one that we had was definitely a cut above the typical offering.         Downtown Salida is about 2 miles from the airport.  We drove in and walked around scoping out potential places for a future breakfast flight.   There were also several interesting art galleries scattered around, most weren't open yet.  But, they will be on our list to explore the next time we're there.    

Below are some other pics of downtown and scenery from the flight..