Breakfast Club

An Affiliate of the Arizona Pilots Ass

 

 


The Knife & Fork

 

 

 

 

 


Breakfast Club Visits Mesquite, Nevada/Wolf Creek Golf Resort

 

 

 

11 June 2011

by Warren McIlvoy

 

 

I don’t exactly recall the last time that the Breakfast Club did a fly-in to Mesquite, NV but it was a long time ago.  The place that we used go to ( I believe that it was the Oasis Casino) would drive out to the airport and haul us all into town where we would have breakfast.  When the Casino stopped providing transportation, there was little incentive to go there as there was no inexpensive way to get into town.  When the crack(ed) Breakfast Club Event Committee met last November, someone suggested Mesquite but it was quickly noted that there was no transportation available.  They had one of those new fangled Ipad with them so they looked-up the Mesquite Airport on Airnav where it showed a nearby golf course that had a restaurant on the property.  The committee added Mesquite to the schedule with the caveat that we could get there without having to arrange for cumbersome and expensive transportation costs.  A phone call quickly eased our concerns when they said that they were right next to the airport and would come and pick us up with their golf carts.  Problem solved.

 

One of the neat things about flying to Mesquite was the scenery that was on the last third of the route.  Initially, we would fly over a portion of the Bradshaw Mountains that are south of Prescott but once past that area, there is little scenic “eye candy” until reaching the Peach Springs area.  After passing over the Grand Canyon Caverns and Hualapai airstrips that are about 13-miles east of the Peach Springs VOR (PGS), we quickly came upon the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  In the Pearce Ferry Sector, you can cross the Grand Canyon at 8500’.  Although the canyon is not quite as deep here as it is further east, it is no less majestic.  The Colorado River is more visible and the colors and mesas are just as impressive.  It was at this point that my appreciation of this majestic scene was somewhat tempered by the illumination of my low voltage light on the right side of my panel.  After recycling the alt half of the master switch, the light went out but it was to plague us for the entire trip.  I worked from a single GPS and radio just in case I was unable to get the alternator back on line.  So, with that little problem temporarily solved, I was able to keep one eye on the low voltage indicator and the other two eyes out the window to enjoy one of Nature’s most magnificent creations.  A camera is a required necessity on just such a trip and I did my best not to miss getting the scene plastered onto the camera’s memory chip.

 

When you get to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, you are now on what is called the Shivwits Plateau and a little later, the Grand Wash Cliffs Wilderness Area.  The colors were just spectacular and no less majestic.  After getting our “fix” of Grand Canyon colors and formations, our next point of interest was the Virgin Mountains.  This is an 8100’ barrier between us and the Mesquite Airport that is only at 2000’.  To the east of the highest portion of the mountains is a little “dip” at about 6500’ and that is where we pointed the aircraft nose as we started down.  Once we passed the ridgeline of the mountains, it was a “nose dive” to get down to pattern altitude for the Mesquite Airport.  After landing on runway 19, we taxied to the ramp and had no problem finding a parking place. 

 

After securing the aircraft, a phone call to the golf resort was made to let them know that we had arrived.  In less than ten minutes, two multi-passenger golf carts arrived to start the relocation process.  It was about a five minute ride down the hill to the drop-off point it the parking lot of the Wolf Creek Golf Resort (http://www.golfwolfcreek.com/home).  After everyone had been transported to the golf course, it was just a short walk to the clubhouse where the Terrace Restaurant and lounge was located.  The restaurant folks had arranged a long table so that all of us could sit together.  At this hour, we were the only people there so getting served was not an issue. 

 

As you can imagine, the Terrace Restaurant is a rather posh establishment considering that it is part of a golf resort.  The one surprising thing was that the prices were no more than most of the places back in the valley.  Another nice thing was that they had my favorite entrée, Eggs Benedict and it was very good.  After our breakfast, we walked out to the patio (or should I say, terrace) to view a portion of the golf course.  The rolling hills, lush greens, and man-made lakes and waterfalls, all contributed to a truly gorgeous scene.  All-in-all, the great restaurant, great food, good service, and one marvelous setting, has made this location a keeper.  We will be coming back here again.

 

When we were ready to get back to the airport, the folks with the carts met us in the parking lot for the return trip.  Due to the fact that they had to climb a long hill, we did not load the carts up to their capacity so they would have to make several trips to get us all back.  When you depart the Mesquite Airport, unless you were to circle the area, you can not depart in the same direction as you can in; the Virgin Mountains are just to close.  My choice was to at least head towards home even if it meant going a tad out of the way rather than flying in circles.  My choice was to head to the southwest and go around the mountains and then make a straight line towards home.  We still got to cross the Grand Canyon again (it is never boring regardless of how many times that we have done this) although just slightly to the west than our inbound course.  We could clearly see the Grand Canyon Sky Walk that is near the Grand Canyon West airstrip.  I believe that it costs about $75.00 to visit and to walk out on the sky-walk but, I truly believe that my view of the Grand Canyon was far more interesting (although a tad more expensive).  

 

Due to the on-going alternator issue, I chose to fly around and to the east of the Prescott area and more or less over I-17 as it proceeded south.  By continuing the “reset” process (about 36 times), I was able to keep the GPS/radio and other necessary items operating until shutting-down in front of my hangar.

 

(Just an added side note, our mechanic checked out this issue and after checking for any loose connections running the engine for about 20-minutes with his meters attached, he count not determine any cause for this issue.  We have flown the aircraft 6-time now without a repeat of the problem.  Go figure)

 

 

The Mesquite Gang

 

 

What’s Next?

 

In July, the Breakfast Club will return to a place that we have not been to in quite a while (sorta like Mesquite), Kearny, Arizona.  The last time that we were here, we went to the General Kearny Inn for breakfast but that place has been closed for some time.  This time we will be dining at the West End Café that is only a bout a mile from the airport.  In August, we will travel to a totally new destination for the Breakfast Club—Taylor, Arizona.  We will dine at the Trappers Restaurant that is about 2-3 miles form the airport.  That’s all for now but remember, fly safe.

 

To view photos of this fly-in event, just click on Mesquite Event.