Breakfast Club
An affiliate of the Arizona
Pilots Assn.
The Knife & Fork
Breakfast Club Visits Tusayon/Grand
Canyon Squire
16 Sep 2006
by Warren McIlvoy
The September Breakfast Club event
saw us traveling north again but this time we actually made it to the
While we were in the process of pushing the airplane out of its parking space
we were greeted by Don Graminski (a.k.a.
BC-16). He said that he was getting ready to head north to join the group at
the
Our departure out of
The Grand Canyon Squire Inn is only about a ½ to 3/4 mile hike if you take the
short cut through the woods that are off the approach end of runway 3. The trip
through the woods required some minor gymnastics to get through a barbed wire
fence that separated the private property from the airport property. One person
would lift the upper wire and another would push down the next wire strand with
their foot therefore expanding the gap to accommodate the contorted bodies as
we slipped through the opening. The Squire
Inn is the first building that you come to
once you are off the airport property. The main entry is on the north side of
the north building and after entering, a left turn will take you to the dining
room. The motel does not have any sort of aviation motif but none-the-less,
appears to be a very nice place to stay and for that
matter, a great choice for our Breakfast
Club event.
There were several long tables joined together that would accommodate the
majority of the Breakfast Club gang but the balance of our group occupied several booths
that were right next to the long table. The motel had no warning of our arrival
but in short order, they amassed the troops and the first order of business was
getting coffee (or rocket fuel if you prefer) and other beverages to the
starving hoard. For the most part, we received our orders in the normal amount
of time but there were a few that folks that took on the role of
"onlookers" while the rest of us, despite their drooling, enjoyed our
meal. While we waited for our meals to be delivered, it gave me a chance to get
some photos of the Breakfast Club group and also provided some time for sharing some good
ole fashioned fellowship and the ever popular "hangar flying".
The only downside was that there was only one check so everyone had to do some
mental mathematical gymnastics to come-up with cost of their meals plus a tip.
After enjoying a leisurely repast at the Squire
Inn, we headed back to the airport for our
flight back to the valley. The issue of traversing the barbed wire fence was
just a tad bit more challenging after eating but, with just a barely audible
groan, we slipped through the seemingly smaller opening to continue our hike.
For some reason, the hike back seemed longer than the earlier trek to the
motel. Maybe it was due to a portion of the hike that required an uphill course
and the 6600' elevation. But despite some huffing and puffing and a wee bit of
wheezing, we all made it back to the airport. Since it was now the late morning
hour, the air had some light chop at 9500' while over the rim country but over
the Verdi Valley and for the balance of the flight, it was smooth enough
to enjoy some sightseeing.
The
What's Next?
The October Breakfast Club will see us traveling to a new location known as
Click on the Grand Canyon link to view photos of this fly-in event.