Val Air Gliding Club

Today we drove down from Mesa Verde to Durango, a lovely little town with a lovely little gliding field - beautiful green grass strip nestled next to the main road through a narrow valley. The site is a bit technical - the runway has a kink in it and a river right on one side and powerlines / railway line on the other. But it is a fantastic spot for XC.

Looking toward the Needles from above Val Air

I took a check flight in a Blanik and then flew the LS8 towards the Needles, then back across Mesa Verde (where the Pueblo villages are) and on past Blanding to Natural Bridges monument, and out toward Monument Valley before heading back nearly to Navaho Lake. Lots of thunderstorms, got rained on a couple of times but stayed mostly well clear under the good cu. Best climb was about 13 kt!

San Huan River near Mexican Hat

Here is a shot of the San Huan river, carving through the desert.

Switchback down 2000ft mesa face near Mexican Hat

This is a shot of the switchback road that we were planning to take the glider down between Natural Bridges and Monument Valley - fortunately we were warned off doing so.

And finally, the steam train that still runs a passenger service from Durango to Silverton every day... taken from our campsite.