WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN DISNEYLAND?

One correct answer is: “Flying into Mineral Canyon airstrip in Utah”.

That is what the Recreational Aviation Foundation’s newest volunteer state liaison, Tom Haefeli thinks.

Tom is from Del Norte, Colorado, and joins current state liaison Patrick Romano in working for the RAF mission of preserving and creating public use airstrips. Tom hopped in the family’s Cessna 206 with his wife Laura, daughter Emilee, age 13; son Luke, 16; and son John, 18. “It was a rare weekend, where the weather and kids’ school activities were such that we could all get away together,” Tom said. Sharing the “better than Disneyland” adventure was friend Randy Riggs and his son Justin, age 16, from Creede, CO, in their ’59 Cessna 182.

From Mineral Canyon, they flew to Escalante, where the new pilot shelter was completed in September.

“There is nothing quite like a weekend of camping to recharge your battery and reconnect with family and friends,” Tom said.

Submitted on November 5, 2013.