Before I owned an airplane, I would day dream about the kind of things I wanted to do with it. Some of those things are obvious like - go flying at sunset or visit friends in far away places. But, some of the things I dreamed about were more subtle, like taking the dogs out on the salt flats to play fetch. No fences, no leashes, no code-enforcement to yell at you for not having a leash......
Ha ha ha! Just us, and the beautiful wide open space of the great west!
One weekend not long ago, Maureen, the dogs, and I had a few hours to spare. The weather was just right to go check out a spot I had recently learned about which is airplane friendly but, very rarely visited.
After a quick 20 minute flight from Salt Lake City, we touched down on the perfectly smooth salt flats just south of a place called Stansbury Island. The land is owned by the BLM and it’s a section that's approved for "motor vehicle use". According to the BLM, airplanes fall under the same rules as motor vehicles so, long story short..... we're allowed to land there. How great is that!
Thanks, BLM.
Much to the dogs pleasure, Maureen volunteered to be first on Chuckit duty. One of the nice things about the salt flats is it’s nearly impossibly to lose the dogs tennis ball. Anyone who has used a Chuckit knows what its like when you have a great throw, and the dogs get distracted halfway there and the ball is never seen again. Luckily in the salt flats, it's pretty easy to find the ball when the ground resembles a sheet of white paper.
While Maureen played with the dogs, I took a closer look at the surface of the old lake bed. It was a unique “spongy” texture where.... I wouldn’t say it was soft, but it definitely wasn’t firm either. I guess I should put out a disclaimer that I know people who have gotten airplanes and cars stuck out here so, I don’t encourage going out there. But, on this day things were firm enough to support our large bush wheels. That said.... if you look closely at my tail-wheel in the photo above, you can see it did sink it a bit farther then my larger main wheels which didn’t sink in at all.
I guess there's a reason why some pilots call these smaller tail-wheels “pizza cutters”.
Soon it was my turn and I took over throwing the ball for the dogs. Our two German Shepherds, Heidi and Bertu had visible smiles on their faces as they got to run lap after uninterrupted lap chasing their tennis ball.
Watching those dogs run at full speed is deeply satisfying in a primal and unexplained way.
Soon enough it was time to hydrate, after all...... our playground really was just a desert. Although, in the Utah desert, there's typically a "dry heat" so, as long as you can find shade, the heat is pretty tolerable.
Speaking of shade, the dogs are very familiar with it’s benefits. After drinking their share of water they took a well-deserved break in the shade of the airplanes wings. Maureen and I decided it was a good strategy.
After about 30 minutes in the sun, you could almost feel the water starting to evaporate right out of you. The desert is a powerful place!
Earlier that day a local pilot I had never met, but had exchanged some emails with, asked what I was up to. I told him about our plans to visit the Salt Flats and he asked if he could join.
“Of course!” I responded. After all, it was a KAVU Day! The more the merrier.
As we relaxed in the shade of the wings, we heard the sound of another aircraft overhead. He easily spotted us from above since..... we were the only things down there besides sand and salt.
Mike had a smooth landing and parked his plane right next to us.
What's better then one airplane out on the salt flats? Two airplanes!
Mike has a tricked out Maule M7 which is a modern bush plane with all the bells and whistles. One of my favorite parts of his plane are the windows. It has incredible visibility out the sides of the airplane, including the bottom half of the doors.
Pretty cool!
Mike flew out with his wife which, was great! While he and I chatted airplanes, the girls caught up under the shade of his wing. They were also kind enough to bring out some meat, cheese, and cold fizzy water for us. Talk about a treat!
Maureen and I made a mental note that - from now on..... when we go flying, we need to bring snacks!
They really hit the spot.
Soon enough, the dogs started licking their lips.... reminding us it was time to fly them home for dinner. We said good-bye to Mike and his wife, loaded up the four-legged co-pilots and headed back to the South Valley Regional Airport where the airplane stays in a shade hanger.
The dogs are always a little more relaxed on the ride back as compared to when they first get in the plane each flight. Part of it is that they were tired from all the running they did, but I like to think each time they fly they get a little more comfortable with it.
As usual, Bertu laid down and slept, while Heidi stayed alert to protect us from any sky gremlins that might sneak in the plane to cause us harm.
In the big picture of things, this was just a few hours of a random weekend. But for me, it was a dream realized.
To go flying with my family and land somewhere I had never been before to play fetch with the dogs.... After many years of flying in the structured and controlled environment of flight schools, preparing for check-rides, and constantly studying note cards, there is nothing more satisfying to an aviators soul then simply flying for the fun of it.
These kind of adventures literally breath wind into my sails and give me the energy and strength to tackle the non-flying stresses and hurdles of everyday life. I hope everyone finds their version of flying, and uses it to fuel their life in a way that is satisfying to their soul. I feel deeply lucky that I still get to make my dreams come true, and that I spend more time thinking about the good days then the bad ones. For us, this makes for KAVU livin'!!
Neil Amonson
FB
Jump4Joy
Absolute Flight Training
© 2026 KAVU
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