By Rod Kunkel
The weekend of January 30 - February 1 was our first weekend getaway of 2026. Most of us flew into Bermuda Dunes airport (KUDD), about 10 miles SE of Palm Springs. A few of us drove … More on that later. Despite warnings from some APA members and the FBO that parking can be very limited during the winter months, there was plenty of tie-down space for our group’s planes. The FBO (Crown Aero) has a very nice facility. They also provided a nice welcome bag for our group containing hats and scarves.
We stayed at a very nice boutique hotel (Chateau at Lake La Quinta), located on a beautiful lake. Friday afternoon was spent strolling around the area, followed by a thirst-quenching happy hour and dinner on the hotel’s patio overlooking the lake.
The highlight of our trip was Saturday when we took an open-air Hummer tour of Joshua Tree National Park. It turned out to be a relatively warm, sunny day. At the park elevation above 5,000 MSL, the weather was still a bit cool, especially for those bearing the brunt of the wind in the open air vehicles. Joshua Tree is a very picturesque park with spectacular rock formations and, of course, millions of Joshua trees. Saturday night was another rendezvous on the hotel patio, followed by dinner at a local Italian restaurant.
17 weekenders attended, 12 by plane (6 planes) and 5 by car. Jackie and I were 2 of the car drivers. As some of you know, we recently sold our 182 and bought an RV (not the plane kind). We are planning to try out the RV life as our next adventure.
On a related note, my role of weekend getaway coordinator for the APA is open. I can tell you the pay is not very good. It wouldn’t even be very good if doubled. But you’ll get to plan a lot of interesting trips to places you choose, plus meet and spend time with interesting people. If interested in stepping up for this role, please contact me at (860) 324-7826.
