...Is not recommended, apparently.

We flew over there last week to get out of the heat. Quite little place...six miles from Mendocino with a hand full of hangars that still have the tow-hitches sticking out the back. 20 airplanes call it home and they boast 57 take offs and landings per week.

There's a large wooded area to the north west that's flat and has a lot of open ground. So we went a couple hundred meters into the woods, pitched a tent, cracked a beer and were sitting there playing cribbage when, after a couple hours, a red faced obese man came storming up yelling that he was from the airport office and we can't camp there.

We were in a pretty good mood at the time, and the guy appeared to be right on the verge of a coronary event, so we let him yell for a while. When he paused to take some deep breaths I explained that we flew in, we're not building a fire, and for the past fifteen years we've camped at every airport we've ever landed at, including some with commercial service, and he's the first person who has ever said more than "howdy" in all that time. So why exactly were we not allowed to camp at KLLR?

His answer, which was delivered with vehemence and finality, was "9-11!"

I was puzzling that one out, trying to find any nexus between camping in Mendocino County and terrorist attacks in NYC and Washington, when he got angry at the blank look on my face and said he was calling the sheriff. That seemed a little over the top, especially since the nearest deputy is 90 minutes away in Boonville, and if they're tied up or off duty, one has to come from Ukiah...three hours away, but he probably didn't know that I knew that.

In any event it was clear that this was a serious violation of the law and possibly a national security risk and he was NOT going to be swayed by common sense. We had bicycles with us so we just loaded our camping gear back into the airplane and rode into town and got a room at the Mendocino Hotel, which was quite nice. They have a great selection of single malt scotch in the lobby bar...

The whole event was unfortunate, really because of the shrill and imperious manner of the airport monkey. I'm glad I was in a good mood...I'm not always, and in retrospect I probably could have killed the guy by just standing up and yelling "boo!". But then my wife might have felt compelled to do cpr, and that would just be nasty.

Once back in the oven of the foothills I called the Mendocino County DOT and asked about camping at the airport, and they confirmed that it was not allowed. When I asked why, they said it was too much liability to allow camping...an unfortunate answer but one that at least makes sense. The DOT folks in Ukiah were nice as can be...we were playing phone tag and one gentleman even left me his personal cell phone number to be sure we got in touch.

I thought about mentioning the confrontation at Little River, but screw it. We're moving to Montana in a couple weeks and will likely never set foot in Mendocino County again. I don't think CA is the bastion of evil that some do, but it's got a lot of people, and with a lot of people comes a lot of rules.

Never tried camping there. We had an airport car there, and friends/family to visit with when my Grandpa was still around. Ive heard things are a little different now, and haven't spent more than a few hours there recently, but as you said, it is pretty unusual to find an airport that will not allow the crew to stay with the aircraft.
If I'm not sure, I will usually just head out on foot with the dog or break out my camp chair and hang out, leaving my bedroll in the plane. The few times I've been confronted I just imply that I'm waiting on a ride that hasn't shown up. After dark, I will throw the bedroll out...after all, my ride couldn't make it, and I can't be expected to fly out after dark!

...Probably a fear of cribbage that set him off...

I remember the first time I met Dave, lol it didn't go to well..... We get along fine now. Andy the manager before Dave was super cool. I've been flying over to the coast for over 30 years now, Abalone diving mainly. Dave will bend the rules sometimes,but gotta catch him in a good mood. Mike

I'm pretty lucky in that our fairly small public airport is "unattended".
The trouble with having an onsite airport manager is that they then naturally feel the need to manage.
Kind of like installing a gate....the next step is to close it, even when there's no need to.

This cracked me up. While the info about camping regulations at KLLR doesn't much concern me since I'm a few states away, I really appreciate the well written narrative.

I think a person could poach a campsite at KLLR pretty easy. I just never expected it to be any sort of issue. I've camped next to an active fire bomber base and never got more than friendly waves.

Rough Air...you ever get checked by F&G at the airport? I've been checked a couple times during abalone season, there and at other costal strips. Probably a pretty good coup for them to confiscate a airplane for a poaching violation. I get the feeling they have someone (Dave) who calls to tell them there's a new airplane on the field.

Holy cow, that's an unexpected turn of events! I promise I'll never try camping there!

Where in Montana?

CamTom12 wrote:Where in Montana?

I'm running from creditors...PM sent.

Hammer wrote:....and were sitting there playing cribbage when, after a couple hours, a red faced obese man came storming up yelling that he was from the airport office and we can't camp there.....

Maybe he was scared by a 29 hand when he was a small child.

.

Hammer, yes sir I've gotten searched at the airport one time. When I roll up with my latest setup, everyone is coming over and checking it out, especially F&G.
Mike


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RoughAir wrote:.

Hammer, yes sir I've gotten searched at the airport one time. When I roll up with my latest setup, everyone is coming over and checking it out, especially F&G.
Mike


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Nice box truck! Just bought a 17-footer myself...surprisingly fun piece of kit.