AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 71
The Crystal Cave hotel room is carved into the side of Tres Cuevas Mountain where a mine once existed. On approach to
Runway 7/25 at Lajitas International Airport (T89). Pilot Brent Pickette maps out our route across the mountains.
Pickette and Vilchez picked us up in Fredericksburg,
Texas, at Gillespie County Airport (T82) in the Texas
Hill Country. But the beauty of the hill country quickly
morphed into raw desert as we flew the two hours to
the couple's passion project-1,000 acres of star-gazing
paradise at an adventure resort in Terlingua, Texas, near
Big Bend National Park.
Our cellphones pinged as we skirted around
1,000 acres of
star-gazing paradise
at an adventure resort
in Terlingua, Texas.
Mexican airspace and then again as we crossed back
along Texas. The Cirrus bounced hard several times
in turbulence as we crossed the Chisos Mountains.
Vilchez and I stopped chatting and giggling long enough
to appreciate the changing
landscape below us. Boone
directed her camera at the
runway in front of us. We
landed smoothly at Lajitas
International Airport (T89),
surprised to see an Embraer
ERJ 145 taxiing out. Pickette pulled the Cirrus into an
open hangar-port where Gary, who lives and works
at the airport, greeted us. Our truck was gassed up
and ready for us, but we girls needed to run into the
terminal for the restrooms.
The heat smacked us in the face as we exited the
aircraft, and after the bathroom break, we needed
the self-service bottles of water in the terminal. We
lingered in the air-conditioned comfort until Pickette
had packed our bags into the back of his truck and
signaled we were ready to go. (We did allow our
gentlemanly pilot a break himself and a bottle or two
of water; we aren't monsters.) Piled into the truck, the
tires kicked up the desert dust and we headed across
this Mars-like landscape to The Summit at Big Bend.
The Summit
Pickette and his friend Ian Vollers purchased the 1,000
acres of private land between Terlingua and Lajitas on
Farm-to-Market Road 170 in 2021. The entrance to
their resort project, The Summit, is across the road
from the airport. Getting here by car from Dallas would
be an eight-hour-plus drive. The airplane, as usual, is
a magic carpet ride to this other-worldly landscape.
Besides the raw desert landscape, what makes this
area look like we've landed on Mars are the 25 or so
geodesic dome structures on the property. Spaced
out around Tres Cuevas Mountain (where my cave is
located), these dome structures are the resort's main
accommodations. They are white mounds on the desert
floor, some marked by triangular-shape bay windows
at the front and diamond-shape windows on the roof.
These are the " star-gazing domes " most guests clamor
for. The windows provide the remarkable attraction to
staying here: views of the spectacular sky. Sunsets that
take your breath away, star gazing that humbles you,
and worth-waking-up-for views of the Milky Way at
3 a.m. are just a sampling of what guests are rewarded
with by staying here.
While my cave experience was phenomenal, down
below me in a star-gazing dome is where Boone slept-
or in her case, did not sleep. A talented photographer,
as you can see from her photos, Boone was also on one
of her first assignments for this magazine, and she was
taking it seriously. She did not want to miss a moment,
so she slept only an hour or so before waking to watch
the stars come out and capture photos of the Milky Way.
She also did not have the luxury I had in my cave-she
had to use the outdoor bath house on the property. (The
Summit has since added dome rooms with baths.)
AOPA PILOT / October 2024
71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024
Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - Cover4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 7
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 11
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 26
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 35
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 37
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 56
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 65
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 69
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 72
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 76
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 78
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - 90
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2024 - Cover4
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