Rawlins Municipal Airport Harvey Field

I was on a cross-country trip from Seattle to Chicago. Starting somewhere east of Twin Falls, the late morning air heated enough to make the ride extremely turbulent. Though I went all the way up to 17.5 (with oxygen), I was still getting the snot shaken out of me and needed a break. Rawlins was the closest airfield.

After refueling and taking my good old time, I tried taking off eastbound. Density altitude was over 10,000 (the airport itself is at 6813 ft.). Even with the turbo, I was having problems getting more than 200’ fpm climb while maintaining adequate cooling. I turned around and parked, figuring on spending the night. THe fixed base operator lent me their Chevy Suburban and gave some pointers on local eateries and cowboy poetry readings that were going on that night. I had a great time, and very much appreciate the western hospitality.