Safe Bike Landing On Lake Wichita Park Airstrip In Shadow Of Mount Murphy

Looking at what you are seeing here you may be thinking it looks like a plane may be going in for a landing in front of a big green mountain.

Well, you would be wrong on all counts.

Yes, my bike's handlebars do sort of look like flying wings. Yes, that is a landing strip between the handlebars and the mountain. And yes, that is the closest thing to a mountain for many miles in any direction.

And that actually is an airplane landing strip. It is located in Lake Wichita Park.

The mountain is man made. The inspiration of a man with the last name of Murphy, hence many locals call it Mount Murphy, whilst I prefer Mount Wichita.

A week ago today I flew to Wichita Falls, from DFW. After dark. Arriving shortly before midnight.

The flights between Wichita Falls and DFW always seem to be adventurous. The return this latest time was via a different route than previous times. We were not long in the air before the pilot informed us to prepare for landing, trays up and locked, seats upright.

For a long distance we seemed to be descending. And then there came a point when I looked out the window and realized we were crossing the Red River. Which means we were coming in to Wichita Falls, and Sheppard Air Force Base from the north, as in from Oklahoma. After crossing the Red River it seemed to take a long time to fly the additional short distance to the air force base.

Upon landing I feared the pilot would once again get lost and take us on a long dark tour of the tarmac. But, unlike the time when that happened, last week the pilot seemed to make a beeline for our final destination.

I seem to be repeating this particular flying experience every few months. I am really looking forward to the next instance...