The first Colorado Splash-In will be held Saturday, May 14, on Lake Meredith near Sugar City in southeastern Colorado. The event, which runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., is expected to draw some 500 spectators.
The Seaplane Pilots Association has been working for years to gain access to Colorado waters. Colorado historically has been off-limits to seaplanes, so the splash-in promises to be an historic day, association officials note.
Planned activities include a submersion trainer for simulating water egress, hovercraft rides, hot air balloon rides, and boat/canoe rentals.
The lake will remain open to other forms of water recreation, including fishing, skiing, and swimming.
Vendors will be on hand to provide food, beverages, and local merchandise.
Lake Meredith coordinates are 38-12-40.74N/103-41-32.63W, but all pilots are requested to first land at KLHX, La Junta Municipal Airport, for a self-conducted invasive species inspection.
Those wishing to attend, please provide the following to the event organizer (see contact info below):
- Number of attendees in your group
- Arriving aircraft?
- Indicate your willingness to provide rides, and/or demonstrate water operations.
- Provide an indemnification letter or insurance company coverage letter naming the Lake Meredith Company as additional insured.
- If staying overnight:
- Lodging is extremely limited in the local area. Closest area with nationally recognized lodging (Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, Econo Lodge, etc.) is La Junta, approximately 25 miles from the lake.
- Camping is available on first-come first-served basis.
For more information and to obtain a template for the indemnification letter, contact Ray Hawkins at 303-342-1537.
It is to bad that you can not even say that Ordway does have a hotel!!!!!!!!! Yes it may be limited but if you can’t support the locals ….. STAY IN YOUR OWN BACK YARD!!!!!!
Ms Chaney,
I apologize if I offended you or the Town of Ordway in any way. As it happens, I had two rooms at Hotel Ordway; one for myself and one for volunteers that assisted with the event. I even booked the Three Dog Night Guest house. In speaking with the local hotel proprietors, we realized that due to the limited number of rooms available within the local area, we had to let our attendees know that they would need to make their reservations early or expect to have to look further out.
I found the accommodations to be very comfortable. If I were vacationing I would definitely stay at one of these local retreats. However, due to business responsibilities I had to check-out soon than I wished.
If you need to speak with me directly, please call 303-342-1537.
Welcome one and all to COLORADO’S FIRST EVER Seaplane Splash-In. I am the event manager, Ray Hawkins. Since the information above was released there have been a few changes. Please contact me for up-to-date information. My email address is [email protected] or you may call 303-342-1537.
This is encouraging! I hope that seaplanes can continue to gain traction in CO.
Congratulations and happy splashing; looks like a great inaugural event! It would be interesting to learn how agreement for the Splash-In was reached, and the new contractual relationships among the Seaplane Pilots Association, the Airport and Lake Meredith Company (having been there with GA events, indemnity and insurance). Most important, of course, is developing community interest in GA – by air or water.