Pilot reports...

Boonville Airport is a perfect destination for that $100 hamburger on a sunny day. It's nestled in the lush, beautiful, tree-lined Anderson Valley, about 30 nm southeast of Mendocino. The 3,000 foot strip is unattended and usually deserted, but the asphalt is in perfect condition. A 10-minute walk brings you into the tiny town of Boonville, where you can savor that hamburger at a number of down-home cafes. Or bring a box lunch and enjoy an hour's hike in some of the most beautiful countryside in northern California.

Getting there is easy. From Santa Rosa, follow Highway 101 north and then pick up the valley as it branches westwards. Or simply track outbound from the Santa Rosa VOR; you'll see the airport about ten miles out.

Two cautionary notes: the terrain rises fairly steeply to the west of the runway, so a westerly wind can make life extremely interesting on final. And the taxiway has been appropriated as the local county road, so make sure you back-taxi on the runway itself after landing.

Kareem Fahmi -- San Francisco, CA