Photos of the Week: Jan. 26-30, 2026

Grass strips, sandbars, and snow.

Cayla McLeod

Friday, January 30, 2026 at 02:27 PM ET

Verified

Edited By: Travis Tingle

A Carbon Cub EX perched in a Texas riverbed. [Credit: Cayla McLeod]

Key Takeaways:

After an unusual winter storm left snow on the ground and pilots homebound, the author and Tres Clinton took to the skies over Texas.
They flew Clinton's Carbon Cub EX to Red Sands Ranch in Mason, Texas, performing a grass strip landing, enjoying lunch, and having "riverbed fun."
The flight highlights the varied and exciting recreational flying opportunities, from remote grass strips to unique locations, available to pilots in the Lone Star State.

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It isn’t too often that you find yourself flying low and slow over Texas and looking at snow down below. But that’s what happened this week, after a massive winter storm carved a path from the Lone Star State all the way to the Northeast.

After several days of being unable to leave the confines of home due to icy roads winding their way through the Texas Hill Country, Tres Clinton of C3 Air and I needed a much-needed excuse to get out of our respective homes and go fly.

With Clinton’s Carbon Cub EX as our chariot, we headed west toward Mason, Texas, for a grass strip landing at the Red Sands Ranch, which will be featured in the March/April issue ofPlane + Pilot. After enjoying our Subway lunch, we climbed back in the Cub for some riverbed fun.

From landing on massive runways in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, to camping at unique locations like Red Sands Ranch, there is so much to see and do as a pilot recreating in the Lone Star State. Stay tuned for our upcoming issue to learn more.

Photos by Cayla McLeod