There are also "sand stakes" available that are designed to hold in loose
soil. Sort of like
portable aircraft tie-downs but made out of thermoset plastic. They
basically screw into the
ground

There is NOTHING you can "screw into" some parts of the North 40. This past
year we were parked on top of what amounted to gravel beneath a thin layer
of topsoil. As a result, I was completely unable to screw in my metal
aircraft tie-downs -- even using a "cheater bar"!

It would simply drill down a few inches, and start pulling up gravel and
dirt, just like a little excavator. I was just very lucky that those same
winds that destroyed my tent didn't flip my plane.

(We actually got a couple of them in, eventually, by carrying buckets of
water over to the plane, and pouring them into the parched ground. This
softened the soil enough for the screw-ins to "bite" and stay put, sort of.)

Other years it's never been as much of a problem, so I think we were just in
a bad spot, compounded by a summer-long drought.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"