Denver to Denver



Passing time at the airport

Our trip to the airport went very well, including a friendly shuttle driver that has a day job at the Williamson Free School. When we got to the airport, thats when the fun began. Anne left her ID at home, so after showing her library card and everything else that had her name on it, the TSA gave her a good pat down and then let her through.

During the flight, we had some minor turbulence from thunderstoms in the Midwest, hopefully they were getting rain.  We also observed how the township and range surveysystem impacts development patterns west of the Appalachians.  As we continued west, we saw lots of dry lakes, streams and rivers, evidence of the draught gripping the Midwest.  As we got even further west, we could see the circular fields where center pivot irrigation systems are used.

The remainder of the flight went OK, but the rental car pickup was not so fun.  We had a 20 minute wait for the shuttle, an hour wait for service, then the van which we had reserved, suffered a broken window in the car wash. They gave us a Ford Explorer, which is too tight for 5 passengers and luggage for 13 days.  All these events added to the stress of the first day of travel, and we hoped that this trend would not last.

However, once we arrived at David and Diane Witonsky's, we were able to put the stress of the travels behind us.  Diane is Anne's cousin, and we were also joined by her cousin David Robinson and son Cy, along with her Aunt Norma and Uncle "Robbie" Robinson.  We had a nice dinner and burgers and salad, followed by a little badminton and horse shoes.  Later we took a 2 mile walk around the neighborhood and then went swimming at the community pool.



"Crop circles", evidence of center pivot irrigation
in the high prairie of the western Great Plains