13-Dec-2009

Pictures are coming, I promise. Overwhelmingly people wanted more pics. I will try to do better. I have a new camera so we'll see if I can figure it out.

I'm on the last leg of a 3 leg flight back to Bogota, Colombia. Hopefully the bikes will be waiting for us where we left them, if not, I guess this journey just got shorter. It has been a hectic, but good week back in Utah. It will be morning before Nick gets to Bogota, so hopefully I can get some rest.

It was a shock of culture, weather and everything to get back in Utah, or even on the way there. By the time I got back to Texas I started to notice that people spoke English. That gets your attention, suddenly you can feel like part of the world again, you really understand what is being said. I get off the airplane in Salt Lake in river shoes, thin pants and a flowered shirt, no jacket, nothing and it is something like 15 degrees, Ugh. Who thought this was a good idea? I spend the next couple of days in Salt Lake getting stuff for the bike, going to a Jazz game with the Newby's and Deanna, and then go home. My daughter is dying to see me, as I am her. We have a few great days, including skiing at Brighton, might as well enjoy this cold white stuff if I have to plow and shovel it while I'm here. It was a great day of skiing with me only doing one lawn dart maneuver into the powder.

Getting to the airport again was interesting. We had a company party in Moab with all my great people. Thanks again, I couldn't do this without you. I couldn't find my passport when we got back to Price for a couple of hours but finally did. Serious blizzard, 8-12 inches of unplowed, blowing snow over the canyon from Price to Provo. It took over 2 hours to make that 1 hour trip. We managed to get to SL to a hotel room we already had from skiing about 45 minutes before I needed to get up to make the flight. Megan took me up and dropped me off and then went back to the hotel to rest. At least she got some use out of it.When I walked into the airport with my bags and 2 tires wrapped up in seran wrap the first guy at Delta said I couldn't take tires. Bad thing to say to me at that point in my day. I told him I could since they weren't inflated and if they weren't allowed he was going to have to show me in writing why I couldn't or get a manager. He caved. It's good to be a pilot and know some of these things. So, all's well. I'm on the last leg. Hopefully the tires and my bag gets to Bogota with me and they will let me into that country again. It's interesting to not be sure.