Headed West Again

Gene and I left home before daybreak on Monday, headed to Dallas to hook up with the Flagship crew again, only to face a two and a half hour delay while a "minor maintenance issue" was dealt with. At first they said ten minutes and then it escalated.
So, arriving in Dallas, we were already more than a bit road weary, only to find the temperature hovering at 105. Oh, good grief, it was the 24th day in a row above 100 degrees there. We were picked up by a friend and whisked to Alliance airport where the plane is, stopping for a great BBQ lunch on the way. They do know BBQ in the Lone Star State. Two of the guys had already been there working on the plane for about three hours. The plane was right in the doorway of an enormous hanger and there was a breeze, but it was like being baked in a convection oven. We kept drinking fluids, but everyone was miserable. They were tightening things on the engines to reduce oil leakage and had to put the engine cowlings back on. This was promised to take about an hour, but we were dropped at our hotel at 8PM. That lunch proved to be our only meal that day.
With the alarm set for 5AM, we fell into bed and knew nothing until the alarm went off. I truly do not think I even turned over. We were picked up at 6 for the flight to Cheyenne. There were 9 of us going, three females. Several people brought food so we were well stocked for the trip. It was already hot as we loaded up.
Our first stop was Hobart, OK to refuel. It was warm in the plane, but not uncomfortably so on that leg. The land we passed over looked sad. The fields were brown or yellow, I could not tell if they had been planted or not, as there were rows, but no green. I saw lots of stream beds that had no water in them. Hobart weather was overcast and breezy and felt good. The conditioned air in their little terminal felt even better. Upon getting in the air again, we all fell on the food like a bunch of shipwrecked sailors. It was only 10:30 but our breakfasts had been before dawn. The cabin cooled noticeably as we went further north. And the fields greened up and looked better. The total flying time was to be five hours but it passed very quickly. I found that the Verizon hot spot worked for a time in the plane so I was able to surf the web until we were over remote areas and the signal was lost.
Upon arrival in Cheyenne, we were treated like royalty. This show is at an Air National Guard base and there were scads of young soldiers in flight suits at our beck and call. It takes place during the two week Frontier Days, a time when the population swells from 43,000 to about 300,000. Where do they put them all? We immediately started cleaning and spiffing the plane, inside and out. This accomplished, the women and luggage were ferried to the "Cheyenne Social Club" or hospitality area where we were given welcome packets, keys to our two rental cars and a free beverage of choice. Again, lots of male and female soldiers at our service. Soon the men joined us and after they enjoyed a drink, we headed to our hotel and then out to dinner.
We dined at a place the locals frequent 17 miles outside of town, called the Bunkhouse. Antelope grazed in a field as we drove by. There is a lot of sky here, as there are only scrubby little trees. It was filled with most interesting cloud formations and colors. Photos could not capture the beauty. The folks in the restaurant were authentic ranchers. Lots of huge cowboy hats, boots and the look of the Marlboro Man. They had a band and folks were dancing. The menu was quite diverse for an off the beaten path kind of place, and the food was good. Of course we all had beef.
Since there are so many of us, half will go to the plane at 8 and the rest will follow at 9. All us women folk are in the later group.