Monday February 12, 2018
I was in no rush to get out. But since there was nothing to do in Comstock, there was no reason to stick around. The only place for breakfast was the convenience store across the street. Yes, I did grab a juice and coffee to go.
It was still fairly early when I took the first load out to the car. There was just enough light to see the thickly spotted clouds overhead. Now all I needed to do was wait another few minutes to see if we would get any color to go with them.
Around 7:20A, I grabbed my jacket and camera and walked just far enough down the shoulder of Hwy 90 to get beyond the power lines. Just like standing on the beach, but at twenty-eight degrees, I settled in to watch the sunrise.
A few trucks rumbled by. But, since Comstock doesn’t even rate a single stop light, they barely slowed down. The only ones who did were in the white and green Border Patrol vehicles. I just waved. It must not be every day that some guy stands on the side of the highway and stares east. But, my patience was rewarded.
Back at the room I went about packing the rest of my stuff and double checking to see if I had forgotten anything. More than once I’ve left camera batteries in a charger, still plugged into a wall.
While the car warmed up I pondered the day. The original plan was to head northeast to the town of Rock Springs. There’s a little something in town called the Devil's Sinkhole. Seriously. Doing the math in my head, it was about one hundred twenty miles out of the way.
In the end, I chose to just head north along Ranch Road 163. It wasn’t exactly the most exciting drive of the trip. Periodic historic markets talked of numerous battles between the Cavalry and the local Indians along the Devils River.
There was no sign of life passing through the town of Juno, though I did find this old general store interesting. Why they had the mileage to all these places, I do not know.
As the drive took me closer and closer to civilization, I left the phone turned on with the volume up. Somewhere along the way I was sure to pick up my first cell signal in over a week. Pulling into Ozona, it started dinging and chirping. I pulled into the town square in front of the Crockett County Courthouse, and got caught up with everyone.
In the town of Barnhart, I headed west along Hwy 67. When I passed through Big Lake, my car’s GPS indicated an actual big lake. I pulled off, but never saw the lake. I turned around and drove back. No one as coming, so I stopped on the bridge over the ”lake” and took these.
It's a good thing I pulled off when I did. Otherwise, I probably would have missed this memorial...
Florence Miller Watson took her first plane ride at the age of eight and was hooked, as was her father. A few years later be bought his own plane and taught his children to fly. Anticipating America's entry into the war going on in Europe, he wanted his children trained and ready to contribute. That included Florence.
By the time she had finished high school, she had also finished flight school. Within two years she had a commercial aviation license and had qualified as a flight instructor. After the attack at Pearl Harbor, she and her brother volunteered for the Army Air Corp.
With her background and experience, she quickly qualified for the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, which was later renamed the Women Air Force Service Pilots. Their job was to fly the planes to where they were needed for training or front line service. By the end of the war, she had flown every type of plane in the military's fleet.
One last turn to make. In Rankin, I picked up Hwy 349 and a straight shot into Midland.
This made me laugh.
Feeling denied the craving in Marathon, I had searched for the place voted to have the best pizza in Midland. Sadly, if MD Pizza is the best, I feel sorry for Midland. It was decent, but hardly anything special.
My home for the night was the Americas Best Value Inn. The room they put me in had a kitchen and seating area. It was perfectly fine and clean. But, the dingy lighting made it feel like a basement apartment.
Day 11
Tuesday February 13, 2018
Once again I was up at a ridiculous hour to catch a flight. I was booked on the 5:25A out of Midland. I was still going to have to change planes in Houston, but the early hour would get me back in Atlanta before noon.
Fortunately, I was able to crash out a little early. While it was more like a series of naps, I probably got four or five hour of good sleep. So, when the phone’s alarm went off at 3A, it wasn’t all that bad. There was very little traffic as I worked my way to the Midland/Odessa International Air and Spaceport. And yes, that’s how they bill it.
I have TSA Precheck, but at this hour, there was no separate line. Instead, they handed me a laminated magenta card which allowed me to leave my shoes on and use the metal detector instead of the cursed body scanner. They did make me take my camera out of my backpack though. This was a first. I asked and was under the impression this is a new edict.
Outside the window at our gate was a plane. We all assumed it was ours. We were wrong. Just like normal, we checked in at the desk. Then we had to go downstairs, outside and walk perhaps a hundred feet to the ramp up to the plane.
Fortunately, we left on time. I say that because I had a very short window to make my connection home. After getting off the plane and into the concourse, I followed the signs for the tram to E-Terminal. Of course it was pulling out as I walked up.
Upon finally arriving in the terminal that houses D,E and the international gates, I hopped on the escalator down. There was no one in front of me, so I ran down into the corridor below. That’s when I heard over the PA, “United Flight 333 now boarding seats, all sections.” Yeah, I sprinted. A little out of breath, I finally arrived at Gate E-12. I was the second to last to board. Fortunately, the flight was only half full and there was still plenty of overhead space. Still, a little close for comfort.
But in the end, I really was home before noon.
Dave
2/18
PS: I'm home for a while. My niece Beth is graduating college in May, so I took the week off to head up for that. The trip to Alaska is booked and good to go. I have notes about things I can't book yet, like ferry tickets. Otherwise. it's all set and looking forward to the adventure.
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