the first stop

We made it without incident back to Minneapolis. Tim's busy taking care of some flight planning details, and then we'll head to bed for an early (early, early) wake up in the morning. The goal is to get off the ground shortly after sunrise to see how far we can make it. But then the one thing we've learned so far is that plans are good to have, but not to rely on.

I'm really looking forward to the flying we have ahead of us. On the first half of the trip, I was really starting to get the hang of navigating. I generally knew within a finger's width where we were. I could identify all the towns we were flying over, and figure out from the angles of the road where we were and what our heading was. The landscape we were flying over was filled with farmland, forests, and towns. But as we head out farther west, the countryside will get steadily less and less populated. Instead of flying in straight lines, we'll be zig-zagging to find the best terrain. I can't wait to see the landscape, and to see how my navigation skills hold up.

I feel like photos never quite do justice to the way it feels, partly because of the limitations of taking pictures through the plexiglass windows, and partly because there's just no way to encapsulate the experience. But I'll do my best, and see how it turns out.

I'm also really excited at the possibility of flying through Mountain Home. I loved Idaho when I lived there, and I hope to be able to share a little of that with Tim, even if it's an abbreviated visit.

We'll see what unfolds in the next 24 hours...