Way out west!!

On Sunday afternoon I left the Windy City for a job interview in Casper, Wyoming. There is a great hospital there that serves the healthcare needs of the state that was actually interested in my potential to assist them in marketing and public relations activities. Sunday in Chicago was unseasonably warm and pleasant.

Flying United seemed like a good idea. Strong carrier in Chicago with lots of connections in Denver and on to Casper. But things started to unravel before boarding the plane for DIA. A long line formed to get boarding passes prior to departure but no one from United came by to assist. Finally, minutes before the scheduled departure time a volunteer showed up and boarding passes were issued but the delay caused the flight to leave later than planned. Even though the crew tried to make up the time my flight from Chicago landed about the time my plane for Casper was taking off. No problem according to the flight crew on the plane. Casper passengers were being rebooked for the next flight.

But upon arrival I discovered that there was only one more flight to Casper (Natrona County International Airport) and that flight was booked solid. But I waited hoping for a miracle to fly out. By 8:30 the last miracle departed without me.

Ever resourceful I opted for a car rental with the thought of driving as far as I could that night in order to be in Casper by 8 am on Monday. But I needed my bag which was checked curbside at O'Hare. Several nice United people promised I'd get it within an hour or two. But by 11:30 someone finally had the courtesy to admit that my bag would not come and that I should expect it to fly to Casper in the morning....without me!

So I left Denver via car and drove north as far as I could in somewhat snowy conditions. By the time I got to Cheyenne (2:30 am MST) the roads were getting bad and I was really tired so I found a room at the Inn, Comfort Inn to be exact where I got four hours of sleep before heading out again to get to Casper.

Roads were snowy and icy for a good part of the next 175 miles. My cell phone was dying, I was hungry and I still didn't have my suitcase. By 11:30 am I rolled into Casper and retreived my bag at NCIA and headed over to the Holiday Inn for a hot shower, shave, and clean clothes. Then off to the hospital for interviews.

All went well that afternoon and the next morning as I met with some great people and really learned more about the hospital and its role in meeting the healthcare needs of Wyoming. Tuesday afternoon I spent time with a local realtor who gave me a grand tour of the area including the opportunity to meet a small herd of mule deer face to face (watch for pictures soon).

Wednesday morning it was time to go. I got up early and toured a bit more of the city. By 9:30 am I got a call telling me that the big snow storm had closed the Denver airport. No flights in or out. Not a good message for guy wanting to head out. Casper has 3 carriers serving the commuity flying to Denver, Salt Lake City, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Unfortunately all flights from there were either cancelled due to weather or full. The word was maybe Friday.

Then I met Steve. A nice guy from Tulsa also trying to get home. He had found that if we could somehow get to Salt Lake City we could fly out on Thursday. And SLC was only a 6 hour drive by car. So we opted to split car rental and head south and west, hoping to avoid any of the bad weather plaguing SE Wyoming and most of Colorado. On the way to finalizing details we met another weary traveler, Tim, who was trying to get home to Texas. The three of us headed out around 11:15 for Utah.

Other than one stop for lunch at the Flying J around Rawlings, we drove straight through at a speedy pace and were at the Salt Lake Airport by 5:30 pm. The other guys opted for rooms at the Hampton Inn and I decided to wait it out in the airport until my flight left at 8 am the next day. Unfortunately I discovered I could not check in until 4 am on Thursday so my access to the better side of airport living (beyond security) was limited. I took up residence next to baggage carousel #8 at SLIA and here I sit at 11:22 pm MST on Wednesday night.

Less than 5 hours to check in and only a few more until my flight leaves. I've been reading, doing puzzles, and being online thanks to wifi here in the airport. I'm pretty tired and not able to sleep very well in a noisey, well-lighted facility but it won't be long and I'll be on my way back to sweet home Chicago.