Ahead of schedule.....

8:22 am - Thursday - October 12th - Medford, OR - 48° F, humidity 80%, wind 1 mph out of the north by northeast......cloudy today with a forecast high of 74° F.  At LPG&RVR it is foggy as I write, and the high is forecast to be 61° F.  We should be home between 3 & 4 pm.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were having lunch at Wenatchee Valley Brewing Company.....↴ 

I am so happy I chose an early evening flight back to Medford, OR!  As a result we, in effect, had another whole day with my sister and brother-in-law, and even though we were only there 3 nights, we had 4 full days with them.  Of course that makes for a very late arrival in Medford, but I get ahead of myself.

We were up, as has been our Montana custom this trip, around 7:30 am....so nice to sleep in, and not have to get up early, rush around, and then race to the airport.  Our flight out of Missoula was scheduled for 6:30 pm Wednesday evening, so no rushing.  Bob and Hilary had arranged for an employee of the Rock Creek Cattle Company to drive us to the airport, at their expense, and we were not scheduled to be picked up by Walter Hill until 3:30 pm that afternoon for the 75 minute drive to the Missoula Airport, so we just lazed around drinking coffee, and enjoying the beautiful RCCC* scenery that surrounds their home.

Early in the day there was the heavy cloud cover left over from the rain Tuesday evening, but the clouds began to move out around noon.  I was able to catch up on some of the YouTube channels I follow, but around 1 pm Bob suggested taking a RZR ride into the local hills to see the rest of the property.  TLE wasn't interested, because even though the cloud cover was clearing, it was only 57° F, and a little too breezy for her, so it was just Bob and I.  In about an hour Bob took me from one high side of the valley to the other.  It is amazing how spread out this project is, and how many large homes are being built.  The cost for all the infrastructure, and off site improvements must be staggering.  The average lot size is 3 acres, which is the size of Bob and Hilary's home site.  This preserves the views for all who come later.  I wish I had taken pictures, but I was just enjoying the scenery, and the drive.

We were home a little after 2 pm, and it was time for me to begin packing, and putting away my computer.  Right on time, Walter Hill, arrived to retrieve TLE and I for the drive into Missoula.  We bid our adieus to Bob and Hilary, vowing not to wait another 18 months, and were off to Missoula arriving at the airport around 4:50 pm....plenty of time to get through security (for us TSA Pre-Check®), which took just a few minutes....no disrobing (shoes, jackets, etc), no opening up your computer bag.  You just put your bags on the conveyor belt, and walk through a metal detector....takes 2 minutes.  

By the time we reached our gate it was 5 pm, and we had an hour until boarding would begin for the first leg of our journey which would take us to Salt Lake City where we would have a 3 hour layover.  We passed the time reading, and taking multiple bathroom breaks....I hate having to use the restroom on the plane....lol!

We boarded at 6 pm, and were in the air a tad after 6:30 pm.....love small airports!  

....the flight duration was around an hour and 15 minutes, and soon we were seeing the lights of Salt Lake City......we landed around 7:50 pm (Mountain Time)....about 12 minutes ahead of schedule.....

....since we had a 3+ hour layover we decided to have a small dinner at Uinta Brewing Company, which was a short 100 foot walk from our gate.  I had a Wedge Salad chased with a Tito Bloody Mary, but TLE decided she would just have water (she was still full from lunch)....ultimately she did order a Scotch on the rocks....lol.  By the time we finished our leisurely meal it was after 9 pm, but we still had another 90 minutes until boarding would begin for the final leg of our journey to Medford.

We boarded a little ahead of schedule, and before we knew it we were seeing the city lights of Medford....originally we were not to land until 11:55 pm, but we actually landed ahead of schedule at 11:41 pm.  By the time we retrieved our bags (yes we volunteered to have our bags checked for free at the departure gate), and called the hotel shuttle service it was just after midnight, and by 12:30 am we were in our room, and getting ready for bed.

Time to get dressed, and head for home!  We'll make a stop in Alturas for TLE's final eye appointment at 2 pm, and we should be back at the Newell before 4 pm...time to head south!

Thanks for stopping by!

*Rock Creek Cattle Company