The Journey Begins or Next Stop: Casper

Las Vegas.

Sin City.

Whatever you want to call it, that city was the starting point of my journey.

The plan: Drive the two hours over to Las Vegas, fly out to Denver, Colorado the next day, then catch my connecting flight to Casper, Wyoming, where my best friend waited for me and a summer of fun!

Las Vegas, to some, is this remote glittering jewel in the Nevada desert. A paradise of gambling, drinking, and partying that never seemed to end. For me, it wasn't anything new. It was just another big city I'd be visiting for the umpteenth time. The large neon signs and dramatic, if not tacky, themed hotels had long ago lost their appeal. Still, I knew it was the easiest big city airport to get to and decided it would be the best place to fly out of for my journey.

The night before I was to fly out, my family and I stayed at one of the tacky themed hotels known as The Luxor. You know, the one shaped like a giant black pyramid that has a super bright light shining out of its top? That one.

I'll admit, as tacky as it was, I really did enjoy all the sculpted Egyptian statues and designs inside the hotel.

I'm a sucker for Egyptian architecture

Moving on to the next day: I woke up, ate a quick and delicious breakfast at the Pharaoh's café, and headed out tot he Las Vegas International Airport for my 1:30pm flight. Like usual, my family and I left the hotel later than anticipated, but luck appeared to be on my side because my flight was 45 minutes behind schedule!

When I arrived at the airport drop off area, I gave my dad a big hug goodbye and journey into the airport with my mom and two younger sisters. One of my sisters, Ashley, helped me navigate the terminal as best as she could. She'd been on several flights over the years, while this would be my very first one. She told me what to expect in the TSA line and gave the best advice on how to find my gate: Follow the signs! And if push comes to shove, ask someone!

I gave each of them a big hug goodbye, terrified to be doing something so new completely alone. As I hugged my mom, my eyes stung with tears I refused to shed. I gave them my best fighting smile and proceeded through the TSA line, which was a lot quicker and easier than I thought it would be. Once I made it into my gate, I had more than two hours of waiting to do. So I explored the terminal a bit. Typical of anything in Vegas, there were over a dozen slot machines right next to my gate. I've never been partial to gambling, so I walked around and explored all the lovely overpriced shops. Eventually, I grew bored of walking around, so I sat myself near my gate and read a book until it was time to board.

Vegas and its slot machines

Boarding the plane was simple, but my anxiety roared in my mind. I could feel my heart racing and my stomaching churning as I slowly inched closer to the front of the line. Finally, I scanned my ticket and boarded the plane. The seatbelt was a little snug, but I managed to get a seat next to the aisle, just in case my anxiety caused me to get sick. There was one other guy who sat at the window seat, but we didn't really talk and instead I donned my own headphones and listened to music for most of the place ride.

Taking off wasn't what I expected it to be. First the plane had to move to the runaway, which a slow and simple enough process. They played a safety video while the plane was preparing for take off, something I thought was pretty ingenious because it distracted the customers from the take off. When we did finally start up the runaway, it was like shooting forward on a rollercoaster, but a bit smoother. I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed it.

Ready for take off!

The flight was pretty smooth until we got near Denver, Colorado, where I was to catch my connecting flight to Casper. We had a bit of turbulence in the air, but again, it felt more like a theme park ride. To be more precise, it reminded me of a cross between Star Tours and Indiana Jones at Disneyland. I kind of wish the rest of the flight had been like that.

When I got of my plane in Denver, I had more than an hour until my connecting flight was scheduled to leave, and unlike the flight from Vegas, this one was on time. Unfortunately, the gate I was scheduled to be at was on the other side of the airport. Typical, right? So I took the long walk across the airport, using the moving walkway any chance I was able. When I found my gate, I sat with a bunch of elderly folks who were very nice. I felt bad for one group because their flight to Louisville, which was scheduled to arrive at 5pm was delayed and wouldn't be in until well after 8pm. I can't even imagine!

Finally, it was time for me to board my second flight. I was expecting what had happened in Vegas to be the same as this flight, but it was a bit different. For starters, the door I went through once my ticket was scanned led to another long hallway that eventually led me to the actual door for my gate. Once they checked my ticket (again) and crossed my name off their list, they had me walk down a ramp outside and then up another ramp to a significantly smaller plane than the last one I'd been on. The plane was obviously an older model and the seats were very tiny, but I managed to get myself seated and buckled up.

A near identical plane as the  one I was on

Take off was relatively the same as with the big one. The only difference was that I was seated next tot he window, which I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. It was so cool to see down to the ground below and how much of the areas did look like little patches of a quilt. Who knew the cartoons were actually right about that? The flight was fairly quick and in less than an hour we were above Casper! I was so close to seeing my best friend!

My aerial view of Casper

I was so excited when I got off the plane. I grabbed my carryon, which had been stored under the plane because it was so small, and walked out into the extremely small airport. Seriously, it looked more like a doctor's office than an airport. I tried to call my best friend to let her know I was there, but I was dismayed to learn that my cell phone service provider had no connection out here! I had to rely on wifi in this more remote area of Casper. Luckily, once I got deeper into the city, I was able to at least make phone calls. 

After our quick reunion, we hurried over to her apartment, ate dinner, and then went to bed. We had so much planned for the summer, but I needed a good night's rest after a long day of traveling.

More adventures to comes!