The Rerouted Skytress

Lately I’ve noticed a lot more people driving Ferrari’s around my area. That’s a lot of horsepower. It’s not my kind of horsepower, though. No. My kind of horsepower actually involves horses. Yessiree,….horse power. You all know about my love of Clydesdales. You’ve read about my love of the Cowboy Channel. My Montana roots run deep. Considering my parents are from Jersey City, it’s a miracle I’m not a city gal. Yes. I can appreciate the city. Any city. But, my heart yearns for the mountains of my birthplace. I haven’t had a Montana layover in a month of Sundays. Thankfully, I have been flying out West a lot recently. When I’m not flying, you can bet I have the Cowboy Channel on. What was once a channel for background noise, has become an addiction. Some of you may say, “You’re Crazy!”. I say, “Cowboy Up!”

The Cowboy Channel has been televising 100 rodeos in 100 days. Who knew there were that many rodeos out there? I knew about the Calgary Stampede Rodeo and the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. I knew there were a few rodeos in Montana and a few more in Wyoming. But, that’s a lot shy of 100. I’ve come to appreciate the Ellensburg Rodeo in Washington. I’ve discovered the Pendleton Round-Up is now my new all-time favorite rodeo. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. I’ve always loved a Pendleton blanket. My Mom introduced me to Pendleton clothing when I was a young girl. Pendleton was quality clothing. Turns out the Pendleton Round-Up is quality rodeoing. Who knew? Well, guess I know now! Cowboy up!

Yes, watching the cowboys ride a bucking horse or bucking bull is quite impressive. Watching cowgirls maneuver their horses around the barrels is mesmerizing. However, it is the rodeo American pride that has really captured my heart. Each rodeo starts with a prayer that praises God, Country and the American spirit. Families stand together. They bow their heads. Cowboy hats cover their hearts. The tributes to the military and freedom are spectacular. The rodeo announcers are full of praise and positivity for each cowboy and cowgirl. They always remind the audience the competitors may not remember how well they did, but, they will always remember how the people made them feel. And the people always make the cowboys and cowgirls feel loved. The cowboys and cowgirls root for one another. It’s sportsmanship at its finest. It’s very refreshing. All the while, the rodeo barrel man keeps everyone entertained. It’s great, clean entertainment. Well, minus the rodeo dirt and the bull flinging nose snot. The peppy rodeo music is a fantastic bonus. Yessiree. I catch myself singing along with the rodeo crowd. Another bonus….the sound of the rodeo announcer’s and rodeo barrel man’s voices are so soothing they lull me to sleep when bedtime comes.

A few weeks ago I flew into Rapid City. That’s South Dakota for those of you who may not know. It’s also where you fly into if you want to visit Mount Rushmore. Rapid City may not sound like a desirable destination. But, don’t tell Skytresses and Skyters this. For us…It’s a coveted destination. Yessiree. I couldn’t hold the 30- hour layover. I could only hold the 13- hour layover. Even with the shorter layover, I thought about renting a car to go see Mount Rushmore. I hadn’t been to Mount Rushmore in years. The cheapest car rental was $200 for the day. One car rental agency was asking $500. Edags! My crew and I deadheaded into Rapid City on a regional jet. I hadn’t been on a regional jet in years. (Note to self…..next time, check my crew bags plane side. The regional planes may be bigger than I remember them. But, the aisle are still as narrow). The flight from Minneapolis was just over an hour. I looked out the window the whole time. The closer we got to Rapid City, the more excited I became. It was fascinating flying in. The rolling hills were brown from lack of rain. In the middle of nowhere there would be live stock dotting the land. I was trying to figure it all out as I looked at the landscape outside my window. Sadly, we landed way before I was ready. Heck, I didn’t have time to take a picture out my window for you all. I’ll be more prepared next time.

When the crew settled into our seats in the crew van we were all chatting about our flight into Rapid City. No one slept on the flight. We all were looking out our respective windows taking in the sights of South Dakota. The Captain jokingly asked if anyone was going to go to a rodeo on our layover. I know I impressed him when I told him the Rapid City Rodeo was the previous week. Okay, maybe I scared him with this information. I’m sure he never flew with a Skytress that watched the Cowboy Channel. The Captain impressed me when he started talking about mutton bustin races. The first officer laughed. He was familiar with mutton bustin. My Skyter In-Charge and my Skytress crew member had no idea what mutton bustin was. If you don’t know what mutton bustin is, let me explain. Mutton bustin is where little children lay on sheep and hold on to see how far they can ride them. It’s hysterical. Incredibly, I’ve learned the best technique is to lay on the sheep backwards. One can get a better hold on them and ride further. This is just a little observation on my part if you ever find yourself in a mutton bustin contest. You’re welcome!

Since we arrived in Rapid City at dinner time, we went to dinner. Here’s an interesting tidbit for you all. My airline is known around the industry as the airline that loves to eat. We pride ourselves on this fact. The one Skytress on our crew that hadn’t been to Mount Rushmore decided she would like to go there when there was more time to see it. She definitely wanted to go to dinner though. This doesn’t come as a shock to you all now, does it? We decided to go the The Firehouse Brewing Company for dinner. My brother Brian would have loved it. It was all things firehouse related. I don’t know if an actual fireman cooked my dinner,….but, it was delicious. Our Skyter In-Charge had the best stories. I didn’t think anyone could top them. I was wrong. More on that in a moment. After dinner we walked around the city. There are statues of Presidents all around town. It was quirky and we loved it. The Skytress on our crew wanted to check out Graffiti Alley. It’s just that. An alley with lots of graffiti. It was quirky, too. Rapid City had a cute downtown area. The shops were closed by the time we finished our dinner. That just means I will have more to check out next time I’m in Rapid City…..Along with….the Badlands National Park, the Chapel in the Hills, and the Crazy Horse Memorial. Surprisingly, I’ve already seen Storybook Island. It’s a children’s park where storybook characters come to life. My family went there on a trip back to Montana. To this day, I still think about the woman who lived in a shoe. There was a giant shoe you could go in….just like in the nursery rhyme. It was fabulous! Or should I say, heel-arious?!

Now, I mentioned my Skyter-In Charge told us the best stories. I also wrote there was one person that topped his stories. Yessiree. It was none other than our van driver. On our way back to the hotel we could hear a train whistle. Although, we knew it was nearby, we couldn’t see it. Nonetheless, it made us all nostalgic. I remember riding trains when I was a young girl in Montana. I mention hearing the train when we arrived back to the hotel. The van driver said when he was a young boy he really didn’t think much about the trains. Nope. He was captivated by the helicopters that came to town. The van driver explained people could take rides in the helicopter. He rode in the helicopter when he was 14 years old. He’s been fascinated by flying ever since that day. About the same time the helicopter came to town, so did the carnival. The van driver recalled how he was enchanted by the carnival, too. He was so enamored by the carnival that at age 14 he got a job working there. When the carnival left to go to other towns, he left with them. He spent several months traveling with the carnival out west. He explained he was young and could climb up all the rides to help put them together. Then later he’d climb back up and help take them apart. He told me about the carnival people. He said they were unique to the general population. To him, they were the nicest people he had ever encountered. He told me the carnival people wanted him to stay with them and continue to travel around the country. They were going to pay for his education. The van driver said it was a tempting offer. But, he wanted to come home and finish school. I had a hundred questions I wanted to ask the van driver. I wanted to know what life was like for him as a young man that would make joining the carnival at 14 possible. Did his family need the money? Did he even have a family? As I was formulating all my questions, the driver told me his carnival name was Bee. He said he got the moniker when one day he took a sip of his soda and he swallowed a bee. No sooner did he tell me this story when a woman asked if he could drive her back to the airport. Sadly, there would be no answers to my plethora of questions I had. We said our goodbyes. He left for the airport. I went upstairs to my room and made a commitment to myself that I would be back for another layover….and as Paul Harvey would say,…”the rest of the story”.

The next day we left Rapid City to head back to Atlanta. Myself and my fellow Skytress skedaddled out of our jumpseats as soon as it was safe. The back of the airplane was empty. We wanted to get one more look at Rapid City and the surrounding landscape as we headed back to Atlanta. Sadly, the visibility that morning was poor. Thick clouds impeded our view of the ground. We were both disappointed.

I’m not sure when I will be back to Rapid City. I hope it’s sooner than later. I can’t get enough of America’s northwest. Fortunately, I’ve had layovers in Denver and Salt Lake City. The majestic mountains always leave me in awe. Our hotel in Salt Lake City was incredible. Who knew they had such swanky hotels in SLC? “Not I”, said I. My crew and I sat outside and ate dinner. See, there is the food-loving part of our airline again! The mountain air was refreshing. Well, if you overlooked the smog from the forest fires. We stayed at the airport hotel in Denver. Yessiree. The one attached to the airport. It was impressive, too. I stood outside on the patio deck while my chai tea latte was being prepared inside the cafe. It was gorgeous outside. Next time, I will give myself more time to linger. Until then, I will keep the Cowboy Channel on to feed my Montana soul. Yessiree. The horse power is impressive. The western pride is unwavering. The mutton bustin is gut-bustin hilarious. However, it’s seeing the cowboys and cowgirls anchored upon their horses that expands my western soul the most. It’s inexplicable for me. Yessiree. Some may say I’m crazy. I, on the other hand say, “Cowboy up”.