Day 11 – A lazy day in Salina

So we got up bright and early, all set to go. A glance out the window told us that the weather was flyable with a lowish overcast around 1500 feet. Visibility was no problem either. We had everything ready when I though that maybe a quick call to 1-800-WX-BRIEF couldn´t hurt to round off the picture. I got the briefer on the phone and asked him for a standard briefing along our route to Colby. After a few seconds of silence there came a barrage of IFR AIRMETs, low ceilings, precipitation and what not. I could hardly believe it, since right here, in the vicinity of our little hotel room, the world was OK. I broke out the little laptop and went online to see for myself. And this is what I got for radar summaries in central to western Kansas:




All the yellow stuff is heavy rain radar echoes, the green stuff is moderate rain. The various criss-crossing lines are AIRMET boundaries calling for ifr conditions, icing, turbulence and some other nasty stuff. You´ll notice that Slina (the location with the wind barb near the right border) shows no radar returns at all. But only 10-20 miles west is where the weather turns ugly.

The outlook called for a slow improvement over the day, according to the briefer. We decided to postpone our departure and go visit the zoo. We got in the car and started heading west on I-70. According to the picture below, the steering wheel was probably not invented by an American.

Once there, we meandered from species to species and I kept snapping pictures. If you didn´t know about the zoo, the photo below could well be some satellite imagery of a central American agricultural landscape instead of a Giant Tortoise.



Another texture that caught my attention was the scales of a Burmese Python:



And the lazy fellow up on the branch seemed to be a biding his time, too.



On the way out we discovered a bison who stood completely still. He let us come up real close; so close that we could actually touch it!!



Well, OK, it was only a statue of a bison.... Remember, Robert is looking for the semen of a bison to prepare a remedy from. It seems as if this might not materialize. But he would settle for saliva, milk or blood. Pretty much any bodily fluid is now on. If you have access to one of those or know someone who does, please let us know.

On our way back to Salina we stopped at the airport to check the weather on their weather computers. That´s when we saw this Jet taxi up and park. A couple disembarked and led three dogs out on the lawn to let them do their business. I guess here in America even dogs travel in style.

The weather didn´t want to cooperate today and we headed back to the hotel. I took a nap, read a book and then we went out for dinner. Robert wanted to know if we were far enough into the Wild West to get a good steak here. I told him that the Pony Express started at St. Joe, which was 200 miles to the east already. So the steaks ought to be starting to be good. He ordered one and was all smiles over it. Let´s see if it gets even better farther west.

Tomorrow, the plan is to make up for the lost time and get an early start. Then push as far west as possible, preferably to Colorado Springs. Todd aka “racer” was so nice as to offer us and our gyros a space to stay for the night at an airport about 15 miles east of Colorado Springs. That´s what we´re aiming for. I´d love to shake hands with the man who invented the Yamaha 120 hp snowmobile engine (well, not invented, but you know what I mean).

Be well, – Robert & Chris.