Up at a reasonable hour and departed Deming, NM with an eye towards getting into Council Bluffs, IA by this evening. We have a major bunch of presentations to make to kids at the Western Trails Heritage Museum with K.C. Hummel tomorrow (Monday).

First stop was for breakfast in Dalhart, TX, which I believe is the finest café at an airfield in America. We were advised at the FBO to get a seat right away before everyone stopped in after church. Good advice: the place got packed within ten minutes of our arrival. It was the cook's special of turkey and all the fixins that brought'em out today. A couple of guys showed up for about 24 carry-out dinners. We all had the special, which left us no room at all for the homemade pies. Next time.

We followed our flight plan varying altitude occasionally in an effort to find smooth air. A front was moving in from the northwest and a clear day started to look a little dicey up ahead along the route of flight. About a half hour out of Council Bluffs with Kim and Kari in the lead, the ceiling coming down and Flight Watch issuing a tornado warning until 2300 local time for the Omaha, NB area, we diverted and landed under clear skies in Phillipsburg, KS.

I think people in America should learn to fly if for no other reason than to experience the hospitality and kindness on experiences at these little airports across the country. At Phillipsburg, the fuel was as cheap as we've ever seen it, the door to the FBO was unlocked and a sign on the wall said, in effect: "Don't lock the door, 'cause we don't have a key handy. Here's the key to a new van parked outside for you to use and if can afford it, throw some money in the box for fuel. Thanks you". No, thank YOU, Phillipsburg, KS.

We stayed at the Cottonwood Inn where the lady behind the counter made us fresh popcorn and ice tea. Dinner at the local Pizza Hut with a good salad bar and great service. After dark we walked off the pizza on cart paths of the local golf course across the street from the hotel. We sat in the grass, listened to an owl off in the distance and watched a full moon come up in the east while Kim talked on her cell phone to her husband Cliff who is stationed in Iraq: can you imagine?

Great power walk in the dark along the golf course until all the sprinklers started coming on. They chased us back towards the hotel and we called it an early night with the idea that we'd get in the air early enough tomorrow to get to Council Bluffs for our presentations in the morning.

Flight Operations

Enroute from Dalhart, TX to Council Bluffs, Iowa, we continued to experience deteriorating weather, with lower and lower ceilings. After many attempts to contact weather information, we finally received a Tornado watch warnings forecast for our direct route ahead, along with scattered thunderstorms. As it was clear behind us, but closing in fast in front of us, we decided to divert back the way we had just come, look for an alternate airport to land and reassess our flight options. After flying for almost 3.5 hours, we finally decided to land at Phillipsburg, KS, a beautiful little airport surrounded by corn fields. Unfortunately, our first scheduled meeting was at Council Bluffs the next morning, which we were unable to attend due to weather delays. Safety of flight and crew comes first! Full moon night.

The next morning we had to wait until the weather cleared and departed Phillipsburg, KS at 1115