United States
September 13 until October 19 2002
On this page and the previous pages you will find a travelogue of the five week trip we made to Dallas and San Francisco, then we toured along a number of national parks in the southwest of the US with an RV and we ended our trip in Las Vegas. A this report is too long for one page it is split up into multiple pages. On this page you will find the fourth part.
- Part 1: September 13 until September 23.
- Part 2: September 24 until October 2.
- Part 3: October 2 until October 8.
- Part 4: October 9 until October 19.
Mesa Verde National Park
We woke up at around nine o'clock. Outside it was still cold, the temperature
was a little below zero last night. But the bright blue sky and the sun
promised a nice day. After breakfast we went to Mesa Verde. From the campground
you climb the mountain via a winding road to the visitors centre. There
we bought tickets for the Balcony House tour at eleven and for the Cliff
Palace at twelve thirty. The tickets were $2.25 per person, meaning Ciska
was not for free this time. Wetherill Mesa was already closed for the season,
so we can't visit that cliff dwelling. So our first destination was Balcony
House. We arrived there quiet early, so we had to wait a while. At eleven
the tour started, guided by a park ranger. Before we left off he told us
something about how we had to go to arrive at Balcony House. First you
climb down a normal ladder and then you walk on a paved path. After that
you have to climb up a steep wooden ladder again. This last was was no
problem for Ciska, she climbed it as she does this daily. At the top of
the ladder we had arrived at Balcony House.
Balcony House is build under a rock at an altitude of 600 feet (180 meters)
above the canyon floor. It consists of about 35 to 40 rooms were at the
time (± 1200 AC) lived about 40 to 50 people. As with most of the
cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde it was only inhabited for about 75 to 100
years. The buildings are not restored by the National Park Service, the
only take care that they don't decay any further. Only parts are restored
like the wall along the steep canyon. This means that most of the stones,
cement and plaster are still original. The ranger however wondered how
long they could keep the Balcony House open to the public. As it is all
build within sandstone rocks there is always the danger that, because of
erosion, at a certain point in time falling rocks will endanger the visitors.
Or, when they are large rocks, will smash the buildings. This already has
happened several times in the past ages on other places in Mesa Verde.
The most important places in a Anasazi community as Balcony House are the
so-called kivas (in the language of the Hopi indians kiva means 'ceremonial
room').
A kiva is a circular room within the ground topped with a roof made
of wood and clay. The roof was at the same level as the ground. In the
middle of the roof there is a hole that serves as a chimney and it also
holds a ladder to enter and leave the kiva. The drawings below shows a
top- and a side view of a kiva.
Because of the burning fire and the rising hot air, fresh air was sucked
in via the ventilation shaft. The deflector took care of spreading the
fresh air into the room and that it didn't influence the burning fire.
The sipapu was a simple hole in the ground that symbolizes the entrance
in this world. The old indians believed that there are four worlds and
that, when they were unlucky in life, they would be reborn in the next
world via that hole. The first three world were the underworld and the
fourth one was like a heaven, were everything was all right. The kivas
were used by the indians for all kinds of ceremonials, but also for social
meetings and as a sleeping place. They also prayed there for rain, good
crops and for a successful hunt. Probably they also used it for healing
ceremonials when someone fell ill in the community.
The water supply in Balcony House was via a seep through spring. This
is a spring that is cause by rain- and melt water seeping through the soft
sandstone. When the water encounters a harder layer of rock it seeps out
through the soft stone. Leaving Balcony House was at least as spectacular
as entering it. First you have to crawl through two, about one meter long,
tunnels. They measure about 50 times 90 centimetres, the second one slightly
smaller than the first one. A rather pot-bellied man went stuck in the
second one. With some pushing and pulling we got him out. For Ciska these
tunnels were no problem at all of course. After the tunnels we had to climb
a number of ladders again to resurface. It was already after twelve so
we immediately left with the RV to go to the Cliff Palace for our next
tour. Here we first also had to descent via a number of ladders. And before
we entered the cliff dwelling our guiding park ranger told us something
about the history of Cliff Palace.
The Cliff Palace is larger as the Balcony House. It has 217 rooms and 23
kivas and it housed around 250 people. There was however no running water
as in Balcony House, they had to climb down to the river to get it. The
Cliff Palace was build by several generations of indians. This appears
from the different architectural styles and also from the craftsmanship
of the workmen. On some places the stones are rectangular and well laid,
on other places they are less neat and not laid very accurate. Leaving
Cliff Palace was also via a number of wooden ladders and narrow stone steps.
From Cliff Palace we went to the Spruce Tree Terrace to have something
to eat and we also visited the museum over there. In this museum there
was also a section for children were they were allowed to touch everything.
From the museum we descended down to Spruce Tree House. Another cliff dwelling.
This one was build between 1200 and 1276 AC and it has 114 rooms and 8
kivas. A number of them has a roof on them and one is open for the tourists.
We went back the same way we came and we drove to the Farview Ruins. These
were the houses of the indians before they start to build the cliff dwellings.
We wandered around and after that we drove back to the campground. This
has been a very fascinating and interesting day.
From Mesa Verde via Four Corners to Monument Valley
The next day we left after breakfast. First we went to Cortez to refuel.
The petrol was cheap, only $1.49 per gallon, but the RV was very thirsty,
it needed 45 gallons (180 litres!). Via Hwy. 160 we went to Four Corners.
This is the only point in the US were 4 states meet, Arizona, Colorado,
New Mexico and Utah share borders at this point.
You even have to pay an entrance fee to see it. We walked along the many
souvenir stands. Mainly indians try to make their fortune here by selling
bracelets and other jewellery, but also pots, bow and arrows etc. We bough
some. From Four Corners we moved on to Bluff, there we had lunch at the
'Twin Rocks Café'. They also have internet PCs so we were able to
upload our web site again and to read email. Unfortunately one image file
couldn't be read from the floppy. After a delicious lunch we drove to Monument
Valley. Its mighty rocks can be seen long before you arrive there. They
have been used as the set for many movies and commercials. We went to a
campground in Monument Valley, according the Woodalls camping guide it
has a playground, a swimming pool and a laundry.
They also organize back country tours in Monument Valley. We booked one
for the next day. After we were set and ready on our campsite we went for
a dip in the pool. We've been there for over an hour. In the evening there
was a slide show about Monument Valley in the hotel to which the campground
belongs, about one mile from the campground. There is a free shuttle bus
between the campground and the hotel. The show is once per hour and we
went to the show of seven o'clock. Before the show started we walked through
the little museum that is part of the hotel. It has a model of Monument
Valley which shows the set locations for a number of famous movies that
were (partly) shot in the Valley. The slide show was about the birth of
Monument Valley with images taken from early in the morning till late in
the evening. We didn't found it that interesting. During the show, Ciska
was constantly complaining about itching feet. After the slide show we
took the shuttle back to the campground. Back in the RV, Hilleke made dinner.
In the mean time Ciska kept complaining, also her hands were itching. It
turned out that her hands and feet were red and a bit swollen, they also
felt warm. She also didn't feel like eating. The little camping shop had
nothing to stop the itch, so after dinner we went to the supermarket further
down the road. They had something that might help. Hilleke smeared Ciska
with it, the stuff had a pink colour and after it had dried it left some
sort of white layer on her. She looked like some sort of alien. After that
we put her to bed. We had no idea were it came from, maybe some allergic
reaction to the chlorine in the pool. Arjan also checked the floppy for
failures as he had problems this morning uploading new files to our web
site. It turned out that also our laptop was unable to read it anymore.
As we have only one floppy with us, it would be nice if we could repair
it. With a piece of tape Arjan closed the HD hole in the floppy and tried
to format it on 720 Kb. That went ok. We had used tape in many other situations
during this holiday. For instance to close a not closing mosquito net.
And above our bed there is a carbon monoxide detector with a green light,
in the dark that gives an irritating amount of light, so a piece of tape
dimmed it. And now we used it again to close the HD hole of a floppy.
Monument Valley
The next day we had to wake up early as the bus for our 3½ hour tour in Monument Valley leaves at a quarter to nine. Luckily Ciska had completely recovered from her swollen, red and itching limbs. She only was a bit white from the stuff Hilleke had smeared on her. The sky this morning wasn't as blue as we were accustomed to, there were a lot of clouds. At at quarter to nine we left in a pick-up truck. In the back there were some benches with a roof. First we went to the Monument Valley visitors centre. And after a while we left for the actual tour. Rosie, our driver and guide, was able to tell us a lot about the rocks, but also about the history and culture of Navajo indians that lived and still live here. She herself was also from indian origin. Monument Valley is a popular place for the Hollywood filmmakers. A lot of movies were (partly) shot here. Amongst these are: Kit Carson, Billy the Kid, How the West Was Won, The Eiger Sanction, Back to the Future III, Thelma and Louise, Vertical Limits, Mission Impossible II, etc. Also a lot of commercials are filmed here. The Northwindow for instance is famous from the Marlboro commercials. A number of rocks are called after their appearance, like: Elephant Butte, Sleeping Dragon, Totem pole, Big Chair, Big Thumb, Three Sisters, Mother with Baby etc. We also went into the back country, places you can't go on your own. There was quite some wind blowing and in some places there is a lot of loose, red sand. Everybody got sand in his/her eyes, mouth and clothes. There are also petroglyps in Monument Valley. Not much, but it indicates that this area was inhabited long ago. We stopped on may places to get out of the truck and take pictures. At John Ford's Point there was a horse. You were allowed to sit on it and have your picture taken with the famous rocks of Monument Valley in the background. Also Ciska sat on the horse, she only hoped that it would start to walk, but it didn't. So she was a bit disappointed. The tour lasted for 3½ hour and around a quarter to one we were back at the campground.
On the way to the Grand Canyon
From the campground we left in the direction of Kayente and from there
on to the Navajo National
Monument. There are also some cliff dwellings like in Mesa Verde, but
due to a lack of financials they were closed. We did a small trail of about
1 mile, at the end of a trail you have a nice view on the Betatakin settlement.
After about one hour we went to Tuba City to stay the night there at an
RV park. First we took a shower to wash all the Monument Valley sand away.
Next we went for dinner in a nearby restaurant.
The next day after breakfast we went to the Trading Post next to the
RV park. There they sell all kinds of Navajo art. We were able to withstand
the temptation and we bought nothing, although the things they sell are
very beautiful. From the Trading Post we moved on to the Grand Canyon,
but first we stopped at the Dinosaur Tracks, just outside Tuba City. At
arrival we were greeted by a young boy, willing to show us around. We didn't
want him to, so we walked around ourselves. Indeed, on some places you
can clearly see some very large dinosaur footprints in the rocks. From
there we drove via Hwy. 89 and 64 to Grand Canyon NP.
Grand Canyon National Park
Our first stop in the park was at Desert View. From here we had our first views onto the magnificent Grand Canyon. Here we also had to set our watches back one hour as Arizona is not on daylight savings time, only the Navajo indian reserves were we came from are on daylight savings time. From Desert View we drove to the Tusayan Ruins and museum. Here there are some ruins of of an ancient indian house, but we've seen better one. The next stop was at Grandview Canyon with again a magnificent view over the Grand Canyon. From there we went to the campgrounds. We wanted to stay at the trailer campground as they have hookups there, but that one was already full, so we went to the Mather Campground with no hookups. From the campground we walked to the bus stop to take the shuttle bus. With the shuttle bus system you can reach most of the places in the park without bothering about finding a parking place. We got off at the visitors centre to obtain some information about the Grand Canyon railway and about flights above the Grand Canyon. Next we walked to the Bright Angel Lodge and we admired the Grand Canyon once again. As it was sunset already, we had some very nice views. After we had bought some souvenirs and had a free drink we took the bus back to the campground. The drink was free as earlier that day we had bought a cup at the Desert View which entitled you to free refills everywhere in the Grand Canyon Village. It was already dark when we arrived at our campsite.
Flight above the Grand Canyon
Next morning we were able to have breakfast outside, that had already been a while that that was possible. After breakfast we went again to the Bright Angel Lodge and parked the RV at the railway station in the shade under some trees. In the lodge Arjan checked our email while Hilleke phoned the airport to make reservations for a flight this afternoon. Next we had something to eat and after that we walked to the railways station to reserve tickets for the train tomorrow. Tomorrow we plan to take the Grand Canyon Railway from Williams to the Grand Canyon and back. With the shuttle bus we went from the railway station to Yaki Point. From there you have again a splendid view over the Grand Canyon. We took the bus back to the railway station and from there we went with our RV to the airport to the office of the Grand Canyon Airlines. At a quarter to four we were requested to go to the 'gate', and only five minutes later we had take-off. The plane was a small propeller plane for at most 19 passengers, a DeHavilland Twin Otter. The plane has been modified for these air tours. It has large panorama windows for an unobstructed view onto the canyon. Soon we flew above the Grand Canyon. In this way you have really have a great view over the canyon. You see a lot more of the canyon than what you see from the rim. The Colorado river was clearly visible. The flight is about 50 minutes and really worth the money. Soon after touch down we were back at our RV and on the way to Williams. In Williams we went to the Railside Rv Ranch, along the tracks of the Grand Canyon Railway. We arrived there around six, it started to get dark already. They also had a very small playground and Ciska immediately went to the swing and the slide, the only two things present.
Grand Canyon Railway
After breakfast we took a taxi to the railway station for our ride on the Grand Canyon Railway. The RV has a day off today. While Hilleke bought the tickets, Arjan and Ciska went to the adjacent shop. Someone gave Hilleke a discount ticket. As we already had a AAA 'Show Your Card' discount, that one had to be exchanged for the new discount ticket. The exchange took some time. Around a quarter after the nine there was an announcement that the shoot-out was about to begin. The shoot-out is a kind of wild west performance for the train passengers, in which also some one from the audience will be involved. There was some shooting and at the end all the bad guys lay dead on the ground. After the performance it was time to enter the train. The locomotive was a diesel engine from the 1950s. In the summer season the train is pulled by a steam engine from the beginning of the 20th century, but in the remaining months the train is pulled by a diesel engine. The original Grand Canyon Railway started at September 17th 1901. In the 1920s more and more people went to the canyon by car instead of by train. The train service between Williams and the Grand Canyon was stopped in 1968. The last train only had three passengers. In 1989 the railway was put back to service by Max and Thelma Biegert. Because of this, each year about 50000 cars less enters the park. At exactly ten o'clock the train departed. The steward welcomed us aboard and told us what we could all expect during the ride. During the ride someone with a guitar played and sang some songs on request of the passengers. The landscape you pass during the train ride isn't very spectacular, mainly forests and prairie. We haven't seen much wildlife either. At ten minutes past twelve we arrived at the Grand Canyon Traindepot. From there we went with the bus to the west most place you can reach fro the village, Hermits Rest. We wanted to eat something there, but the sandwiches were already sold out, the only things they had to eat were some chips. We also walked a part of the Hermits Trail and after that we took the bus back to the village. We had something to eat at the Bright Angel Lodge and after that we walked to the railway station, it was already almost three o'clock. At a quarter past three we boarded the train and at exactly three thirty the train departed for Williams. Once again we had some life music. Around five they announced via the PA system that a number of criminals had escaped from the Williams prison and that it was possible that were about to rob the train. Shortly after that the train stopped and three armed robbers on horseback were shooting at the train, they came aboard and start to 'rob' all the passengers. But fortunately the sheriff was also on board the train and he managed to capture the criminals. The whole 'robbery' is part of the trip. Ciska however didn't understand it all, the only thing she was worried about where the horses of the robbers. When the robbers entered the train, the horses were left at the rail side when the train moved on again. At twenty to six we arrived at Williams. There we saw the 'robbers' again at the platform and to satisfy Ciska, Hilleke informed about the well-being of the horses. The robbers assured her that the horses were all right and back at their stable. After wandering around the shop we went for dinner in the Max and Thelma restaurant located inside the station. From the restaurant we went back to the campground by taxi.
The last stage: Williams - Las Vegas
Tuesday, 15th of October, the last long trip with our RV. After breakfast we first went to Williams. At a café with a PC we checked our email and uploaded our travel web site again. Together, including coffee and a basket with tortilla chips, we had to pay $4.= for this. Very cheap as we were connected to the internet for about three quarters of an hour. Around noon we left for the final stage to Las Vegas. Via Interstate 40 we drove to Kingman. On the way we saw a large truck that had crashed in the central reservation from the opposite direction. Trucks here in the States drive quite fast, when we stick to the maximum speed of 75 mph (120 km/h) on the interstates, they still overtake us. Near Kingman we left the interstate and followed Hwy. 93 to the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. This road is once again one of those long straight roads and with the cruise control set to 70 mph it is very relaxed. ABout 5 miles before we arrived at the Hoover Dam we had to stop at a police checkpoint, all cars are being checked to prevent a possible attack on the Hoover Dam. The dam plays a very important role in the power- and water supply for the southwest of the US. After a quick check we were allowed to leave. Around half past three we arrived at the Hoover Dam. An enormous concrete construction in the Colorado river. We did a short tour through the dam. First we descended about 150 meters with an elevator to the generator rooms. There are two of those rooms, one on the Arizona side and one on the Nevada side. We were on the Nevada side. The rooms has eight large generators. Depending on the need for water downstream, more or less of the generators are enabled. From the generator room we went to the observation deck. From there you have a nice view over the dam and its environment. Deep down below you can see the generator rooms. Altogether it is very impressive. Next we walked to the inlet towers. These are about 100 meter high and the water from Lake Mead enters the dam via these two towers. From the towers we walked to the old exhibition room. There they have a large model of the Southwest of the US showing all other dams in the Colorado river basin and how the water and power distribution in this part of the country is organized. At five o'clock the dam closes for tourists so we walked back to the RV and drove the final 30 miles to Las Vegas. When we passed the mountains we already saw the city in the desert. Around six we arrived at Circus Circus hotel. It took a while before we had found the RV park of the hotel, it is called Circus Land, not Circus Circus. This morning we already had made reservations and soon after we arrived at the park we were at our site. Not the most appealing campground we have seen this holiday. But better than the one in Tonopah. After dinner we start packing some things that we will drop at the hotel before we hand in the RV. We also packed Ciska's child seat in a large box so tomorrow we can drop it off at a post office to return it to Ge and Hilleguus in San José. Tomorrow we have to get up early to clean the RV on the inside.
Viva Las Vegas
The next morning we got up at around seven. Behind the RV park there was
a construction site and they made a lot of noise over there. For breakfast
we ate what was left. Some other things we gave to our neighbours. Next
we cleaned the RV on the inside. Around a quarter to ten we left. First
we went to the hotel to drop off all of our luggage. We only took the cameras
and the laptop with us. From the hotel we went to the post office to post
the large box with the child's seat and some other things we had packed
like the bicycle pump. We had to pay only around $11.= to mail such a large
box. From the post office we went to the office of Cruise America were
we arrived a bit after eleven. On the way there we had to refuel again
to return it with the same amount of petrol as when we left the San Francisco
office. The hand-in went very fast. They even paid us back one day for
all the trouble and delay we had with the RV. With a taxi we went back
to the hotel, we had to pay a small fortune for that trip, $35,= including
tip. The taxi dropped us off at the front entrance of the hotel and before
we reached the lobby of the hotel we first had to go through the large
casino. The first time you see something like this, you're really impressed.
Hundreds, maybe even a thousand gambling machines. A lot of flashing lights
and ringing bells. In the hotel we got room 16812 with a view over The
Strip. Once we were settled in our room we went out again to explore Las
Vegas. We walked down the Strip all the way to hotel Excalibur. During
the walk we stopped several times to admire the hotels. They are all pieces
of art. Like for instance the Venetian hotel, build in a Venetian style
with a copy of the tower on the San Marcos square. Also the venetian gondolas are there.
There are some canals around the hotel in which the gondolas are sailing.
Next to the Venetian there is also hotel Paris with copies of the Eiffel
tower and the Arc de Triomph (smaller than the originals). There is also
Ceasars Palace in roman style with a copy of the coliseum in Rome. Hotel
New York New York consists of a number of famous buildings from New York,
amongst which are the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. Around
the hotel, the fences are filled with t-shirts to remember the events of September 11 in New York.
The Bellagio hotel has a large pond in front of the hotel with a number
of fountains. About every quarter there is a performance with music and
the fountains are synchronized with the music. A very impressive show and
each performance there are a lot of spectators watching. Also in front
of the Treasure Island hotel there is large pond. In this pond there are
two pirate ships. And a few times a day there is a free performance. We
hope we can see one tomorrow. The Flamingo hotel has a large exotic garden
with a number of bird species, amongst which there are of course flamingos
and also penguins. At three o'clock the penguins got fed en we stopped
to watch it. In the Luxor hotel, build in the shape of an Egyptian pyramid,
there is museum in which they rebuild the tomb of Toetanchamon as Howard
Carter had discovered it. Our hotel, Circus Circus, back then had a free, continuous,
circus performance and also the largest indoor amusement park of the world.
The Excalibur hotel is build as the medieval castle of the magician Merlin.
In the basement of this hotel there is a kind of children's casino, but
for most of the things there Ciska is still too young. What she could do,
with a kind of fishing rod with a magnet attached to it, was trying to
get a coloured coin from a water tank. Depending on the colour of the coin
you would get a large or a small dolphin. Ciska got a small one. From this
hotel there is a kind of cable car to the Mandalay hotel in which we had
something to drink. After that we had dinner in the Excalibur hotel again.
Food is very cheap here. We ate for less than $25.=, only adults have to
pay, children are almost always free. For the $25.= (total for the three
of us) there was a buffet and you could eat and drink (no alcoholic beverages)
as much as you want. When dinner was finished, it was dark already and
we were able to enjoy all the flashing coloured neon lights. On the way
back to our hotel we stopped again at the Bellagio to enjoy another of
those fabulous fountain shows, now bathing in lights. At the Ceasars Palace
hotel there was a large firework going on. While we were watching this,
it started to drizzle. But that was over soon.
The next they after breakfast we went to one of the circus performances
in our hotel. When it was over we walked through the children's paradise.
There are a number of gambling machines for children, just like a fair.
They only don't pay out money, but you get tickets that you can exchange
later on for toys etc. Then we watched another circus performance and then
we went back into town. But not after we had left Ciska's film at the one
hour photo service desk in the hotel. We are very curious about the results.
First we stopped at the Treasure Island hotel to check the times of the
performances and from there we went to the Hard Rock Café
by taxi. There we had something to eat and Arjan had
to buy another t-shirt. In front of the Hard Rock Café there is
an enormous guitar which one can see from quite a distance. With the Hard
Rock Café shuttle bus we went to the Luxor hotel.
In front of the hotel there is small copy of the Sphinx. Some of the hotel
rooms are situated in the large pyramid. Inside the pyramid we visited
the tomb and museum of Toetanchamon. From the Luxor hotel we walked back
to the Treasure Island. We arrived there shortly after four thirty and
When that was over (it lasts for about ten minutes) we decided to have
dinner in the hotel. We had a buffet again, and we paid around $25.= for
the two of us, Ciska is for free. Dinner was ready right on time so we
could watch the performance of seven o'clock. The battle between a Spanish
and English pirate ship. There is a lot of 'shooting' and a also a lot
of fire and smoke and flying powder barrels. The result is the sinking
of the English ship (it really does so!). From there we went back to our
hotel as we had to pack our luggage, as tomorrow we fly back home. Back
at the hotel the photo service desk was already closed, and as we have
to leave tomorrow around nine, we hope it will be open by that time. After
we had packed our luggage we went to bed early. Our first intention for
this day was a day trip to Death Valley as we haven't been there. But there
is so much to see and do in Las Vegas that we didn't have time to do that.
We even could have stayed for another day in this city.
Back home
The last day of our holiday has come. We woke up quite early, around seven.
Next we phoned the service desk for someone to take our luggage down. Around
half past eight we were in the lobby. We checked if someone arrived at
the photo service desk. No one was there. The lady at the adjacent desk
told us that normally someone arrives somewhere between nine and ten. Actually
we have to leave at nine, our plane departs at twenty past eleven. When
at a quarter past nine there was still no one at the desk we decided to
leave an envelope with money and our address with the request to mail the
photos and negatives to our home address. Outside the hotel we looked for
the airport shuttle. Someone told us we needed tickets for that bus, we
didn't have these. So we decided to take a taxi to the airport. The man
that helped us with our luggage told us about a limousine service to the
airport and it would cost us $5.= per person. Cheaper than an ordinary
taxi. When we arrived at the limousine the driver told us he would leave
as soon six people had arrived. All our luggage was put into the trunk
and we had to wait for the other passengers to arrive. There was a lot
of space inside the car and it had a TV with a VCR and a mini bar. When
no one showed up, we left. But right before that, Hilleke decided that
she would check the photo desk one more time. And luckily someone had just
arrived, so we were able to take Ciska's photos with us (the result you
can see at her own Ciska's Place).
We had a smooth ride to the airport and the taxi dropped us off right in
front of the United Airlines counter. We had to check-in inside the building
as we are going on an international flight. Outside you can only check-in
for interior flights. Inside there was a long queue waiting to check-in,
but it went quite fast, so we didn't have to wait very long. Next we walked
to the gate. On the way there, Hilleke bought a book and Arjan put the
dollars we had left in one of the gambling machines you see everywhere
in Las Vegas. At one point he won around 10 dollars, but that also finally
disappeared into the machine. At the gate there was once more a very long
queue waiting for the security check. Here we had to wait much longer,
but we had enough time before our plane would depart. After the security
check we had to go with a shuttle tram to the gate from which the plane
would leave. When we finally arrived at the gate we could immediately board
the plane. The plane was completely full and around half past eleven we
left. After we three hours we arrived at the airport of Chicago. After
we got off the plane we only had to walk a short distance to arrive at
the gate from which our plane to Amsterdam would depart. That plane left
right on time, six o'clock, and as soon as we departed they announced that
we would arrive in Amsterdam at eight thirty the next morning. Almost an
hour ahead of schedule.
Around three quarters of an hour before we would arrive, somewhere
over Ireland, they start to distribute our breakfast. But soon after they
stopped as heavy turbulence was expected. But we didn't encounter any turbulence
so soon after they resumed. Just before eight thirty we had touch down
at Schiphol airport. As we were about one hour ahead of schedule we had
to wait a while as the gate wasn't prepared. At a quarter to nine we could
get off the plane. We went through the customs and soon after we sat in
the car back home. The end of a fantastic five week journey in Texas and
the Southwest of the US.
