Vegas was fun! I was so glad I went. I absolutely thrive on learning new things and since I've been nearly 9 years in this profession (and I will NEVER say I know everything) - the new things to learn don't come by so often as they did in the beginning.
Traveling home was an interesting experience. I left on Wednesday, instead of Thursday so that I could put some "good mother" gold stars on my forehead and be home for my boys' birthday on Thursday. WPPI scheduling always dances around my boys' birthday. (I have two boys born on the same day...four years apart minus exactly 10 minutes). I don't know how I did that - but February 23 is a big day in our house. It sometimes almost seems like a second Christmas.
I left the warmth of Vegas, boarded my flight, and sat down next to two of the nicest women who were also photographers in a nearby town to where I live. We were able to talk shop the whole way, which made it a really fun and short plane ride. As the plane started to descend on Great Falls, Montana (where I was flying into), the captain came on the system and said that we were unable to land there due to the bad weather, so we were going to go to Bozeman. Bozeman?!?!? Nothing against Bozeman, but BOZEMAN?!
- In the Bozeman, Montana Airport
We made it to Bozeman shortly and we all deplaned and waited for more news. We sat and visited, and about 90 minutes later, we were allowed to reboard and we were on our way to Great Falls again. After a bit of a choppy landing, we touched down in Great Falls, 2 hours later. As we were deplaning there, we saw a haggard group of people who were waiting 2 hours for our plane to arrive so they could fly to Vegas. (poor guys).
My new friends and I needed some dinner, so we met at Cafe Rio in Great Falls. Cafe Rio is one of my FAVORITE places to eat. The restaurant chain started in Utah and has since spread throughout the Western U.S. I am so glad there is one a few hours away! Mmmmmm (I was so hungry that I actually ate that WHOLE thing. *cough, cough*)
- Cafe Rio, Great Falls, Montana
The next task for me was to drive the three hours home from Great Falls to Lethbridge. Remember the bad weather I mentioned before? Ugh! The roads were fairly good until Shelby, when Old Man Winter showed up angry. White out conditions! I could not tell where the road was. I was looking at those posts with the reflectors on top on the side of the road like they were my lifeline. I couldn't see where I was going and they were my only indication that I was still on some sort of road. A few times, I followed them off exit ramps. I'd get back on the freeway and religiously look for my lifeline again. I was going about 40 kms per hour - so slow. Eventually I made it home. I was so grateful to be home. I was ready to celebrate with my birthday boys.
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