El Paso Panorama
This morning was a glorious one, with clear, cloudless skies and warm temperatures. I started the day with a new food: rice cream. T and I first heard about this dish while watching the Los Angeles Opera‘s recent production of Hansel and Gretel. Their English translation changed the “come dance with me” aria into an homage to rice cream: rice, milk, cinnamon and sugar. A small taste turned into a full bowl, and a lovely start to the day.

While T did his pre-flight, I took a look around the field. We saw:

1. Marines making preparations to take off in their helicopters
Marines pre-flighting

2. An experimental plane of some sort that T wanted me to take a photo of (we will need to ask him why)
Unidentified experimental?

3. A Super Guppy!
The Super Guppy!
(and really, who could not love a plane called the Super Guppy)

We had a pretty uneventful flight over lots of flat land. Some turbulence, some up-and-down drafting, but not as pronounced as yesterday. The most interesting thing we passed was probably the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which includes a row of natural rock formations containing sheer drops in parts and casting dramatic shadows in their wake.
Guadalupe Mountains

Awake!I’m also happy to report that I did, in fact, remain conscious for the entire leg.