Day 27
Thursday, June 23
New Mexico to Colorado
Margaret Lamb, an aviation attorney who is an instructor in mountain air freight and has 9500 hours in the air is taking Martha from Taos, New Mexico to Walsenburg, Colorado in her 1948 Ryan Navion at 12 p.m. to arrive at 1 p.m.
Larry Ruggerio, a high school classmate of Martha’s, who now lives in Pueblo, Colorado, is picking Martha up at Walsenburg and taking her to Falcon, Colorado, a suburb of Colorado Springs. Larry’s plane in a 1959 Ercoupe Forney.
At 3:45 p.m. at Falcon, Meadow Lake Airport, Dean Smith, in his 1947 Stinson Station Wagon is taking Martha to Golden, Colorado, just west of Denver where she is staying the night in Eugene Horsman’s guest room. Martha (see letter 6-30-88) from G. Horsman. Gene gave Martha a tour of Denver-then to Boulder - He was probably late for work! 1940 Luscombe 8A. [Mrs. Horsman, Lila (pronounced like a lilac), was the best cook on my whole journey!]
[I'm sure glad my mother wrote all the details down when I called her, because I would've forgotten most of them by now. Here's just one of the 67 pages from Mom's Telephone Log:]
Day 28
Friday, June 24
Colorado and Wyoming
Eugene Horsman took Martha to Van Aire Airport [in Brighton, Co.] his silver Luscombe and another pilot in a Super Cub flew side by side and Channel 7 helicopter flew overhead and taped them.
Gene Horsman flew Martha to Boulder where Pat Mosier (Cessna 150) flew her to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and from there to Laramie, Wyoming. It was necessary to go to Wyoming at this time, since the air is too dry [no, hot] and it would be difficult to navigate [no, climb over] the mountain ranges.
Martha had two more rides at the airport [Boulder]. One with Steve Stearns (1949 Taylorcraft taildragger) Martha was his first passenger. Aerobatic pilot Ackley Smith, Steve’s instructor, took Martha up. She got queasy.
The scenery is beautiful, spectacular clouds and sun and rain in distance - rainbow - could see mountains 200 mile distant. Passed over mountain tops at 25’ (8000 feet above sea level).
Twenty miles out of Denver there are no trees - just flat ground and nothing in sight. Every now and then a herd of cattle would appear with nothing near them. There were holes in the ground everywhere from prairie dogs.
Martha called in afternoon from Cheyenne and said Pat Mosier and she were going to a cowboy saloon this night.
On page’s left margin: Ch 7 KMGHTV Denver, CO. tele (303) 832-**** Peter Peelgrane and Scott Wright photog. M gave Scott a silver pin in exchange for the a copy of the tape. I called Scott 7-7-88 for the tape and he said he would dub it over and mail it to me but he never sent it. Said he was incredibly busy!
The line guy at General Brees Field, Pat and Martha went to Laramie, saw cowboys, bought some books at a neat old, bookstore and went to the Cowboy, Grill & Dance Hall Saloon. Had a great time and did a lousy two-step.
They hopped a slow moving coal train at 10:30 p.m. when they got off ran along side the caboose. The old black man on the caboose yelled “Where you goin?” They said anywhere! They walked back to town 7 or 8 miles with wind blowing 30 mi/hr and lightening flashing in the distance. At the airport there was a huge old limousine with five rows of benches [benchseats, not benches] on each side [inside of it]. They slept the night on the benches.