August 4, 2025

August 4, 2025

Aimee and I were up well before dawn because we are headed to the Midwest for family reunions. Our flight to Chicago was mostly cloud free and allowed me to see three of the “Biggest” that the US has to offer. We crossed over Davis-Monthan, the biggest airplane boneyard in the world. In eastern Arizona we then passed the Morenci Copper mine. This 80-square mile mine is the largest in the US. In western New Mexico I smiled when we just happened to pass by the VLA (Very Large Array). This set of 27 radio antennas set in a 22-mile wide Y-shaped pattern is the largest astronomical telescope in the world.

The fun stopped as we approached O’Hare. In the middle of our glide path, the pilot suddenly hit the afterburners and we circled around for another approach. The pilot later announced that our runway was still in use. These close calls of airplane travel are getting a little too frequent.

Finally on the ground we had a nice visit with Aimee’s last living Irish aunt. We also got to see Aimee’s sister and cousin.