Had another opportunity to fly today (thanks to my friend, Ken, who came with me). We had a good mission - taking some guys home from central Colorado to Houston. Usually, we've flown in and out of Colorado Springs, but Ken decided to try Pueblo (lower elevation). Weather all the way from Fort Worth to the foot of the Rockies was AWESOME (we could see for about 100 miles at altitude). Pike's Peak was visible in the distance (snow capped) but it was nearly 20 degrees C (no coat required in Colorado in January?). Our itinerary required two stops at Pueblo (thanks, again, to the aircraft's engine performance limitations) and two stops at Bush Intercontinental Airport. In the course of the day, we took around 40 pax during each outbound trip and arrived at Houston at 1330L and 1730L, respectively. Each time we landed, we got fuel, so there was time to take in the busyness of the place (and have a bite to eat). The weather wasn't bad but we couldn't see much scenery because of a scattered cloud layer at 2500 feet. Landing and takeoff was the easy part and taxiing around was a lot harder - especially in Houston. We had to follow a maze of two-letter taxi-ways and hard-to-interpret signage. This was all compounded by darkness on our last stop. Fortunately, everyone was very understanding about our unfamiliarity with the airport and helped us (except for one ground controller who directed us down a series of odd taxi-ways before actually asking where we wanted to go...). Overall, the flight profile was perfect - enough time to relax during the legs and no long delays on the ground. Nice weather always helps to make a successful day, too! Our final leg home was uneventful and the weather was great in Fort Worth - no problems landing. Feeling very tired now, though...
