On our way to Idaho
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Davie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States, approximately 24 miles (39 km) north of Miami. The town’s population was 110,320 at the 2020 census. Davie is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,198,782. Horseback riding is common as much of its historic buildings include ranches and other Western establishments.
Prior to European colonization, the Tequesta were the native people of what is now Davie. A few campsites and graves have been found in Davie, the oldest dating back 5,000 to 7,000 years in Pine Island Ridge. After Spanish colonization, many of the Tequesta died and the remaining few escaped to Havana with the Spanish when Florida became a British colony or they assimilated into the newly arrived Seminoles in the late 18th century. Davie was founded by Tamara Toussaint and Jake Tannebaum. The original name of the town was Zona. In 1909, R.P. Davie assisted then Florida Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward by draining swamplands. Robert Parsell (R.P.) Davie, a developer, bought about 27,000 acres (42 sq mi; 109 km2) in the area. He built a school in Zona. In 1916, the people of the town were so grateful they renamed the town after him. It was carved out of Everglades land that was mostly underwater.
Davie has always had a reputation as a “Western” town, with many earlier buildings having “Wild West” architecture. It boasts a significant horse-owning population and once was home to many herds of cattle. In recent years, commercial and residential development has discouraged such practices, but Davie still tries to maintain a “Western” feel. Pioneer City, a western theme park, was located across the street from Flamingo Gardens. It was built in the 1960s and closed a few years later.
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Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport is a major public airport in Broward County, Florida, United States, and is one of three airports serving the Miami metropolitan area. The airport is off Interstate 595, Interstate 95, U.S. Route 1, Florida State Road A1A, and Florida State Road 5 bounded by the cities Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Dania Beach, 3 miles (5 km) southwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale and 21 miles (34 km) north of Miami.
With over 700 daily flights to 135 domestic and international destinations, FLL has become an intercontinental gateway since the late 1990s, although Miami International Airport still handles most long-haul flights. FLL serves as a primary airport for the Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, and Boca Raton areas, and a secondary airport for parts of Miami and areas north of Boca Raton for flights that are not served by Palm Beach International Airport, such as Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach. The airport is a base for Allegiant Air, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, the latter of which has their corporate headquarters nearby in the suburb of Dania Beach.[4] In addition, FLL is the primary south Florida airport for Southwest Airlines (although Southwest also serves both Miami and Palm Beach as well) with the majority of Southwest flights currently serving Fort Lauderdale. FLL is classified by the US Federal Aviation Administration as a “major hub” facility serving commercial air traffic.
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Fort Lauderdale – also spelled Ft. Lauderdale– is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, 25 miles (40 km) north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 as of the 2020 Census making it the tenth largest city in Florida. Fort Lauderdale is the second largest and one of three principal cities comprising the Miami metropolitan area with a population of 6,166,488.
Built in 1838 and first incorporated in 1911, Fort Lauderdale is named after a series of forts built by the United States during the Second Seminole War. The forts took their name from Major William Lauderdale (1782–1838), younger brother of Lieutenant Colonel James Lauderdale. Development of the city did not begin until 50 years after the forts were abandoned at the end of the conflict. Three forts named “Fort Lauderdale” were constructed including the first at the fork of the New River, the second at Tarpon Bend on the New River between the present-day Colee Hammock and Rio Vista neighborhoods, and the third near the site of the Bahia Mar Marina.
Known as the “Venice of America,” Fort Lauderdale has 165-miles of inland waterways across the city. In addition to tourism, Fort Lauderdale has a diversified economy including marine, manufacturing, finance, insurance, real estate, high technology, avionics/aerospace, film, and television production. The city is a popular tourist destination with an average year-round temperature of 75.5 °F (24.2 °C) and 3,000 hours of sunshine per year. Greater Fort Lauderdale, encompassing all of Broward County, hosted more than 13 million overnight visitors in 2018. Each year nearly 4 million cruise passengers pass through its Port Everglades, making it the third largest cruise port in the world. With over 50,000 registered yachts and 100 marinas, Fort Lauderdale is also known as the yachting capital of the world.”
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United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United) is a major U.S. airline headquartered at Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. United operates a large domestic and international route network spanning cities large and small across the United States and all six inhabited continents. Measured by fleet size and the number of routes, it is the third-largest airline in the world.
United has eight hubs, with Chicago–O’Hare being its largest in terms of passengers carried and the number of departures. It is a founding member of the Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance with a total of 28 member airlines. Regional service is operated by independent carriers under the brand name United Express. The United brand name was established by the amalgamation of several airlines in the late 1920s, the oldest of these being Varney Air Lines, which was founded in 1926 but was taken over by Continental Airlines management in 2010 in what was described as a “merger of equals” and a newly created holding company for the airlines.
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The trip to Idaho was terrible. We left Ft. Lauderdale at 12:30 noon and landed in Cheyenne, Wyoming, at 9:30 Florida time. We had to wait for the storm to pass in Denver, Colorado, before we could get to our first destination in Idaho Falls. So, from Cheyenne we flew to Denver and finally from Denver we flew to Idaho Falls.
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We arrived at the Denver airport at 11:30 p.m. Florida time. We had left Ft. Lauderdale at 12:30 noon, where we had to change plane.
Denver International Airport, locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At 33,531 acres (52.4 sq mi; 135.7 km2), it is the largest airport in North America by land area and the second largest in the world, behind King Fahd International Airport. Runway 16R/34L, with a length of 16,000 feet (3.03 mi; 4.88 km), is the longest public use runway in North America and the seventh longest in the world. The airport is 25 miles (40 km) driving distance from Downtown Denver, 19 miles (31 km) further than the former Stapleton International Airport, the facility DIA replaced: the airport is actually closer to the City of Aurora than central Denver, and many airport-related services, such as hotels, are located in Aurora.
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Opened in 1995, DEN currently has non-stop service to 215 destinations amongst 23 different airlines throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia; it was the fourth airport in the U.S. to exceed 200 destinations. The airport is a hub for both United Airlines and Frontier Airlines and is one of the largest operating bases for Southwest Airlines. With over 35,000 employees, the airport is the largest employer in Colorado. The airport is located on the western edge of the Great Plains and within sight of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.
In 2020, DIA was the 8th busiest airport in the world and 3rd busiest airport in the United States by passenger traffic; DIA has been among the top 20 busiest airports in the world every year since 2000.
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After 15 hours flying, we arrived at 3 a.m. Florida time in Idaho Falls, not knowing if we would get a hotel, or even a taxi to get to it. We ended up in a small-town call Chubbuck, 50 miles south of Idaho Falls.
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Idaho Falls is a small town in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state’s largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population of Idaho Falls was 56,813 (2019 estimate: 62,888), with a metro population of 133,265.
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Poster displayed at Idaho Falls’s airport
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Idaho Falls serves as the commercial, cultural, and healthcare hub for Eastern Idaho, as well as parts of western Wyoming and southern Montana. It is served by the Idaho Falls Regional Airport and is home to the College of Eastern Idaho, Museum of Idaho, and the Idaho Falls Chukars minor league baseball team. It is the principal city of the Idaho Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Idaho Falls–Blackfoot-Rexburg, Idaho Combined Statistical Area.
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Index
Yellowstone (Montana – Wyoming)
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