When we started working on this project together, I had already been to Texas. In 2006, I went to Spaceland with Jennifer for an event and earned two Star Crest Awards. When things fell through with Skydive West Texas, I teased Matt, "Oh well...I already have Texas." Matt didn't like this!

Getting Texas today will save us nearly $1,000! That's roughly the cost of RT airfare to Hawaii.  

As you can see from the Google map above, the drop zone was less than six miles away. Not bad! It was a quick drive.

When we arrived at Skydive El Paso, there were at least a dozen cars there already. Since things got winded out on Saturday, the static line students were pushed to the Sunday schedule. It was going to be a busy day!.

Before I got out of the car, I looked over the list of names that John D. made for me. I am so terrible with names! It was great to have something to refresh my memory. We grabbed our gear from the car and went inside. I love the cubbies under the benches! What a great idea and use of space.

I told Bob that we found a place to land in Texas. Dave the instructor said he could come pick us up after he was done training the static line students. It was so nice of him to offer! However, I didn't want to inconvenience him (he was working) so I asked one of the licensed jumpers (Jake) if he'd follow me to the parking lot to drop off the car. He was driving a monster size truck! I offered to give him some money for gas, but he said not to worry about it. What a nice guy!

Once we were back at the drop zone, Matt manifested us for the next load. Bob asked Jessica and Jake if they wanted to hop on the load with us. They would put us up before Dave finished training the static line students. Perfect!

As we boarded the plane, Matt asked the pilot to take us to the intersection of Westend and Artcraft. Unlike the pilot from our South Dakota jump, this pilot knew exactly what he was doing! He put us out right over our landing area and this time he gave me a thumbs up as I left the plane at 4,500 feet.

When I deployed I was about 1/2 miles into the state of Texas. Having looked at the location with Google Earth, it was very easy to find our landing area.

After I watch Matt land, I started my pattern. When I turned on my final, I was coming in so fast!

I put my feet together and prepared for a high speed slide. There was no way I'd be able to run this one out. I was just happy that I didn't tear my favorite jeans! As we were gathering up our gear, one car honked as they drove past. With that exception, we went unnoticed. Both of us were excited! FORTY SIX!

When we got back to the drop zone, Jessica and Jake were just landing. We packed our rigs, squared up with Bob, bought a t-shirt and said our goodbyes. It was only 10:00 AM!

Visiting Skydive El Paso was a great experience! I am so glad that we decided to chose this drop zone - nice facilities, two planes, and friendly people. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped and took a picture at the landing area. It's not a great picture of me, but I love Matt's smile!