It's sort of sad when your favorite part of a city is leaving it. But even if I hadn't found Casper less than desirable, this airport might still have been the best experience in town.
I'm pretty sure from researching my trip to Casper that this is hyped to be the smallest commercial (hence the international and not governmental now in the name) airport in the country. And now having flown to and from it, I would not dispute the claim. Walking outside the airport, I couldn't help but wonder if this was just a brick church (which might makes sense for some people who are afraid of flying, which I am of little planes) with some runways in the back.
This small exterior does hide a full service airport though. Major carriers fly into Casper from Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Denver. Almost full-fledged jets (I did take a propeller plane on my return leg), though tiny ones, connect central Wyoming to the rest of the world.
Since it is so small, the airport must have lower stress levels. I take a lot of pictures (which some personnel, possibly rightly, see as a security risk). But when I was taking a photo of the single baggage carousel, instead of freaking out, the employee just said, "I already know the caption, 'the world's largest baggage claim.' I understand, I used to work at DIA." And as I was taking a photo of the painted buffalo sculpture in the waiting room outside security, instead of throwing me in handcuffs, the TSA official told me a story about how he witnessed a buffalo gorge and kill a Japanese tourist at Yellowstone. Though looking back, this may have been a security scare tactic, it was still preferrable to the hard treatment.
The nice attitude even extends to parking. Less than three hours in the lot is free and arking per day is only $5. That will not buy you an hour where I come from. And, speaking of cars, there are representatives of most major rent-a-car places as this is the largest gateway airport to places like the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.
There are some drawbacks to the airport's size though. Security is only open just before a flight departs (though racing to a flight is never necessary and even if you wanted to, you'd run into the back wall in a few seconds). But they do have a full bar to kill time if you're early as as well as a gift shop for last minute Wyoming themed souvenirs.
If I ever find myself in Casper again, I might just hang around at the airport. It's not like it closes any earlier than the rest of the city and is almost as interesting. read more