North Little Rock, Arkansas

 

This morning before leaving took advantage of the hook ups and emptied our gray and black water tanks.  We also refilled our fresh water tank. We were a little bit excited that the office advertised fresh homemade muffins and decided to stop there before taking off.  Not so excited after one taste and we hit the road.  They also sell Buffalo meat here, apparently the huge head mounted on the wall is supposed to be proof of that.  Such big, rugged, amazing animals, seems a shame to still be killing them.  Maybe it is “farmed” meat, I don’t know.  We logged 332 miles today, 1806 miles so far. So much of Oklahoma is lovely and green, the further we drove the more trees, rivers, and lakes we saw.  Loved the name “Lake Lotawata” and it was no joke either! From the look of the area it must have been beautiful about a month ago with full fall colors.  There is a little bit of color left but not much.  It feels refreshing to see trees and some actual mountains again!  We remembered it was Halloween when a “pretty young wench” served us our lunch in Checotah, OK at Sonic.  Crossed over into Arkansas today and we are in North Little Rock at Trails End RV Park. Full hook ups, $28. and just one shower each for men and women.  I hope there isn’t a line in the morning. Sweet lady there wanted to fill us up with Halloween candy! Our day was uneventful.  I wish we were stopping to see things, but hopefully we’ll do that on our return trip.  I believe we’ll leave Hwy. 40 tomorrow around Memphis and veer down into Mississippi and Alabama, and finally Georgia. 

Our Neighbors in Oklahoma, we looks so small but we love our setup!

Arkansas evening sky:

Oklahoma City, OK

Even though yesterday was sort of brutal at the end, today a NICE-LONG-HOT shower has revived us!  Today we won’t travel quite as far and hope to be near Oklahoma City, OK.  Leaving now…11:30 am our time but let’s say it does feel earlier!

Easy day only 252 miles logged for a total of 1474 so far. That’s okay, we need a break from the inside of a moving vehicle and found a decent spot for $30 here in Oklahoma City called Rock Well RV Park. 

As far as our views today Texas is pretty flat, dry, and dull along Hwy. 40.  The only thing we saw at all interesting were a couple of cotton fields and (morbid really) was a dead deer by the side of the road.  Now you Texans out there don’t be upset with me cause I know there are lots of beautiful places too!  As we drove just along the Hwy 40 in Groom, TX you can see this big white cross,actually I read later it is 190 ft. tall.  It is the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ Ministries.  We really didn’t know what it was signifying but now that we do perhaps we will stop on the way back to see all about it.  I’m not sure if we’ll be on Hwy 40 yet on our return trip, but maybe! You can read about it in Wikipedia if you like.  Quite interesting.  As we crossed the border into Oklahoma things did get a little bit greener with red earth rolling hills, glens, gullies, and cattle roaming.  There is also more green vegetation along the road side, which I am sure is not watered.  I suppose they have more rain here than in TX.  It was really great of them to have a sign at each bridge that the “bridge ices before the road” but with temperatures between 80-83 we have no concerns about that! 

As I said we are settled in for the evening; checking email, downloading photos, backing them up, and generally relaxing.  A HUGE motorhome pulled in next to us and thankfully they just turned off the giant diesel engine!  Phew!  About 8pm our time but we’ll have a bite to eat, slip into bed, and read for awhile!

Amarillo, TX

1222 miles logged so far, that’s 440 today.  Our day started with 38 degree temps there in Gallup, NM.  We might need to buy an extra throw or something for our beds!  We were up and outta there pretty quickly.  Where we parked there was a Carl’s Jr. so John grabbed a breakfast burrito there and I made coffee.  Soon we were on our way.  We have been listening to the Litigators by John Grisham in the van while driving.  My iPod was dead so at our first stop we got the mini solar charger and plugged it it.  It worked great and we heard the last of the story, then started something John liked by Clive Cussler.  We had a pleasant day and stopped at Owl Café on our way out of Albuquerque, NM. This was recommended by our friend Cheryl and it didn’t disappoint.  John did not have the green chili cheeseburger, but I did and it was delicious.  He had the “regular” one and a milk shake.  It is a fun little 50’s style place.  Has a bit of a modern twist in serving sweet potato fries though!  We hoped to make it to Amarillo, TX tonight, which we did.  However, with the time change and the sun going down earlier each night it was a challenge near the end.  We couldn’t find the place we planned to stay and then opted for a KOA for $39.  Sadly we are too late to get the internet code and who knows where the showers are… bah!  The scenery in most of NM and TX is rather flat and boring.  I know there are some pretty places but not long Hwy. 40.  We will plan this better tomorrow.  However, we are parked safe and sound for the night and that’s what really matters.  Two hour time difference now.

Hwy. 40 almost to Amarillo, TX.

PS:  Obviously the internet is working since I posted this!!!

New Mexico

Before we left Needles, CA:

We logged 402 miles today.  We left Fender’s after a brief walk around and watching the quiet Colorado River for a while.  The water was very low and you could see where people drove out a bit in order to launch their boats from a trailer. I guess this is to be expected at the end of the summer season and before the rain arrives in this area.  Thankfully, our drive was uneventful.  It was remarkable how much the far East part of CA and the West part of AZ looked a lot like the deserts of Jordan, Israel, and Oman!  Soon the terrain gave way to more shrubs and trees but the gagged mountains and deep, uninviting ravines could still be seen in the distance.  We stopped for a brief lunch in Williams, AZ and we made a couple gas stops, not letting our tank go below the halfway mark if possible!  It’s nice that gas is about $1. from our last stop in CA, which I am sure was higher than the average ($4.64) to the first stop in AZ ($3.62).  It will be interesting to see after the trip the actual overall cost of our gas. We pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot in Gallop, NM about 7pm taking a 1-hour time change into consideration. We joined approximately 20 other RV’s of all shapes and sizes that are taking advantage of a free place to park for the night.  They are all nicely spread out at the farthest part of the parking lot, just as Wal-Mart requests.  Chicken and veggies for dinner.  There is a lot of traffic noise as we are right by the freeway and I might have heard a train.  Hopefully, we will get a good night’s sleep though.

The evening sky AZ, almost to NM:  

Needles, CA

We had a pleasant drive today.  We logged 385 miles so that’s not bad considering a vehicle pulling a trailer in CA must only go 55 mph.  We stopped in Needles because we are tried.  We just used our phones to locate a place and called it. This is Fender's River Road Resort and Motel. It was dark when we arrived but the lady was very nice and patient, even if her office was closed.  It is $20 a night to pull in and pull out in the morning.  $18. with a AAA card, but we didn’t have the right change so it was only $15. AND we found out we have Wi-Fi AND electricity as well. We are self contained but we have the bathroom 30 feet away with toilet, showers, and even a laundry facility.  We are right next to the Colorado River, I mean right next to it as we can see it out our window glistening in the dark.  The river is pretty narrow here and we can see Arizona on the other side.  It will be interesting to see what it looks like in the morning.  It’s quiet anyway.  We will have a snack soon, read, and then head to bed. 

This was a cool memorial at a rest stop on Hwy 58:

Evening sky just before Needles, CA

Hitting the Road…

No early start for us but we will leave by 10:30am and still hope to make somewhere in AZ tonight for our first stop.  We will take our time and be safe.  Boa Viagem…

Our West to East Route

Packing up!

Looks like we will be leaving on Friday or Saturday, most likely Saturday since a lot still has to be done.  Today John pulled out the van and the NEW battery was almost dead, so that needs to be checked before we leave.  There is still some yard work to address.

Talked to both Tara and Michael today and she is being induced as I type.  The amniotic fluid is low, I guess, and that is the reason.  The due date is tomorrow anyway.  So we are waiting to hear something…