Dodge City, Kansas-Sunday

After taking care of a few things we didn’t finish yesterday, we were on our way. The wind continues to blow but it is not causing us any problems.  We have sway bars and stabilizers on our trailer and the wind isn’t an issue.  I might not have mentioned the multiple wind machines around Dodge City and really all over this area of Kansas.  They even sell desk top wind machines as souvenirs!

We were on several US highways today; 56 west, 385 south, and 54 south, meeting up with US 40 in Tucumcari, New Mexico.  We breezed through small portions of Oklahoma and Texas after leaving Kansas completing 381 miles today. Much of US 56 follows the Santa Fe Trail Cimarron route. We passed the National Grasslands marker and tried to visit the ranger station, but it was closed. There were maps and an interesting road trip but we skipped that and went ahead hoping to make Tucumcari, NM tonight. There is much to see and read about these fearless travelers on all of the western routes.  Today along these highways you will find just small communities anywhere from 10 to 30 miles apart.  The size of the community must have something to do with the size of the silo(s) as some are huge, others much smaller.  The railroad runs right along us all the way and right by the silos as well.  I believe the correct term is a silo and not a granary.  Portions of the highway also have cotton balls all along the sides, mile after mile so obviously they grow cotton here as well.  Then there is hay, both is round and rectangle bales.  I won’t say the views today were stimulating but middle America surviving the best they can.  We went through some pretty depressing looking towns that seemed drab at best and at worst, perhaps totally abandoned. 

I’m happy to say my Mother is home from the hospital today.  My sister is there with her so we are feeling much less concerned today.  We got gas and ate a giant dinner of carbs at Denny’s right by Hwy 40, then back tracked just about 2 miles to spend the night here at Cactus RV Park.  The wind is blowing so hard one might feel like their on a cruise if there was only a dinner hour and waiter to serve us! Tomorrow we will head out on Hwy 40 (Route 66) and either head to Flagstaff and down to Dewey to see John’s brother and his wife, or if we don’t hear back from them we will head to Carlsbad Caverns.  Wondering what tomorrow will bring?