Day 2: Trip to Albuquerque, NM

Whew. Made it again. This was our longest travel day of the trip. We got up, had a decent breakfast and was out of there by about 8:30. It's now 12:20 Central as I sit here typing (11:20 Mountain) and most of that was spent driving. The only sightseeing was in Weatherford, TX
But I get ahead of myself.

Since today was a driving day, it was mostly about the landscape and the signs. Remember, we're starting in Joplin, MO, and I don't pretend to know how other people's minds work, but I can't believe I'm the first to find this particular sign, right next to the hotel, well ... hilarious. I'll let you decide:

'Nuff said. Gotta wonder sometimes. Is it just me? And, yes, that is where we came and went for gas.

One of the most amazing things is the changes in terrain from state to state. The dark-green, Virginia-like wooded, rolling hills gave way to more gently rolling land almost immediately upon entering Oklahoma. That and the intensely red soil that showed more and more as we neared the center of the state that stained rivers and even entire lakes brick red, lent interest to the landscape. There was a plethora of cows. Some llamas, goats and horses. Many cows.

Each state has their own take on roadside signs, and OK had a nice fast highway speed. We were going to need it.
I'd always thought OK was pretty conservative, but the small sign at the bottom gave me pause, I must admit.










And this next sign was never explained, but it must have been important, because it appeared over and over again.

Since there wasn't any easy way to get off the expressway I don't know what you were supposed to if you did see smoke?

We got a stretch-break in the middle of OK where we saw about a hundred majestic windmills. Apparently there is a windmill farm there, and just to give you some perspective, the housing for the generator -- the box right behind the blades can rotate on the top of the tower and appears to be the size of a semi-trailer:


It was really cool.

By the way, the Garmin Streetfinder has been great. Kelley has been tickled pink. It combines two things she really likes: maps and gadgetry. It changes color when the sun goes down -- and it doesn't have a light sensor. (I'll let you figure out how it does that one.) It has lists of restaurants and other local points of interest (even Starbucks). And, it has a really cool dashboard that shows the trip statistics.

Our average after 8 hours of sleep was 47 mph. Not too bad....
It was worth the cost.

Into Texas, and suddenly you get to see miles and miles of ... miles and miles. Amazingly flat with cultivated fields that go to the horizon. The red soil is gone, and we're back to brown soil, small clumps of trees in the distance (and every clump has a house.) And, yes, cows. Some of these guys were longhorns.

Oh, and a different take on the speed limits:


Look in the lower right of the picture, and you will see what is claimed to be the largest cross in the western hemisphere:

It was ... ah, interesting ... but we didn't stop. We needed to press on.









Bugs, many bugs. I had to wash much evidence of bug-life off my windshield at every stop.

We hit a local burger joint called 'Sonic' that seems to be everywhere in this area. Sorry, can't see the attraction.

Finally, New Mexico, and amazingly the terrain changes again. A lot drier, and the fields of grain give way to scrub, sage, and plants that look like giant jade plants. However, the cows stay the same. There's always cows. The table-flat land gives way to more interesting hills and mountains. We narrowly avoid two storms. We found out later at the hotel there'd been a tornado warning. I think it went through a while before we got near, but the storm that spawned it stayed just to our south with some spectacular lightning shows. This picture is to the south where the storm was.

Unfortunately, it proved difficult to get pictures of the storm the camera is too smart for its own good and the picture doesn't show how dark it was -- however, it was mighty impressive to see stormclouds all the way to the distant horizons to the south and west. Torrential downpours deluged the valley about 10-20 miles away to the south. It was hard to tell how far away it was with no perspective.

Becky is a smart 14 year old, but Mom and Dad had to laugh when she asked if we were going to see the big red rock on this trip. We finally figured out she was talking about Ayer's Rock in Australia. I don't think we're going to hit that on this trip. Maybe the next one :-)

Well, tomorrow we get to actually stop and see some sights: Petrified forest, painted desert, and Meteor Crater (really Meterorite Crater, since it obviously struck the ground...but that's just too picky). About 6 hours driving time I think, not counting side trips, and we'll be at the Grand Canyon. Probably in the dark again.

Speaking of which, it's now 12:20 Mountain (1am back in Chicago)...and I'm driving tomorrow. Gotta get some sleep. Take care!