Got up with the dawn at Margot and HotSauce's place. Really good sleep. Sure beat the KOA next to the interstate. Scott made us some Timmie's and we sat and chatted longer than I really should have but it was nice to hang with them, so what they heck. Watched Tazz chase some cows, that was funny.
I followed Robert out but missed my turn to the game preserve. Took the correct exit for Lawton, OK and I was on my way. On my way through Altus, I saw this rat bike and had to stop and take a picture. I also stopped at the Wally World for some supplies.
Lots of small towns along the way, like Duke. There was a nice mural on the side of one of the buildings. On the same block was the police station. I can just see Barney Fife come strolling out.
This was one of the things I needed to get at Wally World. A wicking shirt. I did have a couple long sleeves but they are heavier. This was all they had (blue or red) of ANY long sleeve T. It did the trick as sunscreen could no longer protect me and my hands were burning bad. A curious air current would push my left t-shirt sleeve all the way up but not on the right side. No matter what shirt. Some dire asymmetry is afoot!
Along the many straight and lonely stretches of OK/TX road, one has to amuse oneself. That shirt makes it look cold out but it's actually about 95+.
This is officially the middle of nowhere. This view - and many others along the way - are, as an old friend used to say. "Miles and miles of... miles and miles..."
Somewhere between Clarendon and Claude, TX, I noticed a wonderful sensation - a cool breeze on my cheek! Sure enough, the temperature had dropped from 97 to 82. By the time I got to the Big Texan (7701 I-40 East, Amarillo, TX) in Amarillo, it was down to 72. Chilly.
When we did Route 66 back in 1999, we never got the chance to stop in, so this time I did. I didn't try the meal but I heard there was a new record recently: 8 minutes and 52 seconds. That guy's not a mammal, he's a lizard.
I think I've lost a bit of weight this trip! A nice Scout Dad from TN took this for me. He and his Troop just got back from Philmont.
A bit west of Amarillo, the land, um, flattens out nicely. There's a big wind farm out that way too - good spot for it as the cross winds are relentless. I think this should be OK's and TX's mottos.
Zoom in to this one, there's lots of windmills out there. Further back east, I saw a windmill blade on a truck - HUGE. There was another wind farm out in NM too but the picture wasn't very good.
Another blast from the past was Glenrio. Not the ghost town it used to be - people actually live there now. We had quite an adventure heading west out of Glenrio on this road back in 1999.
Further along, I stopped at yet another Route 66 icon, the Blue Swallow Hotel in Tucumcari, NM. Alright, that's enough Mother Road crap.
The weather was starting to cool down and so I pulled in at a rest stop and asked a Harley couple where they were camping (they had a tent on the back). They mentioned seeing a sign for the KOA just east of Albuquerque. This was right about where I wanted to be, so I hightailed it out. I never did see the KOA but I did see a sign for a campground up Route 14, just where I was heading the next day. So, I stopped in at the Turquoise Trails Park and got setup a lot faster that the previous day. It looked like weather was moving in, so I wanted to get things up and then head back south to grab some food. The only place open was the Ribs Too eatery (12220 N Highway 14, Cedar Crest, NM) and I ordered a BBQ sandwich - two meats, beef and pulled pork - and a side of cottage cheese for take out. I had a refreshing Blue Moon from the tap while I waited. I then brought my meal back to camp. Picture me sitting there at a picnic table with my pretty little lamp, enjoying my dinner in the high desert of NM with my vastly illuminated tent behind me. Got an excellent Wi-Fi signal from the campground, running the laptop and lights off the battery.
No comments:
Post a Comment