After saying goodbye to our loved ones in Tulsa, we headed out. We did need to get to California by a certain date so Aaron could work in an actual office for a few days. This part of our trip was a bit of a challenge for him. We planned to drive about 4-5 hours a day, he would work in the morning, then we would drive, stop for lunch, he would work a bit more, drive some more, set up camp for the night, he would catch up on more work and start it all over again the next day. I would plan out where we were to stop, locate truck stops for gas, and make sure he actually listened to what Google Maps told him to do. I think I had the much easier job on this leg of the trip.
We spent a second night in Sayre, OK at a local town owned park. Considering it was only $12 for the site, it was the perfect place for a 1 night pit stop.
Then, it was time to travel the top, short part of Texas. We were very close to Route 66 and spent some time on and off of 66. When it was time for lunch we stopped at The Big Texan. A Route 66 legendary steakhouse, The Big Texan is home of the free 72 oz steak challenge. We decided not to accept that challenge a cowboy who wandered the restaurant with his guitar and sang for the diners. The food was great, and probably not the best idea for lunch. We each chose a ribeye, baked potato and maybe a vegetable. it felt more like nap time after that than travel time. We cowboyed up and got back on the highway.
We made it through Texas and on into New Mexico. Finally, a state I had never been to before!! It felt like the adventure was really getting under way. New Mexico was a beautiful drive and we plan on going back to explore as much of it as we can in the winter months when we do not want to be in the northern parts of the USA. We spent the night at Santa Rosa Lake State Park for the night. The campground was set above the Santa Rosa Lake, which is a reservoir in a desert like setting. Aaron loves the desert, I love the water, so this was an ideal spot for us both to recharge for the night. And I learned another valuable lesson, do more research when booking a campsite. Some of the spots had water and electric hookups, some of them did not. Of course, ours did not. But, we had our batteries fully charged, our propane tanks full and fresh water in the water tank. So not a big deal, but it could have been if we did not travel prepared for such a situation. The solar panels that Aaron added have given us more freedom in the destinations we can choose.
On to and through Arizona. Now, Arizona’s roads are not for the faint of heart. There were potholes big enough to swallow our truck and camper. Interstate 40 shook, shimmied, and bounced our poor Airstream across the entire state. Once again, I did not follow my checklist completely before we departed that morning, and the other cute dog shaped planter was not taken down from its shelf. He lost 3 legs, and left a sizeable dent on our dining table. I was so mad at myself for doing it AGAIN! Hopefully I learned my lesson this time around. And poor Aaron is all out of cute little dog plant holders. He was able to save on of the air plants, and now lives with the only surviving (so far) plant. I still love Arizona, even with the camper rattling roads, and can not wait until we go spend quality time wandering the state.
We spent the night at Homolovi State Park, which has an archeological site with ancient pueblos. It was another beautiful state park with the added bonus of horses (not sure if they were wild or rescues) some donkeys ( I wasn’t able to get a photo of those jackasses) and beautiful views. Seeing the ancestral Hopi village ruins from the 1200s to late 1300s was a humbling experience.
The next morning, Aaron did some work and I went thoroughly through my checklist. He went through his checklist and then it was time to get back on the road. The Mojave Desert was calling to us and it was time to head further west into California.
Wandering Cindi 