Has it really been days since the last post? Where has the time gone? We are now East of the hundredth meridian which we crossed coming into Oklahoma from Texas yesterday. In driving miles, we’re almost exactly halfway “home”.
I tell you, the things we’re seeing and experiencing haven’t ceased to surprise us.Flat roads, bugs, Central Time Zone, grass… we’d forgotten these even existed! One thing that wasn’t new was snow. There had been snow somewhere near us for the past month and we woke up to a white landscape on our departure day from Bluff. So we chose not to depart since we knew there’d be some higher altitudes in our immediate future and hauling a trailer on snow/ice is for reality TV, not for me! Once the snow cleared, Nats decided to take a nap here:
My sweet little lady is sprawled across four states (Az, Co, Ut, NM) and two territories .(Navajo and Ute). Welcome to Four Corners.
Not much to it, just a fun excuse for a bit of an exploration drive. Other than the above plaque surrounded by flags, there are Navajo (Diné, remember?) vendors offering jewelry and other neat stuff.
Next day we did hit the road and made a drastic change in our pattern: we headed for the Interstate! We gave ourselves around two weeks to get back to Canada, which Nats thought was a too rushed and I, based on our track record, assumed would be too long. Either way, we somewhat begrudgingly decided to stick to the main highways and mix up overnighters with two-night stays as we meander back to Canada.
Our first stop was Grants, New Mexico and, to be sure we didn’t race home, we stuck around for two nights, despite the proximate rail traffic that was the busiest I remember experiencing.
Out of Grants, we followed I-40 through Albuquerque and onto Amarillo, Texas where we spent one night, intending to take advantage of the indoor pool and hot tub, not realizing they closed at 7pm… ooops! This is where the grass really started showing up, as did all the signs of spring, from the birds to the budding and blooming trees.
Sunday morning saw us get back on the highway surrounded by cattle, wind turbines and wide open landscapes. We left I-40 in Oklahoma City, taking the Turnpike and then I-44 to beyond Tulsa to spend a couple of nights in Claremore, Oklahoma watching the horses race around the nearby track.
Tomorrow, we’re on the move again, heading Missouri/Illinois way. This is our first time through Tornado Alley so lingering is not on our to-do list. Last Wednesday was tornado night here in Claremore, but the weather is clear and summer-like for us now and in the upcoming days.
I’m guessing we’ll be in Milton by this weekend, so I had our site held a week early just in case. It’s a good rhythm that suits us and we’ll be happy to be on Canadian soil.
À bientôt,
Luc
“Have you ever noticed that everyone driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” – George Carlin
At the Hundredth Meridian – The Tragically Hip
Adrift 