Lake Eufaula, OK, through Arkansas, to Crossville, TN (Post # 54)

August 28

 We got up early and left Lake Eufaula before the sun was up.  We can definitely tell we are heading east.  Just look at this beautiful sunrise!

 One of my favorite sights on I-40 coming through Arkansas--this cross high up on the hill.

 The pictures above and below are of the view at our lunch spot today.  We are parked on the far side of a Cracker Barrel, but we ate our own food from the RV.  I wanted to do a little shopping here, but we didn't want to take the time to eat.  So we cranked up the generator, heated our food, and were having a nice quiet lunch.  Until we heard these loud voices right outside our window.  We had the sun shade pulled down, the kind that you can see out of but people can't see in.  Paul pulled up the shade to see what was going on, and he scared the men who were standing there talking!  They didn't know we were inside, and they were checking out the RV.  One of them was interested in buying one, and he liked the looks of ours.  But it was so funny when that shade came up!  They were so startled and one of them said,"This is not a robbery!  We promise!" The looks on their faces were priceless!  Paul didn't mean to scare them, so he told them to look all they wanted.  He actually stepped out of the RV to show them around all the compartments and things.  In talking to them, he found out they were retired police officers from the Memphis area, and they always came to the Cracker Barrel to eat together on Tuesdays.  They were actually working the Memphis area while we were in Memphis years ago with our teenagers from church on a mission trip for World Changers.  They told us Memphis was such a dangerous place, back then and now.  We know that all too well because of the areas we worked in and the gun shots we heard throughout the day and the stories that were told by the other groups working there.

They were so interested and so friendly that we invited them in to see the inside of the RV.  The picture below is of Paul still talking to them after they went back outside.  I think they were swapping stories of Memphis happenings.  Paul also told them about Brandon being a Rocky Mount Police Officer for five years and a Martin County Deputy Sheriff now.

 Danger ahead!  We saw this awful black smoke from a couple miles away.  I feel so sorry for whoever was in this truck.  Hopefully he got out, but we have no way of knowing.

 We don't often see Old Glory and the Christian Flag flying together.  This was such a beautiful sight today.  The picture below, not so much!  This is the traffic around Knoxville.  I don't remember a time coming through here, though, that the traffic wasn't this bad.  It's always like this.  Knitting time for me!

  I researched RV parks for the towns we were going to be coming through while Paul was driving.  We wanted to get enough miles in today so that we can make it home by tomorrow night.  I found one with fairly good reviews in Crossville, TN.

 The Bean Pot Campground.  All the "streets" (dirt paths) were named after beans: Lima Bean Lane, Chili Bean Lane, Kidney Bean, Baked Bean, etc.  But it was quiet and that's what we wanted.  We both needed some rest and a good night's sleep.

Today's stats:  688 miles, 11 hours of driving, 12 hours on the road.  Yep, I'm done for the day! At least the wind wasn't as bad today.  God is faithful!

Santa Rosa, NM, to Checotah, OK (Post # 53)

August 27

After a good night's sleep we are ready for the road again.  Texas, here we come.  We've driven this road so much we know what to expect--lots of wind!  Long roads and strong crosswinds.  

And lots of windmills.  I still remember the night we camped in a secluded campsite in a windmill field near Groom, Texas, on one of our trips cross country.  It was very dark and very quiet!  All we could hear was the whirring of the windmills.  

And lots of cattle!

Cadillac Ranch, an art installation beside I-40 near Amarillo--ten older model cadillacs half buried nose first in the ground. For some reason, this has never interested me as an art form.  I've never desired to walk out in a cow pasture in the heat to get an up-close-and-personal picture of them, so I just snap a picture as we go by.  

Our first sighting of a corn field this whole summer long.

My favorite sight along I-40 through Texas.  The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Groom, Texas, the second largest cross in the world.

This leaning water tower always makes me smile!

Oh no! A truck coming straight for us!  LOL  Whenever I see this I always remember the time we were traveling with the kids and I'd fallen asleep in the front seat.  Paul had driven up behind a rig like this, and the kids woke me up suddenly, saying, "Mama, look out!"  Of course it scared me so badly I screamed, and the kids laughed and laughed!  It was NOT funny to me at the time!  Now it is, and I always laugh remembering this story.

Oklahoma, another windy state. We decided to take another "road less traveled" and turned off I-40, hoping to minimize the wind.  It didn't happen.  But at least we'd not been on this road before, so the scenery was new to us.  Another long road, though.

We're so far off the beaten path (which isn't unusual for us) that the GPS can't locate us. According to it, we really are in the middle of nowhere.

After 538 miles and about eleven hours on the road, ten hours actual driving time, and the wind blowing us all over the place, we were worn out! We've stayed at Lake Eufaula State Park in Cheecotah, OK, many times, so when we were still a couple hours away but only 45 minutes before they closed, we called to see if they had any sites open. When we stayed here in May, the park was completely full.  Fortunately, they had sites available, so we did a late check in at the camp host site.  We were amazed to see only one other RV in the whole campground.  The wind was still blowing but because we were tucked in among so many trees, we didn't feel it like we did when we were driving.  I am extra tired tonight simply because of the wind.  And I even stretched out in the back of the RV and had a little nap while Paul was driving. I can only imagine how tired Paul must be, having to hold the RV on the road.  But he never complains.  I am so blessed.

I've thought about my mama a lot today because it was her birthday.  I still miss her.

From Tim's to Santa Rosa, NM (Post # 52)

August 26

Leaving Tim's is hard this morning.  This road has become very familiar to us, whether we are driving it or walking it for exercise.  

 I don't think we've ever seen standing water in this part of the country, EVER.

We always like to stop in Hatch, NM, whether we buy anything or not.  It is such an interesting place.

Aren't these red, hot chili peppers just beautiful to look at!  And that's all I do with them, too.  Just look at them.  They are much too hot for my taste!

The Rio Grande

Paul did buy some roasted chili peppers in Hatch, though. They had to steam for an hour in the bag before they could be skinned. So, down the road in Truth or Consequences, NM (yes, that's a real place), we stopped at a Walmart that had covered parking places.  Many businesses and schools have those here because of the excessive heat.  It was a very welcomed spot of shade!  We parked near the far end of the lot away from most of the crowd, and Paul set up his work station.  He started skinning all those chili peppers while I went inside Walmart to get us some lunch from the deli.  At first, he was trying to make sure the skins got into the trash, but between the wind and the birds wanting to scoop them up, he decided to just let them go.

My purchase in Hatch was yard art--a metal Road Runner that moves in the wind.  I don't usually like that sort of thing, but Road Runners make me think of the West, so it was like bringing a little bit of it home with me.

This picture reminds me of the song, "Home, home on the range".

Lava fields near Carrizozo, New Mexico, and the Valley of Fires Recreation Area.

Such long, long roads and many, many miles yet to go.  

An interesting old building in Santa Rosa.

We haven't booked any RV parks for the trip home.  We're just driving until we decide to stop. After 586 miles today and twelve hours on the road (counting the time while stopped--10 actual hours of driving time) we'd finally had enough.  We pulled in to this RV Park and used their night registration to find a site for the night.  Such a quiet little town, the kind we like.  It has been a long day.