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.