Dad and I left Dayton around 6A on Friday, May 11. That day we drove to Tulsa, Oklahoma where we spent the night. Here are some notes that I took from the trip:
Saturday, May 12
10:40AM Ohio Time:
Dad and I stop about 80 miles outside of Oklahoma City at a Cherokee Gas Station. The gas station has been bragging for miles of live buffalo. There is a single buffalo in a fenced in field along the off ramp. At the gas station, there is group of about 20 Irishmen on motorcycles. They all speak with thick accents and have Ireland patches on their leather jackets. A few of them sat inside eating Subway sandwiches, while the other stocked up on M&Ms and bottled water. Some were friendly, others just stared at me. While paying for my coffee, "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes was playing behind the counter, I laughed to myself. We are 215 miles from Amarillo, Texas.
3:22PM Ohio Time:
We just crossed the New Mexico border. The scenery is amazing. On one side of the highway, there are big flat hills, ad he other side is fields spotted with grazing cattle and desert vegetation.
Texas was pretty beautiful as well. Mike and Grant had warned us not to stop in Shamrock, but I had to use the bathroom, so we stopped anyway. We got out soon thereafter. In I-40, the speed limit is 70 in Texas, and I got pulled over doing a cool 80mph. The Texas state trooper was friendly enough, and let me off with a warning. Oh gosh, I'm so charming. We also saw from the highway the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere.
We stopped to get lunch and gas in Amarillo, Texas. Where we stopped, there wasn't much--mostly chain restaurants and gas stations. Arby's doesn't really scream Texas, but it was a nice, quick lunch.
We've passed three wind farms since Oklahoma. I am still mesmerized by them, and I'm sure at one point in my life, it will cause me to crash into the side of the road, or possibly another car. Staring at windmills wouldn't be a terrible way to go, though. Dad said that we are going to drive through a whole valley of them in California. I begged to get out and take a picture, he said hat would be alright.
Dad has gotten pretty much all control of the radio today, and we are listening to his iPod. We've listened to a lot of ELO, Johnny Cash, and some Simon and Garfunkel. I was able to strike a compromise and we have it on shuffle. That way, if Steely Dan comes on, I only have to suffer through one song at a time. Bob Dylan is serenading us right now as we cruise down the highway.
Sunday, May 13
10:55 Ohio Time
Dad and I got into Santa Fe yesterday around 4:00 Mountain Time. The drive there was gorgeous. We drove for about 50 miles on a two lane road with mountains and rolling hills, and it was amazing. I was expecting a little more from Santa Fe. It's very nice, but mostly populated by yuppie tourists who pop in and out of souvenir shops that all have the same sort of things: turquoise jewelry and Indian figurines.
We got dinner at a pretty wonderful restaurant called The Cowgirl. It was a little touristy, but the food made up for it. I got a Hard Core Cider (yeah Ohio!) We got a stuffed pepper of some kind for an appetizer that was to die for. I got huevos rancheros, and they were pretty good. They played old country music (Patsy Cline, Flatt & Scruggs) After dinner I took a nap, and then Dad and I took a walk and fought. By the hotel pool, there is a fireplace with some cushy lawn chairs, so we sat by those for a while. Then I passed out.
This morning, we were both up around 6, but were able to go back to sleep until 8ish. I think we are going to walk around for a while and then drive on to Laughlin and stay there for two nights. I'm really excited to get to California.
5:21 Arizona Time
I'm not sure how much longer until we stop in Laughlin...I'm not sick of riding along, but I do want to go swimming.
We stopped at the farthest west exit of Albuquerque around 11. It's been about a week or so since I've really dealt with a whole lot of strangers. Sometimes I forget how much of a freak magnet I am. The friend I made at the Flying J wasn't even someone I started talking to! Corey is convinced that it will help me if I ever go into documentary film making.
Megan thought that the fact that I got a ticket in Texas was pretty hilarious. Her brother said that he has never seen someone pulled over in that state, so I must have been going about 100. Nope.
The scenery today has been pretty great. We drove through quite a bit of desert, but also through a national forest. Now we are driving away from the mountains and back into the desert. I think I like the mountains the best.
I have not seen a single dead armadillo today. Other nature reports: We saw two prairie dog-like animals in Santa Fe. We also saw a deer farm. I guess people here don't have the same problems with over population of deer because of urban sprawl. The cattle out here aren't as pretty as the holsteins and jerseys and guernseys of Ohio. Many of them look a bit underfed and filthy. I have gotten to see lots of horses and baby colts today, though, and that makes me pretty happy. I only saw one farm with goats on it, BUT, at least I got to see a farm with goats on it! Oh how I love goats. They are so curious and friendly and they make the cutest bleating sounds, and they rub their faces on my pants and it's adorable. Fact: I am a goat superfan.
I finally understand the line from "America the Beautiful" that starts "For purple mountians majesty." We've been driving through desert for two days now, The land is gigantic--like nothing I have ever seen. I have no idea how far away the things I see are, it seems like we drive toward things for an hour and never reach them. The mountians pop up along the horizon and are a beauitfuly foggy purple. As we finally grow closer, the purple turns to a brown spotted with dark greens. As the mountians come into focus, I can see how deep they are. From far away, they simply seem to be a landscape painted on the sky ahead of me. The photos I have taken simply do no justice to the landscape. It is vast and diverse. Around every corner I see a new, wonderful view. I know that millions of people have experienced this drive, but I believe that each person takes from it something a bit different. Countless people have crested the same hills we have, but I doubt that they have all taken the same mental picture as I have. The west is amazing.
9:53PM PST
To be as eloquent as possible: Laughlin...sucks. It is tacky (but not in a fun way, in a depressing way.) On the way into the casino at the Ramada Inn, "Sweet Caroline" was playing over the sound of the slots, where dinosaurs sat as they put in nickel after nickel into the machines. I wanted to cry, but I laughed out loud instead.
We arrived to sunny Los Angeles, California around lunch on Monday, May 14.
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