Santa Rosa RV Park, Santa Rosa, NM, to Gallup, NM:  Up early this morning.  A beautiful sunrise, bathing everything in pinks and reds.  And no wind!  I suggested we get going ASAP since they were calling for high winds again this afternoon.  So we were on the road by 7:15.  Poor Mike is not a morning person.  I started out driving again.  The landscape between Santa Rosa and Albuquerque is desolate high plains with mostly light brown buffalo grass and a few scrubby bushes—cedars I think.  We stopped east of Albuquerque for fuel and some breakfast and Mike started driving.  The mountains around Albuquerque are very pretty.  West of Albuquerque though is even more desolate.  What a hardscrabble existence for the mostly poor people that live in this arid place.  As we got closer to Gallup we started seeing mountains in the distance—shrouded in smoke which had blown in from fires burning in Arizona.  We arrived at the KOA in Gallup by 12:30 and were set up by 1:00.  Staying two nights here to give ourselves and the truck a rest.  We’re right on historic Rt. 66 which runs through Gallup.  Decided to drive into the historic part of Gallup, parked and walked around.  I bought a turquoise and silver bracelet.  Stopped also at the historic El Rancho Hotel.  Lots of movies were made in this area, and this was the place where all the actors stayed.  Back to our site, got ensconced and relaxed the rest of this beautiful day.  Only 81 today.  Very dry.

Just west of Santa Rosa--we saw 5 prong horn antelope

Bleak landscape west of Albuquerque

Historic el Rancho Hotel--Rt. 66 Gallup, NM

Lobby of the historic el Rancho Hotel

Elk City KOA to Santa Rosa RV Park, Santa Rosa, NM:  Left the Elk City KOA at 9:00 this morning.  Before long we were in the Texas panhandle.  We’re now in a much more arid landscape of buffalo grass, arroyos and sage brush.  The wind was horrible—worse than yesterday.  I drove for 3 hours and we stopped just east of Amarillo for fuel and food.  Then Mike took over driving.  I was glad to switch.  The winds are so horrible that the few trees in this landscape were bent way over from the effects of the wind.  Passed the spot on the Texas-New Mexico line where our RV tire shredded a couple of years ago.  That was a lovely couple of hours on the shoulder of I40 in 98 degree temperatures waiting for the service truck to show up.  Once into New Mexico the landscape changed yet again to more buttes and mesas.  We arrived at Santa Rosa at 3:00 mountain time.  We gained an hour.  Here for one night again.  Not unhooking again.  96 today.  Very, very dry.

Cadillac Ranch
Rt. 66
Amarillo, TX

Cadillac Ranch
Rt. 66
Amarillo, TX

Horse Motel on Rt. 66

New Mexico, Land of Enchantment

Joplin KOA to Elk City KOA, OK:  Left the Joplin KOA at 8:30.  I opted to drive first again.  We’re now in Oklahoma, which is a flat, non-descript, agrarian landscape of mostly farms and cattle ranches.  The closer to Tulsa we got the hillier and more forested it became.  I wanted to take the 244 bypass around Tulsa, but when we got to the intersection it said “I244 to downtown Tulsa”, so I stayed on 44 which went through downtown Tulsa anyway—with lots of construction (sigh).  Oh well.  It was no big deal. Mike started driving at 11:00 and we stopped in Oklahoma City for fuel and food.  Were set up at the Elk City KOA by 3:00.  Hot again—mid-90s—with a very strong wind out of the south.  We also saw more tornado damage along I40 west of Oklahoma City.  How scary that would be if you’re driving along I40 and a tornado touched down. 

Oklahoma's agrarian landscape--oil pump in the background

Get your kicks on Route 66

Little filling station on historic Route 66

St. Louis to KOA, Joplin, MO:  We weren’t supposed to have any more severe weather for a while, but last night they started some watch boxes in Missouri all the way from Joplin to St. Louis.  Well great we thought.  But either we’re so inured to the severe weather threat or just crazy, but we decided to head out anyway.  Besides, the route we’re taking runs pretty far south so we figured we’d be okay.  Most of the bad stuff was heading more to the north.  We left STL at 8:30 and arrived at the Joplin KOA and were set up by 3:00.  I started driving, heading around I270 and then southwest on Interstate 44 through the lush, forested hills just west of STL. We stopped in Lebanon for fuel and food and then Mike took over driving.  When we went through the Joplin area we noticed a swath of tornado damage where it went across the highway.  They had some crews working to pick up the debris, which will keep them busy for many months.  No bad weather of any kind today.  Just cloudy and windy.  Mid-90s. 

These signs are all over Rt. 44.  Meramec Caverns was one of the oldest stops on Rt. 66.

Wild flowers out in profusion.

The bluffs along Rt. 44.  One time we were driving along these bluffs and a deer was  way on top of this much higher bluff.  I didn't know if he was checking out the view or contemplating suicide.

KOA, W. Memphis, AR, to St. Louis:  A beautiful, sunny morning—but cold.  Put clean sheets on the bed and gathered up the stuff that needs to go home. The kitchen slide wouldn’t go in again—sheared off another bolt.  So Mike had to crawl under there in the cold and fix it.  Didn’t take long.   Left W. Memphis around 9:00.  I drove first.  Stopped at Sikeston, MO, for fuel and food and then Mike took over.  Arrived home around 3:00.  Home sweet home!

KOA, W. Memphis, AR:  Had a hard time sleeping last night.  The wind buffeted us all night long.  Up at 6:00 and took a quick shower.  Wanted to get that out of the way before the storms hit.  Not sure if we’ll leave today or not.  I guess if we’re still in one piece after the front goes through, it’ll depend on how bad the wind is.  Chomping at the bit to go.  Well, the worst of the front has gone through.  I headed over to the shower house for safety reasons and waited it out.  Back now and it’s still raining a lot. We decided to stay put here one more night.  Tomorrow is supposed to be clear and sunny, but cool.  Very cool.  Down into the 30s tonight!

This is what it looked like at home a while ago.
Picture by Ted Shumpert

Birmingham South RV Park, Birmingham, AL, to KOA W. Memphis, AR:  Left this morning at around 9:00.  I decided to drive first.  But going through Birmingham I was really nervous.  Guess because I’ve never driven through the city on I65—especially not with the fifth wheel in tow.  Made it through okay and just north of the city we took I78 west which goes all the way to Memphis.  A pretty drive through the rolling hills of rural Alabama and Mississippi.  After driving for 2 hours we stopped to fuel up and get something to eat.  There’s not a plethora of eating establishments on this route.  When we came out of the restaurant we noticed the wind had picked up considerably.  Precursor to this huge storm that’s heading our way I guess (sigh).  Anyway, we were buffeted all the way to W. Memphis. Mike drove the rest of the way.  It was sunny all the way with just sporadic high, thin clouds.  We were trying to decide whether or not to make a run for St. Louis instead of stopping at W. Memphis as planned.  But we ended up stopping.  The bad stuff isn’t supposed to hit here until early morning.  85 today and really, really windy.

On the bridge over the Mississippi in Memphis