The weather was perfect for the drive. When we left Grove at 8:30am it was 38 degrees outside. At 4:30pm we arrived in Amarillo to a lovely 63 degrees. They warned us that it gets cold when the sun goes down. They weren't kidding! We have to shut off the water so the lines won't freeze overnight. We are glad to have a furnace that works.
Nana was more than prepared for the trip. She brought both food and games. She had found a fabulous website called MomsMinivan.com where there were lots of printable travel games. We played bingo, battleship, lines and dots, there was even a scavenger hunt. Nana had also put journals in the kids' stockings so they could take notes, draw, doodle, or organize all the NCAA football teams according to their conference using team logos (guess who!).
Parker was feeling under the weather today so she sprawled out on the couch and napped much of the drive. Lincoln enjoyed some of the games Nana brought, but Battleship was a little over his head. Instead he grabbed the Rebreaksast (or Perplexus as the rest of us call it) and sat in the recliner working on moving the little silver marble around the labyrinth-in-a-ball without dropping it. I often caught him scolding the marble. I tend to do the same thing when I play. ;-)
For the most part it was smooth sailing. There was only one small snafu. With an hour left of the drive we noticed an unmistakable stench. Even the driver and passenger could smell it. Travis did a little investigating while Jim drove. I guess six days of toilet use without dumping is too much. The blackwater was at max levels according to the RV's built-in level reader. (That's the technical term for it...built-in level reader. ;-)) We passengers were concerned that we might go over a big bump or turn a corner too sharply and we'd have to pick up our feet. (Gross. Sorry.) Obviously the first thing we did when we got to the Amarillo Ranch RV Park was dump the black and graywater tanks. We aired the place out and filed away that important piece of information - 6 days of use without dumping is too long.
Our drive to Amarillo was more than just fun and games. It was a learning experience. When we drive from Minnesota to Oklahoma we drive through Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. We see corn fields, dairy cows, heifers, soy bean fields, and lots of pine and oak trees. Today's drive was totally different. We saw wheat. We saw oil drills. We saw cotton and lots of giant rectangular cotton bales. We saw cottonwood trees in place of the pine or oak trees we would see in Minnesota. The soil was red clay - nothing like ours. Even the cows looked different.
We made an attempt to be tourists and stop at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma. It was closed so we took a picture by the sign. We drove by a GIANT cross in Groom, Texas. I thought it was a church at first. As I now look it up (www.crossministries.net), I see that it is much more than a 19 story cross. Might have been worth the stop. Next time...
We were hoping to have dinner at the Big Texan restaurant. We were trying to figure out how that would work. We wanted to set up camp then go to the restaurant. But we are not towing a spare vehicle. As Travis reviewed their website he noticed they will pick you up! In a classic Cadillac limo - with longhorns on the front and a fancy moo-ing horn to honk. Oh yeah! Problem solved. Ha! Crack me up! I made sure to put on my cowboy boots. Calla says she wants a pair of boots, too. Only she wants cowgirl boots. She's even more convinced she wants them now that she has the hat! The meal was fabulous and the experience was even better.
Is it me, or does Taite look a little like Andy from Toy Story? So cute. Tomorrow we plan to get up and swim in the indoor pool at the RV park. Then we'll do some sight seeing and head to Albuquerque.
Hasta Luego! (Gotta start practicing Spanish now. ;-))
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