The Trip Back Home, 6-1-08

We loaded the car the night of May 31 so that all we would need to load the next day would be limited. I set the alarm on the cell phone for 5:30 AM and we almost literally jumped out of bed and packed and said our goodbyes to Carolyn and backed out of the driveway at 6:00 AM.

The trip was uneventful, with only cloud covering for a small portion of the trip. I expected storms in Oklahoma, but we were pleasantly surprised to see nothing but clear skies with partial clouds all through Oklahoma. The route we took around OKC and through Tulsa cost us $9 each way on the toll roads, but it was worth the money to drive on a bypass around OKC. We made the 760-mile trip in 11 hours and 40 minutes, stopping only for gas and at the McDonald's in Vinita, OK, for a potty break and some ice cream.

Along the way we saw some interesting sites, such as the Cadillac Ranch just west of Amarillo. We didn't stop for it, but it's one of the sites along I-40 that draws tourists. We also passed the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, the place where you can eat a 72 oz. steak for free if you eat it all within an hour.

We also passed, going and coming, the so-called tallest cross in the western hemisphere, located off the interstate in Groom, Texas. Near it, on the other side of the highway, is the Leaning Water Tower. Both of these sites are described in this Wikipedia article on Groom, Texas.

The other interesting features of the landscape along I-40 are the windfarms on both sides of the highway, in eastern New Mexico. You can see pictures of windfarms at this site, to get an idea of how impressive they are. Leslie took some pictures from the car, and they are on the Picasa web site.

We arrived back at home at about 6:40 PM CDT after leaving at 6:00 AM MDT. I never thought we could make nearly 800 miles in one day, without stopping to eat!

All in all, this was the most impressive stateside vacation we have taken, and we owe a lot to the hospitality of Carolyn & Mike Beeler for helping to make this a wonderful trip.

Make sure to visit our Picasa site to view the pictures from the trip. The captions haven't been completed yet, but the pictures say a lot by themselves.