Guymon, Oklahoma

Today was a better day, yesterday June Yvonne was not feeling well and I was sick as a dog.  We arrived in Albuquerque about 5:30 and I was in bed by 6:30 – asleep by 6:35 – June Yvonne thought I was dead so she had to check if I was breathing.  Slept straight through to 4:30am and on the road by 6:30am. Enough about that!

We arrived in Guymon and it is very windy here.  The lady at the concession stand said that 2 weeks ago there was a blizzard with 70 mph winds and 8 inches of snow.  The whole town was without power – the north end of town got power back in 4 days and the south end (where we are) didn’t get power for a week.  The RV Park was suppose to open last weekend but just opened last night.   The RV Park has a pizzeria and a drive-in movie – I’m amazed the screen is still standing with all the wind especially the blizzard wind.  It is interesting to note that the kids are out playing in the playground in shorts and t-shirts and they probably don’t even realize the wind is blowing like crazy.

Thinking back to our Phoenix departure.  It was interesting going through the final stages of packing and the anxiety of leaving all your “stuff” behind – frankly I couldn’t wait to get started as I was tired of researching, planning, making reservations, packing and getting our RV ready to go.  It was a relief to drive away from the house and realize that if we had what we need it’s great and if we didn’t have everything we needed that’s OK too.  Our RV is a tiny microcosm of our day to day life at home.  It is smaller and we are never too far from each other and within this much smaller space we sometimes have to choreograph our movements.

There is a motorcycle rally passing through town with 1,000 motorcycles I couldn’t count all the ones at this RV Park.  The rally is for charity and they are biking through 5 states. PRC

ADDENDUM TO FLAGSTAFF

As previously indicated, Day 1, Phoenix to Flagstaff was pleasant and uneventful. We did avert a crisis though. Upon arrival to the Casino parking lot, Peter announced that he couldn’t find  our passports. I remained somewhat calm as I always have a backup for cases such as this.  I prayed to St. Anthony, Saint of lost things and lost causes. This almost always works; and it did.  Peter with St. Anthony’s (Peter calls him Tony) help found the passports stashed with his meds. (Makes sense to me.) However, I did put the passports in my purse. So now you know and can remind me if I forget…

FLAGSTAFF TO ALBUQUERQUE

This was a tough 24 hours, hopefully it will be the toughest in our 4 month journey. Peter woke up in the middle of the night retching. Consequently, neither one of us got much sleep. We still had to get up Friday morning and make our way to Albuquerque. Both of us were exhausted and Peter was still not feeling well. He thinks he got food poisoning from something from the buffet. I think he had stomach flu as I had a similar experience before we left on our trip.

Peter was exhausted and still a little green around the gills when we arrived in Albuquerque.  We managed to set up, take a shower and fall asleep.  No photos from American RV Park.

We quickly learned our first lesson on this trip. Our itinerary is much too ambitious especially if something goes even slightly amiss, like getting sick. Our plan for now is to stay one night only at each stop until we reach Canada. Next time, every other day we will stay two nights.

ALBUQUERQUE TO GUYMON, OK

It’s amazing what umpteen hours of sleep can do for a person. We woke up fairly refreshed and left by 6:15 am for the next leg of our journey.

As much as I love New Mexico, it seemed like it took forever to cross the state border. And, when we did it wasn’t the Oklahoma state line – it was Texas. I didn’t expect that. Another lesson – road trips provide good geography lessons.  Our friend, Nancy M. did remind me that Texas is a Big A** state.

So, over the swath of Texas we covered we saw lots of cattle, grain elevators, trucks, long train and many Baptist churches. (Just an observation…).

We are here now at Corral Drive-In Park feeling so much better than when we arrived in Albuquerque yesterday. I am happy again. Yesterday I felt like going home.

The wind is blowing fiercely here.  There is a drive-in movie here and tonight’s double feature is Guardians of the Galaxy II and Beauty & the Beast. Too bad but we need to get up early to take off in the morning for Wichita, Kansas tomorrow.

Since it’s a short stay we won’t be able to try any Oklahoman food like fried okra, fried green tomatoes, basically anything fried. I know this so as our good friend Nancy M. is from Oklahoma. Apparently there’s also good fresh tomatoes and watermelon.

Then there is the sad history of the “Trail of Tears” a painful reminder that’s a tragic and shameful part of US history.

Hasta luego. Hopefully the movie won’t keep us awake tonight.  JY