Saturday, 11-22-97

This morning we had another bright sun-shiny day. There isn’t a cloud in the sky. The cloudless sky allowed the nighttime temperature to get down close to freezing. When we got up, it was 34 degrees and there was a small amount of frost outside. The frost disappeared quickly as the sunlight warmed cold surfaces.

Our campsite was under the flight pattern of aircraft departing from the Albuquerque airport. As I was preparing the motorhome to get on the road, I looked up in time to see an airliner climbing and banking overhead. As the plane gained altitude, it crossed in front of the waning quarter moon. Little did I know, at the time, this was probably the most exciting event of the day. We were on the road heading east at about 9:00AM.

So far, this trip has been about the easiest going trek we have made to Wichita, Kansas. The sky was absolutely cloudless all day. The wind was almost non-existent except for an occasional gust that would surprise me a bit. The roadway has been very nice with probably less than 5 percent in poor condition and less than 1 percent was truly bad road. The highways are in the best condition in many years. The good highways of the past have aged to just acceptable, while the really bad roads of yesteryear have been repaired and renewed.

Along with the improved roads, the traffic has been lighter than years gone by. The level of traffic picked up a bit late Friday afternoon. This leads me to believe the increase may be due to people traveling to see relatives for the Thanksgiving holiday.

We occasionally listened to the chatter of the truckers on the Citizens Band radio. Some of the "Handles" used by the drivers were humorous. We heard from "Legs," "Cotton Candy," and "PTA." When "Legs" asked about the meaning behind the letters in his handle, "PTA" said the letters stood for "Party Time Again." Most of the conversation between truckers was the usual "Bear" reports.

We also listened to the broadcast band radio to find out if our weather was going to change and to listen to music now and then. I found that part of the route we are taking could be somewhat mundane without the occasional rain shower or snowstorm.

The cross near Groom, Texas

We saw the big cross again, near the town of Groom, as we drove across the Texas panhandle. For the first time, I saw a sign next to the highway that said the cross was the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. At this time the sun was low in the sky and we saw the sun set just before we reached the state of Oklahoma.

As we entered Oklahoma, we started looking for a place to stay for the night. We settled on a KOA campground a few miles west of El Reno, Oklahoma. This will give a good start tomorrow on the final leg of our trip to Wichita. After getting set up in our campsite, we called Kay’s father to let him know where we were and to tell him when we should arrive tomorrow. George told us that Donna had undergone another surgery on her knee today. So we called to find out how she was and Steven answered the phone. He said his mother was recovering better than the previous surgeries she has had on her knee. Steven said that his dad was bowling. We finished the day watching TV for a while.