Dont Mince Words

Today was our power-through day – 585 miles – and it was probably good timing because Dixie is “getting” that we aren’t going home and we live in the car.  I had every intention to stop at the Oklahoma City bombing memorial but we kept going.  We lost major time east of OKC where I encountered the worst fog in my life.  White knuckle can’t see the car in front of me stuff.  After a good 30 miles of that I decided we’d stop in Little Rock at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion where you can view Clinton “through bars” thanks to a roadsideamerica.com recommendation.

After some one-lane good times the last 50 miles, we made it to Memphis.  Monday is going to be a play day to make up for the long Sunday drive.  But Dixie is a trooper.  She loves rest stops, her sponge bob backseat blanket, and hotel continental breakfasts.

I know driving across country sounds romantic and fun.  It’s not.  It may be fun if you are 21, limber, and have a big bag of weed and a co-driver to ward off the boredom.  Otherwise, no.  Case in point:  New Mexico and Texas.  If you ever have trouble sleeping, take I-40 east of Albuqueque.  I had to put on “Today’s Pop Hits” to sing just to stay awake.  And I had a huge coffee.  And it was  morning!

Dixie does Cadillac Ranch

Texas was more of the same except fewer rocks, more fields and silos (grain not missile).  Dixie and I stopped at a Love’s travel plaza to confirm it would be ironic.  I was, in my day hike boots, jeans, and turtleneck, the hottest girl in the place.  But you can’t expect much of the poor clientele when the air is scented with dung.  I peed and got gas.  Dixie barked at a lot of flannel while was told I was pretty on the plaza.  But Texas is the first state that had a man that talked to me.  Go Texas.  It can only get better as I continue to move east.

Our main attraction of the day was Cadillac Ranch.  Google it.  It is a fun art installation that is litered with spray paint cans.  When we got there, two different families with young kids were creating their car graffiti. I don’t think they were Banksy’s in training, but it looked like a fun holiday/family activity.  Better than drinking a Bud and beating the kids.  Dixie’s expression is classic “Get me the fuck out of Texas.”  And we did.  We made it to Oklahoma by dark.

While the drive to Blythe Wednesday was awful, it was still a smart decision instead of driving straight to Phoenix on Thanksgiving.  Dixie and I logged 157 miles and intended to eat and keep going.  But I got talked out of driving to 6000′ at night.  So, I drank more wine, ate turkey while Dixie flirted with five men that didn’t scare her.  The best part was the hotel – her first time in a king bed – and she behaved just like a child.  Jumped on it and flipped her toy up in the air and kept running into the pillows.

Friday I understood why my friends held me hostage.  There was snow at the top and the temp dropped to 34 degrees.  We took our time and evenutally made it to the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park.  I highly recommend everyone see this in combination with the Grand Canyon.  Hard to explain the sheer size of this area, but it is gorgeous in that true western way.  We eventually made it all the way to Albuqueque, logging a good 515 miles.