THE PUSH

Other than one picture of the clouds that the kids took, there will be no other pictures of yesterday.  That's because the day was not about sightseeing, but about getting to Oklahoma...and Ken/Dad.

We left Albuquerque at 8:00 a.m. for a straight shot to Amarillo.  Other than bathroom & stretch breaks, we did not stop. My back had about had it with the days of never-ending driving and I was so tired.  I was looking forward to stopping...permanently!

We had lunch at Taco Bell in Amarillo.  Because we had to wait for Ken to get off work  so he could meet us in Memphis, TX (an hour and half from Amarillo), we spent some time walking around a park with a pond.  I think I burned the top of my head a little (I'm so bad about that!).

By then, the kids were chomping at the bit to get to Dad.  Outside of Amarillo was pretty much...nothing.  Fields and roads and roads and fields.  We kept at a pretty good pace, considering that we had to slow down as we went through towns (smallest population 365, largest 3K).

Finally we slowed to stop at a Travelodge in the itty-bitty burg of Memphis.  Ken was there waiting (I guess he sped from work to get there before us).  I can't say it was a super-emotional reunion, mainly because I was too exhausted to do anything but collapse in his arms.

But the driving wasn't done yet.  There was still another hour to go until Altus.  More of the roads, flatland, small towns.  I looked at my clock when we passed the OK border, 5:06 p.m. (that's 3:06 California time).  The kids abandoned me for Ken, leaving me with the music I wanted (now you know who 

It didn't look much different.  These tiny towns looked pretty dilapidated.  Faded and falling apart, homes and "main street" businesses looked very sad.  I started having misgivings.  What if Altus was like this?

Treelined creeks and signs of wildlife began to emerge.  Why did the turtle and the wild turkey cross the road?  Maybe they had death wishes?  Still, it was fun to see.

Finally, Altus loomed...well, as much as a small town can.  It was larger than the other places we'd been through and, while some of the places on the far end of town looked fairly beat up, eventually we began to see nice neighborhoods and the signs of "normal" civilization.  Not California, to be sure, but at least it was big enough to have what we need.

More to come on the new life in Altus...