Wednesday, April 2nd
It’s about time that I sit down and catch up on our travels. We have been on the road for almost a week and have a few changes to our plans and modifications in our destinations. As I type this, we’re parked at the Elks Lodge in Wichita, KS.
We sadly left The Caverns, the good friends, and the warm weather. We traveled across southern Arizona into New Mexico and arrived at the Low-Hi Ranch. When we checked in we were lucky to have a reservation - the coming week was the Loners-on-Wheel Rally and they were scheduled to have a full park. We got parked and hooked up before we joined the potluck at 5:30. Dottie was able to cook up a batch of brownies and we ate some scrumptious food. It appeared that we were the “kids” in the group, but we sat with some amiable folks and enjoyed the dinner conversation. I took along a full bottle of “Two Buck Chuck” and shared a couple of glasses with some of the folks. We retired to the coach for some TV and an early night.
The next morning, Tuesday, we struck out across NM26 toward Hatch, home of some of the finest chili peppers you’ll ever find. We observed that the New Mexico desert differs from the Arizona desert by the colors - the Arizona desert is beginning to show the spring colors of the vibrant purples and oranges. The New Mexico desert has a lot of green - both in the color of the plants and the numbers of low-lying plants. Spring is about to present itself in the deserts and it’s a remarkable sight!
We arrived in Truth or Consequences and finally found the Elks Lodge. It wasn’t very inviting, so I decided we would press on to Belen and the Lodge where we stayed two years ago. When we reached Belen, the Lodge look closed and empty. I searched for an electrical outlet and couldn’t reach the single outlet in back. So, we continued on to Albuquerque for a total of 237 miles that day. We arrived at the Albuquerque Elks Lodge in time to find the last hook-up site available. We got settled in and went inside to register and find out about the steak dinner and induction meeting that night. The next day we visited our old neighborhood where we lived and worked some thirty years ago. We drove past our old house - it hasn’t changed much since then. The storefront where I managed House of Fabrics was still there, but the businesses in the small strip center have all changed. We found some of the old favorite restaurants that are still in business and visited Kelly’s Liquor Store where the clerks all used to carry side arms. They are in a new location now and the weapons aren’t visible any more.
That afternoon we met our Albuquerque folks, Ed & Faye Lybarger. We drove over to Ed’s house and then went to the assisted-living facility where Faye now lives. Faye appears to have given up on living and has 24-hour care for herself. Ed is still at home and spends the majority of his time working on projects with his son, Roy. They are in the midst of restoring an older Ford pickup truck from the bottom up. It’s quite a mission of love and a lot of time spent repairing or replacing parts. After spending time with Faye, we went to one of our favorites, The Owl Restaurant, for a chili cheeseburger. It was an enjoyable afternoon seeing old friends and getting caught up.
On Thursday morning we struck out for Tucumcari. After topping off the fuel tank with diesel at $3.93/gal., we had a strong wind from the west pushing us all the way across the eastern mountains of New Mexico and arrived in Tucumcari by 1PM. I decided to break the schedule and press on to Amarillo for the night. We crossed into the Central Time Zone going in to Texas and arrived in Amarillo by 5PM after nearly 295 miles. Our first stop was a truck stop to dump our grey water tank. We drove back about a half mile to a Super Wal-Mart and parked for the night. We one of about twenty Rvs parked in the lot and had a quiet night.
The next morning the winds had changed and were coming at us from the northeast. We continued east on I-40 to Oklahoma City and the Elks Lodge. It’s a beautiful, old Lodge with a private parking space and an electrical outlet on the backside. Rick & Joanne Stone came over to pick us up for dinner and show us around the town. We had a great steak dinner at The Cattlemen’s Restaurant followed by a trip to the old restored part of town. It looks much like the efforts that San Diego has accomplished in the Gaslamp Area of downtown. Oklahoma City has built a ballpark and a restored area of the downtown with attempts to keep the older buildings intact. It was fun to walk around the area and see the many improvements that have been made. Then the Stones took us to the sight of the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. That is a sight to take in! The Memorial Wall is emotional and the lighted chairs of all the victims are a stunning reminder of what was lost in that terrible event. It’s a moving experience to see it first-hand!
The Stones were wonderful hosts and Rick is very proud of his city. We will always remember the exposure to the sights and sounds of Oklahoma City! Our evening ended with goodbyes and hopes to see them again soon.
The next morning, Saturday the 29th, we left the Oklahoma City Elk’s Lodge and immediately encountered a lengthy delay due to road construction on I-35. We eventually got through it and stopped at the Flying J to top off the tank. Fuel in Oklahoma is the least expensive we’ve seen at $3.72/gallon. We continued north to the state line and topped off again at $3.80/gallon. And, sure enough, as soon as we crossed in to Kansas, the prices were at least .20/gallon more! We’ll have one more Flying J to use in Salina, KS before we hit Nebraska.
We continued north to Wichita and the Elk’s Lodge. It’s an old Lodge in a strip center. There are 15-amp outlets along the outside of the building. After a phone call to David Noah, the Lodge Secretary, he arrived and turned on the outlets. However, all of them showed an open ground, so I hesitated to plug in. He gave me a key to the water spigot so we have water available to us if we need it. We didn’t hook up our electrical cord, though. We’ve had the chance to spend some premium time with two of my favorite cousins, sisters Linda Kreiser and Mary Turner. They have been absolutely warm and wonderful to see and share some time with them. We have had some outstanding dinners with them at Linda’s house and will share a meal tonight at Mary’s house. Yesterday morning we had the privilege of joining them for church and Sunday school at a Methodist church. We are parked right across the street from a Habit-for-Humanity Village and will probably touch base with them before we leave tomorrow. Wichita has been a lot fun in spite of the rainy weather and cool temperatures.
It’s about time that I sit down and catch up on our travels. We have been on the road for almost a week and have a few changes to our plans and modifications in our destinations. As I type this, we’re parked at the Elks Lodge in Wichita, KS.
We sadly left The Caverns, the good friends, and the warm weather. We traveled across southern Arizona into New Mexico and arrived at the Low-Hi Ranch. When we checked in we were lucky to have a reservation - the coming week was the Loners-on-Wheel Rally and they were scheduled to have a full park. We got parked and hooked up before we joined the potluck at 5:30. Dottie was able to cook up a batch of brownies and we ate some scrumptious food. It appeared that we were the “kids” in the group, but we sat with some amiable folks and enjoyed the dinner conversation. I took along a full bottle of “Two Buck Chuck” and shared a couple of glasses with some of the folks. We retired to the coach for some TV and an early night.
The next morning, Tuesday, we struck out across NM26 toward Hatch, home of some of the finest chili peppers you’ll ever find. We observed that the New Mexico desert differs from the Arizona desert by the colors - the Arizona desert is beginning to show the spring colors of the vibrant purples and oranges. The New Mexico desert has a lot of green - both in the color of the plants and the numbers of low-lying plants. Spring is about to present itself in the deserts and it’s a remarkable sight!
We arrived in Truth or Consequences and finally found the Elks Lodge. It wasn’t very inviting, so I decided we would press on to Belen and the Lodge where we stayed two years ago. When we reached Belen, the Lodge look closed and empty. I searched for an electrical outlet and couldn’t reach the single outlet in back. So, we continued on to Albuquerque for a total of 237 miles that day. We arrived at the Albuquerque Elks Lodge in time to find the last hook-up site available. We got settled in and went inside to register and find out about the steak dinner and induction meeting that night. The next day we visited our old neighborhood where we lived and worked some thirty years ago. We drove past our old house - it hasn’t changed much since then. The storefront where I managed House of Fabrics was still there, but the businesses in the small strip center have all changed. We found some of the old favorite restaurants that are still in business and visited Kelly’s Liquor Store where the clerks all used to carry side arms. They are in a new location now and the weapons aren’t visible any more.
That afternoon we met our Albuquerque folks, Ed & Faye Lybarger. We drove over to Ed’s house and then went to the assisted-living facility where Faye now lives. Faye appears to have given up on living and has 24-hour care for herself. Ed is still at home and spends the majority of his time working on projects with his son, Roy. They are in the midst of restoring an older Ford pickup truck from the bottom up. It’s quite a mission of love and a lot of time spent repairing or replacing parts. After spending time with Faye, we went to one of our favorites, The Owl Restaurant, for a chili cheeseburger. It was an enjoyable afternoon seeing old friends and getting caught up.
On Thursday morning we struck out for Tucumcari. After topping off the fuel tank with diesel at $3.93/gal., we had a strong wind from the west pushing us all the way across the eastern mountains of New Mexico and arrived in Tucumcari by 1PM. I decided to break the schedule and press on to Amarillo for the night. We crossed into the Central Time Zone going in to Texas and arrived in Amarillo by 5PM after nearly 295 miles. Our first stop was a truck stop to dump our grey water tank. We drove back about a half mile to a Super Wal-Mart and parked for the night. We one of about twenty Rvs parked in the lot and had a quiet night.
The next morning the winds had changed and were coming at us from the northeast. We continued east on I-40 to Oklahoma City and the Elks Lodge. It’s a beautiful, old Lodge with a private parking space and an electrical outlet on the backside. Rick & Joanne Stone came over to pick us up for dinner and show us around the town. We had a great steak dinner at The Cattlemen’s Restaurant followed by a trip to the old restored part of town. It looks much like the efforts that San Diego has accomplished in the Gaslamp Area of downtown. Oklahoma City has built a ballpark and a restored area of the downtown with attempts to keep the older buildings intact. It was fun to walk around the area and see the many improvements that have been made. Then the Stones took us to the sight of the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. That is a sight to take in! The Memorial Wall is emotional and the lighted chairs of all the victims are a stunning reminder of what was lost in that terrible event. It’s a moving experience to see it first-hand!
The Stones were wonderful hosts and Rick is very proud of his city. We will always remember the exposure to the sights and sounds of Oklahoma City! Our evening ended with goodbyes and hopes to see them again soon.
The next morning, Saturday the 29th, we left the Oklahoma City Elk’s Lodge and immediately encountered a lengthy delay due to road construction on I-35. We eventually got through it and stopped at the Flying J to top off the tank. Fuel in Oklahoma is the least expensive we’ve seen at $3.72/gallon. We continued north to the state line and topped off again at $3.80/gallon. And, sure enough, as soon as we crossed in to Kansas, the prices were at least .20/gallon more! We’ll have one more Flying J to use in Salina, KS before we hit Nebraska.
We continued north to Wichita and the Elk’s Lodge. It’s an old Lodge in a strip center. There are 15-amp outlets along the outside of the building. After a phone call to David Noah, the Lodge Secretary, he arrived and turned on the outlets. However, all of them showed an open ground, so I hesitated to plug in. He gave me a key to the water spigot so we have water available to us if we need it. We didn’t hook up our electrical cord, though. We’ve had the chance to spend some premium time with two of my favorite cousins, sisters Linda Kreiser and Mary Turner. They have been absolutely warm and wonderful to see and share some time with them. We have had some outstanding dinners with them at Linda’s house and will share a meal tonight at Mary’s house. Yesterday morning we had the privilege of joining them for church and Sunday school at a Methodist church. We are parked right across the street from a Habit-for-Humanity Village and will probably touch base with them before we leave tomorrow. Wichita has been a lot fun in spite of the rainy weather and cool temperatures.
1 comment:
We were thrilled to have you guys visit and tour our fair city. Hope to see you this summer up north.
Post a Comment