Western Trip 2014 Albuquerque to Home

Saturday morning it was cool (45 degrees) but clear skies and we were on the road by 7:45, bound for Albuquerque.  Again the scenery began to change some but we were still going from 5700 feet to 7000+ feet and back down and up again and again.  No real long climb or decent but enough.  Occasionally we would cruise along for miles on a flat plateau and we passed through a number of Indian Reservations.  About 125 miles from Kirtland AFB we pulled into a Navajo reservation ‘travel center and casino’ for a break.  We really didn’t need fuel, but topped the tank and gave us all a chance to stretch.

Lilly did here usual thing at a stop and then had a long drink before getting back into the truck. 

When we arrived at the Kirtland Famcamp, we got into the next to last site large enough for us.  There were three other ‘small’ sites available but the host, who was still in the office, set us up with a good long pull through. 

After a quick run to pick up some milk and a few items we headed to the southwestern area of Albuquerque to visit a cousin we had not seen in several years.  Bret and Karen Bare have lived in Albuquerque for 35 years.  We had a nice visit then headed out a “New Mexico” restaurant. Three hours of conversation and we had an agreement to meet the next morning at 9:30 for a trip to the desert for some hiking and searching for petrified wood and special rocks and stones.

We met at the Bares and each drove as we both took our dogs, Lilly and Nellie.  We left there house and drove west on I40 and exited at MM11 and drove on an asphalt road for a mile or two and then onto a washboard dirt road.  The truck bounced and bounced and no matter which side of the roadway we took, we could not find a smooth spot.  We came to a side road and Britt turned right (he was driving a Suzuki with four wheel drive).  We then we passed a rancher and turned down and even more rutted trail. 

At a wider spot we stopped and took off on foot down the hill in search of whatever we can find.  We hiked across the desert and found small cactus, ‘iron’ balls and all sorts of special rocks and petrified wood.

Judy and Britt study some unusual stones.

Lilly beside an"iron" ball meteor.

We picked up what appeared to be a small piece of white rock.  Britt said the way to tell rock from bone is to do the ‘tongue’ test.  Bone sticks to your tongue but a rock or stone does not.

Lilly and Nellie enjoyed the freedom.

After our desert adventure we went to the Route 66 Casino for a nice lunch.

Monday we drove into Albuquerque and visited the “Old Town” area.  The church in the square has been there over 300 years.

Though it was hot out, the inside of the church was cool - in part do to the five foot thick walls.

Monday night we had the Bares for dinner at the RV.  They parked at the Home Depot outside the base and we drove them in – and back out after dinner and a nice visit.

Tuesday morning we pulled out of Kirtland a little before 8 bound for Amarillo, Texas.  The drive was uneventful – other than the time change – again.  We arrived about 2PM Central Time or 1 Mountain Time.  We settled in to the Overnight RV park on the eastern edge of Amarillo. The WiFi was good but the cable not so.  So we just watched TV using the RV antenna.  Of course everything is an hour earlier.

When we were setting up, we could see and hear Air Force F5’s fly over and then do touch and goes a bit north of us.  On investigation (with the help of Google) learned that they were most likely trainers from Brooks AFB in Texas using the old Amarillo AFB as a touch and go location.

We were up and on the road at 8 for the 230 mile drive to Oklahoma City and Tinker AFB.  Again the scenery changed and we went into flat country with farms and cattle ranches.  We pulled into the Famcamp a little after two and settled in.  After dinner we took Lilly for a long walk on a 3.2 mile trail around the base.  No we did not walk all the way – just part way.

Tinker AFB is a very large base right at the southeast edge of OKC and it is now surrounded by homes and businesses.  We followed instructions and entered through the Truck/RV gate and found the Famcamp about 200 yards down the road.  It is not a very big park – only 30 sites – but the hostess met us and lead us to our site.  After some lunch and rest we headed off to explore the base and promptly got lost.  We took a wrong turn out of the park and ended up driving though all the industrial area.

We did make it to the BX/Commissary area but nothing we wanted/needed so it was back to the Open Range and dinner.

After a short walk with Lilly after breakfast it was off to downtown OKC, specifically the Bass Pro Shop parking lot.  That is where the downtown free bus stops.  We missed the first shuttle but caught the next one and were dropped off right at the memorial.

The memorial is different.  On one side of the block long reflecting pond are empty chair representations arranged in rows according to the floor the person was one.  There were full size chairs for adults and smaller ones for the children in the day care center.

The picture on the right is of what is called "The Tree of Life."  It was left standing and unharmed after the blast that brought down the federal building and the other nearby buildings that were destroyed.  It is now surrounded by a wall and benches and office workers were there eating lunch when we visited.

On the wall of the old newspaper building across from the bomb site, one of the first responders had spray painted this. 

We walked through some of downtown – lots of businesses and very busy – then caught the shuttle back to the truck and then back to Tinker.

Early the next morning we were on our way to Branson, MO. We traveled East on I40 then north on I540 and then on US412/US62 and then US65.  Once through Fayetteville, AR, we were on some very winding and hilly roadways.  Some how along the way Judy found an interesting station on the Sirus radio; we could not believe it but it was a French Country-Western music.  Could not recognize the words but some of the melodies we did understand.

It was about 2 when we got setup at Oak Grove campground.  A nice campground and the woman at check-in was very helpful – including information on The college of the Ozarks and a quilt shop.  The place is about two thirds full and it appears that there are some full-timers here who work in Branson.

After getting all set up and a bite to eat we walked up the road to two places that looked interesting.  One was a ‘craft’ house that had all types of locally made items.  The other was more of a ‘flea market’ place.

It was now time to take a drive, so we headed for the Farmstead/IMAX theater area where we were told we would find a quilt shop.  It was a very large and expansive quilt shop with lots of material as well as finished items.  We picked up two more pieces of material for the quilt pattern we bought in Cheyenne. 

After some more browsing we stopped by this place for dinner. (That's Judy by the chicken leg)

After dinner we headed back to the campground.

The next morning we drove to The College of the Ozarks a bit south of Branson.  It is a small school knows and Hard Work U – each student has a campus job that earns them tuition, books and fees.  They need to pay for room and board.  The main facility is the Ketter Center, a huge log hotel and conference center.

We stopped by the ice cream stand at the lodge and each had a ‘single dip’ waffle cone.  The waffle cones are fresh made right there and the ‘single dip’ ended up being a stuffed waffle cone!  The two girls working there were both freshmen.  One had applied right after high school but didn’t make it the first time.  This past year, six thousand applied but only 350 were accepted.

After a walk through the ‘old town’ part of Branson it was back to the Open Range to get ready for a departure for Indiana. There is an hour time change so we want to get in at a decent hour.

Our departure from Branson was easy, not much traffic on the road at 8 on a Sunday morning.  It was not a bad drive, except for the road construction and areas on I70 that had been paved, and then ground down to rumble strips.  We were making good time so decided to move on to near Terre Haute for the night.  We pulled into a KOA not too far off I70.  We had a nice spot and nice area for getting Lilly a nice walk.  About seventy-five yards from our spot there were two burrows – sort of petting zoo thing.  Every once in a while they let out with some loud “heehaws.”  At first we weren’t certain what the noise was but soon learned.

After a very un-restful night we started out for Ohio. The highway noise was a real problem all night.  The section of the road near the campground had been ground down for repaving and trucks all night long rumbled and rumbled along.  We were looking forward to getting back to Ohio!  We passed through Indianapolis with no problems and soon hit the Ohio line.  Though we could have made it home (arriving in early evening) we opted to spend one last night at Wright Patterson.  We needed to pick-up a few grocery items.

We pulled into the campground in early afternoon and after setting up hit the commissary and filled the Ram one last time.

As it was the first time we left Wright-Patterson nearly six weeks ago, it began to sprinkle as we finished packing and loading up.  We had intermittent rain all the way to Columbus.  As we hit the passed through the city and connected with I71 the sky opened up and it rained very hard for the next 20-25 miles.  The trip home was pretty normal but we saw two bad accidents in the southbound lanes of I71 north of Columbus and then one on I76 near the Wadsworth exit.

It was just a few minutes after noon when we backed into the drive – home after one day shy of 6 weeks and more than seven thousand miles of driving.  By six that evening we had the Open Range all unloaded, things put away and the inside and outside of the RV cleaned/washed, even managed to give the Ram a bath.

So ends this bucket list journey.