Jayton TX to Oklahoma City

Today is a baseball cap day.

It occurs to me as we start out today that traveling in an RV in like being in a Land Shuttle (as opposed to a Space Shuttle) off to explore the world with the RV operating like a personal Biosphere 2 that contains everything we need to survive on this adventure as long as we can find a Walmart.

After spending a quiet night in Jayton, TX, and waking to the sounds of singing birds, we got on the road fairly early at 8:30 am.  Pulling out of town and before I could get my camera working we passed a business with a sign called “Mo’s Place” (business type unknown) with a metal silhouette of a vulture mounted above looking down at the sign.  Missed photo opportunities, especially the funny ones, annoy me!  Many of the ranches here have similar metal sculptures above the driveway entry posts of horses, roping cows or other western scenes. 

Green pastures and cattle off in the distance.

An answer to an earlier question...in mid Texas the fields turn to green grass and herds of cattle graze on them so pastures do still exist.  I am glad for the cows lucky enough to be born here versus the feed lot cows.  I suspect however that the latter don’t know the difference nor care and I am projecting my own human values upon their fate.

For the first time since leaving Florida thirteen years ago, today I saw four small, white egrets which are in the bird family of herons.  In Florida they are everywhere, I suspect because of their affinity for water.  They are beautiful birds.

"Joe" the dog

When we arrived in Haskel, TX (a nice looking, little town) we stopped for gas at a local gas station of the old fashion variety not a chain type station.  Here we met a dog named Joe and his owner Bob wearing the traditional white Texan cowboy hat.  The pickup truck was filled with red and white salt licks they put into the fields for cows.  Joe had been riding in the back where he usually likes to ride poking his nose out into the air  coming around the cab of the truck.  Today however was a bad day for Joe as Bob negotiated a curve at 60 mph.  Leaning too far into the wind, Joe fell from the truck.  His angel saved him however as he fell into the grass along the road with maybe nothing worse that a bruised rump or broken tail Bob believes.  After a quick phone call to the vet who said “Just watch him.” they started back on their journey to the gas station where we met Joe too.  The owners of the station brought out a couple slices of cooked bacon telling Joe to “eat something and you’ll feel better.”  We all grinned as Joe gratefully accepted his gift.

Back of truck carrying Joe

Flowers at Welcome Center

By 11 am we arrived in Witchata Falls and crossed our first “pucker your fanny” overpass.  It was one of those cloverleaf affairs where two major highways intersect something like coming off Highway 202 southbound onto Interstate 10 in Phoenix.  I do believe I held my breath for a full five minutes until we passed through the intersection.

Shortly thereafter we crossed the border into Oklahoma and stopped for gas to fill up the coach completely because earlier stations only allowed $100 fills.  While Jim put $300 of gas into the coach, I walked over to the Oklahoma Welcome Center with its entry surrounded by beds of gorgeous flowers.  Here I learned we were within the Great Plains and would soon be passing by the Ft. Sill Military Reservation and the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Preserve where buffalo roam free.  Unfortunately at this point we ran into road construction and Jim’s remark was “you just hold onto the belief that they have made the lane wider than your coach and stay in it.”  My reaction... OMG!

Pumping gas just inside Oklahoma

We ended the day crossing over the Canadian River (the longest tributary of the Arkansas River that starts in Colorado and travels 906 miles through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle and most of Oklahoma) into Oklahoma City.  We have decided to spend Sunday here resting, paying bills, grocery shopping, cleaning and doing laundry.  It is official that we are on the road now...we purchased our map of the USA with the state stickers to go on it.

Snoopy's Corner:  I learned today that I can get in front of the curtains on the dash and see everyone walking by.  They know my name too, because my sign is up in the window with me!  There are lots of birds to watch here too because we are parked between two huge trees.

Dad let me sit in a cupboard over the door, but I didn't find too much to do up here so he took me down.