Socorro, New Mexico to Clinton, Oklahoma - Day 2 (April 4)

We didn't sleep too well, and both of us woke up about 4:30 a.m. cold because we forgot to turn the furnace on.  (Who thinks about the furnace in April when you live in the desert??)  And Joe needed a pain pill. But we got back to sleep for a while.  The top of his cast was rubbing again his other leg, making it sore, so  we walked(?) over to Walmart to get a headband for him to try on his leg, and some AAA batteries for the thermometer we keep on the dash so we know what the outside temperature is.  Then, we had to wash the bugs off the windshield, Joe on his knee-walker, and me assisting.

Then we shut down the RV and hit the road for Day 2.  He has been trying to use crutches, at least to maneuver through the RV, but he is an accident waiting to happen on them.  He almost fell 2-3 times, so after we finished washing the windshield, I set the knee-walker inside the RV.  It's tight going down the hall to the bathroom (works better if we put the front slide out a little), but it is safer for him.

We pulled out of Walmart at 9:15 a.m. (having lost an hour due to time zone).  Another sunny, windy day.  Temperature was 42 when we got up, but warmed up to the 50s and 60s as we headed east.  We saw our first wildlife today, in New Mexico.  First a hawk, then several groups of pronghorn antelope.  We saw a total of 37 antelope, in 5 different herds.

Parts of New Mexico are very colorful, very pretty.  I haven't been taking many pictures since we have traveled these roads before, but I did try to capture some of the colors in the canyons and rocks.

We stayed with U.S. 60 to Vaughn, NM, then took U.S. 54 to Santa Rosa, where we picked up I-40.  We took a 45-minute lunch break in Santa Rosa, at a little Mexican cafe but were on I-40 at 1:00 p.m.  We crossed the Texas state line at 3:40 (we lost another hour to time zone here).  I drove about an hour, 61 miles, including driving through Amarillo which wasn't fun.  Gas was a little cheaper, $2.13 in Amarillo.  Jeff and Brenda are always looking for a good windmill, and we found one for them, right before the Texas state line.  Since we are fully loaded, they will have to drive over to get it.

Coming into Amarillo, we passed the Cadillacs that are partly buried in the dirt, and on the other side of Amarillo at Groom, Texas is the beautiful "Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

"Ten million people pass by every year. One thousand stop each day. This 190 foot tall free standing Cross can be seen from twenty miles away."

We have never stopped at this cross, and this wasn't the year to do it, but it's something we want to do in the future. It is really a beautiful sight.

One nice surprise was that the lilacs are in bloom in East Texas.  We pulled off for a bathroom break for Joe, and there were lilac bushes blooming on the other side of the highway.  I walked back to the dinette to get a picture from that side of the motorhome, I had it all sighted in, and just as I clicked the camera, a semi went by.  I had to laugh at that. So I got a wonderful picture of a YRC semi trailer.  But I did get a picture of the lilacs too, although they don't show up very good.

We kept plugging along, and crossed into Oklahoma at 6:50.  Joe just kept driving, and we didn't get off the road until 9:15, traveling 508 miles today.  We ended up in Clinton, OK for the night, on a casino parking lot.  I, of course, had to check out the casino, leaving Joe alone in the RV.  But I had a good night, walked away $170 to the good.  The wind was bad all day.  Joe remarked once that he was going around a left-hand corner turning the steering wheel right.  Makes it hard driving, especially for a rookie like me.  But, DAY 2 WITH NO DISASTERS!