Teddy Makes Friends

Saturday evening, we arrived at Aunt Pam's in Phoenix, for a much more comfortable evening than the previous three.

Teddy seemed vaguely curious about Higgins, Aunt Pam's parrot. Higgins seemed positively disturbed by Teddy.



Teddy got along with Maxie...most of the time.

New Mexico Road Signs

All I can say is I'm glad the Catholic Church finally came to its senses...



This is my failed attempt to take a picture of the sign for McGaffey, New Mexico. McGaffey is my grandmother's family name. It is a unique name in the sense that anyone with that name is related to us -- so this town must have been named after some relative.

Cadillac Ranch

Late Friday, Teddy and I found ourselves in Amarillo, Texas, looking for the Cadillac Ranch, another attraction selected from Roadside America.

My copy of Roadside America dates to my previous drives across the country in 1992 and 1993. I used it to get directions to Cadillac Ranch. This turned out to me a mistake, as after a few miles on an unpaved road, I was calling around to find someone who could Google the location. Finally, my mother was able to tell me that the Ranch had been moved a couple of miles to the west.

After stopping at a truck stop to get further directions, I pulled off the side of the road (old Route 66), and went through a cattle gate on the side of the road, to the Cadillac Ranch, which is set a couple hundred feet off the road.







Fantastic. This is a much better henge than Stubby Stonehenge.

Jobe's Drive-In

Another idea I got from Roadfood was to stop at Jobe's Drive-In in El Reno, OK. I pulled into the parking space...



I figured the right thing to order at a drive-in restaurant was burgers, fries and a shake. But they were out of ice cream, so no shake. Sigh. Well, at least I'd have the drive-in experience of having a tray on my car to eat from.

Teddy and I waited patiently for my food...



When it came, it was delivered to me by a guy who handed me a bag. So basically, this was a somewhat less efficient version of a drive-through. The burger was somewhat better than a fast-food burger, I suppose. Fairly disappointing.

Worst. Henge. Ever.

Another book I consulted before planning my trip was Roadside America. One of the sites it pointed me towards was Stubby Stonehenge in Rolla, Missouri. To quote the RA web site,

This half-sized Stonehenge replica was built by the high-pressure water lab at University of Missouri's Rolla campus as a way to showcase their stone carving skills.

The result, pictured below, is a testament to what you can create when you have no artistic vision...it looks so soul-less.

King Ribs Bar-B-Q

I didn't have much time for stops on my cross-country trek. I did look up a couple of places to get a decent meal at Roadfood -- actually, the book, not the web site, which does not have the restaurant featured in this post.

My first stop was King Ribs Bar-B-Q in Indianapolis. I ordered my food to go (the only option) and drove to a nearby rest stop.



There, I enjoyed some very tasty ribs, some reasonable potato salad (not as good as Oma's of course), and some baked beans.

Tent Life

The first three nights of my trip, I camped at KOA campgrounds. (Or is that "kamped"?) I picked them because they were convenient to the Interstate, gave me a bunch of info on their web site, and had a uniform dogs-allowed policy. As I probably could have predicted, they were a mixed bag. The one in Ohio was OK...not many people were there, so I had a section of the campground to myself. Still, it was near a hospital or something, because I kept hearing ambulances all night. The one in Missouri was dreadful...I felt like I was right up against my fellow campers. And there was the aforementioned train crossing. In New Mexico, I had the best of the three. It wasn't very crowded, and the tent sites were set back from the road (Route 66) a bit.

Here you can see some key features of tent life...



I brought a bottle of Knob Creek along but did not get very far into it...getting in relatively late will do that.

I also brought a copy of John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley about his drive across the country with his French poodle. I'm really enjoying it, but I have not gotten much further into it than into the bottle of Knob Creek.

You can also see other crucial features such as my backpack, battery-powered lamp, breath mints, and of course, the cell phone I posted from.

In the foreground is part of the eggshell foam pad (very important...I wouldn't have been able to sleep on the unmediated ground) and my sleeping bag.



Teddy adapted to tent life fairly well...though soon after this picture was taken the first night, he discovered the comfort of the eggshell crate and insisted on bunking there the rest of the trip. He would look at me as if to say, "Hey, I'm almost 13, and you're dragging me across the country. Give me a break." Or perhaps I imagined it.

Traffic Jam Redux

Well, I promised you pictures, and I don't want to start with the absolute best pictures...so here's a picture I took during the traffic jam I found myself in on Wednesday.

California

Well, I made it. More details (and pictures!) to follow. Apologies for the web site downtime yesterday; I'll have to find a new hosting service at some point.

Flagstaff

I Just Got Backfrom Buying Postcards To Find Teddy In
The Front Seat Going Through The Trash. I Had On Idea
He Could Reach.

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Arizona

I Just Crossed Over Into Arizona. At This Point I Am
Mostly Interested In Driving To Aunt Pams. Maybe I
Will Only Stop For Gas.

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Albuquerque

Perhaps I Should Make A Left Turn Here... Getting My
Kicks On What Replaced Route Sixty Six...

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New Mexico

I Am Waiting For My Chinese Food. Texas Was Ok.
Finally Found Cadillac Ranci After Calling Mom For Directions.

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Texas

The Sink At Mcdonalds Was In The Shape Of Texas. They
Had Two Prints Of Dogs Playing Poker. Help. Under A
Thousand Miles To Go...as The Army Flies.

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OK

I Got Up Relatively Early Today. A Campground Next To
A Train Crossing Will Do That. I Am In Oklahoma For
The First Time. Seems Nice Enough. First Toll Roads Of
The Trip.

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Ozarks

What A Long Day. No More Setting Up Tents In The Dark.
I Would Rather Sleep In A Car. I Did Manage To Stop
For Some Good Ribs And A Bad Replica Of Stonehenge.
Pictures Of Both Later.

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Indiana

I Got To Sleep Late And Woke Up Late. I Have To Go
Over 650 Miles Today So I Am A Bit Rushed. I Am An
Hour East Of Indianapolis. I Plan To Stop There For Lunch.

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4 States One Day

Coming To You From A Tent In Ohio... I Made It Thru
Maryland Wva...twice...penn And Into Oh... Got In A
Little Late And Had To Put The Tent Up In Almost
Dark...g Wonder How Bad It Looks.

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traffic jam

I Am Stuck In Traffic Near Washington Pennsylvania.
Sigh. The Drive Had Been Nice So Far. The V6 Helps In
The Mountains.

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Ron-Day-Voo

Well, I'm heading out on my big cross-country trek today. I went to pick up the Pontiac Vibe I had reserved. Of course, that's not what I got. Fortunately for me (from an ease of packing standpoint, not a gas mileage standpoint), I ended up with a Buick Rendezvous.







More posts from my phone on the road; more pictures when I get to the other side.

Rehearsal

In preparation for this week's grand trek across the country, I had to remind myself how to put together the tent...




Of course, I'm not quite in the great outdoors yet...