Wednesday ... To Laguna Pueblo and Beyond

Tuesday night, after fueling the van and generator, I camped in the truck parking lot at the Acoma Pueblo truck stop, hoping to re-visit Laguna Pueblo this morning before actually starting today's adventure. When I reached the turnoff, however, I found that the overlook that Dave and I had stopped at on our last trip through this area was closed for maintenance and repairs. So gathering more pictures and information for another writing project was not possible at this time ... maybe on my return trip.

So I pointed the van towards Tucumcari, New Mexico, and my next fuel stop. The scenery on today's leg of the trip was gorgeous. All of the colorful rock formations and desert low lands would have made beautiful pictures. Unfortunately, my phone was telling me that the memory was full and pictures could not be saved. The memory was full? I had put a 128 GB micro SD card in it just before I left, how could it be full? Sorry, no more pictures this trip.  :-(   I think I will ask KJ, my nephew, how to correct this memory issue.

I didn't get as far as I had planned on today's leg of the trip; the weather wouldn't allow it. The day started out sunny and bright, but by the time I had reached Tucumcari, the clouds had gathered, thick and dark ... almost as dark as just after sunset. Clouds were OK, they kept the van's engine cool, but the atmosphere nearly melancholy.

As I approached Amarillo, TX, I had been through one major downpour and the sky looked as if it were priming for another round. As it was nearly 4:00 pm local time I started looking for a place to spend the night. As I left Amarillo, another deluge began which took nearly all my visibility. Lasting about 20 minutes, it quit just as quickly as it had begun. And I thanked God profusely for the clearing skies.

Just then I came around a huge curve in the road. Off the left shoulder was an eighteen wheeler laying on its side. It looked as if it had been gently picked up and laid there... except for all of the emergency vehicles that were rapidly joining the scene. For the rest of the time I was on the road this day, I prayed for the driver of that truck and any passengers he may have had with him. I also thanked God for my safety since I had been on my journey. Our God is SOOOO good!

About 20 minutes after passing this truck wreck the sky was looking thick and gloomy once more. That's when I saw the sign for a 'picnic area' a mile up the road. It seems that the roadside rest areas that are common in California and Nevada aren't in other states. But throughout Texas and Oklahoma, they have Picnic Areas. These are roadside pull-offs that provided picnic tables and trash cans. No restrooms or drinking fountains.

At this particular picnic area several trucks that had pulled off and were settling in for the night. I parked the van and got out to speak to one of the drivers that was setting up orange cones around his rig.

"Sir, do you think anyone will mind if I park here overnight?" I asked.

"No, Ma'am," He replied. " that is just what we plan to do, too."

Saying thank you to him, I set about preparing to start the generator and settle in for the night.

Having tucked us in for the evening, I will leave you here in the picnic area east of Amarillo, TX until tomorrow.

Good Night!

Grammy Leigh’s Amazing Adventure!

**Sorry, I couldn't find the pics that go with this segment. I will add them later.**

I, and my furry family, left Dayton, NV about 1:00 pm on Sunday afternoon. It was a mostly cloudy day and the road was about as busy as a lazy, spring afternoon should be. We made it to Tonopah, NV about 5:00 and gassed up the van and the gas cans for the generator and immediately left out for what was to be a blissful even camping beside the hot springs at Alkali Flat.

I said ‘supposed to be’ as it seems that the Flat, and the hot springs, had disappeared in a dust storm … LOL! Well, probably not! But my phone was dead and my directions were hidden deep inside its circuitry. I took ‘the road less traveled’ that headed toward the Flat for about 15 miles, no Hot Spring in sight. And as I was in uncharted territory, I headed back toward Hwy 95 South toward Las Vegas. We ‘camped’ in the truck parking lot, across from Denny’s, in Beatty, NV. And there ended our first day on this road trip.

I awoke Monday morning – very dark and VERY early – to my mattress laying flat against the platform. It seems that my three-legged cat, Hop-Along Catsity – or Hop for short, had popped it once again. So much for a NEW Airbed … it would have to be replaced while I was in Las Vegas later in the day.

The day ahead looked gray and cloudy – at least the weather did. But the open road beckoned me on, so we mounted up and headed out. First stop, Fort Armargosa and coffee. It was a brief stop and the coffee was tasty. Now, onward ho!

I arrived in Las Vegas about 9:00 am, seeking a place to buy a ‘non-air’ mattress. I stopped at a mattress store and told the salesman what I was looking for and that my funds were very limited. He gave me an AWESOME deal on the mattress, just $2 over cost – over $400 savings. Praise God! I made a couple of other stops then met my cousin, Mary Morton Keum, at a local restaurant for dinner. I had planned to treat her, but God had a different plan – she bought me dinner. We talked for a good long while over our plates of food. I would have loved to spend more time chatting, but the open road was calling me on and the shadows were quickly turning into darkness in the skies above. So we hugged and said our goodbyes – wished I had taken some pictures. Oh well, next time. And there will be a next time as she gave me an open invitation to stop and park a while at her place in the future.

We traveled on down Hwy 93 to Boulder City and the Hoover Dam Lodge Overflow for our second night of camping. This ‘campground’ was also a truck parking lot, just across the street from … you guessed it, Hoover Dam Lodge. Well, it is now nearly 7:00 am, and I still need to have breakfast and break camp, so I will close …

It’s time to be … ‘on the road again. I just can’t wait to be on the road again …’ more of this adventure to come in the days ahead!