Well, I'm not sure if we've left the rain clouds behind permanently, but today on our sojourn across three states in the center of the country we encountered not so much as a drop of precipitation. This is surprising since this morning when we got up it was sort of foggy and rather ominous-looking. But it wasn't raining, so packing up the various hoses and equipment didn't leave me looking like a drowned rat.
Our intention this morning was to visit the XIT Ranch Museum which got good write-ups in the tourist guides. We left camp just after nine, hoping that the museum would be open when we arrived. Turns out that it opened at 9:00 a.m., which meant we were good to go. We found a perfect place to park the rig just around the corner in front of the town library and we were soon immersed in the history, not just of the ranch, but of northwestern Texas in general. Let me just say that this museum was one of the nicest we have ever encountered. The director is a professional, and both the layout of the museum and the carefully-selected content reflects that fact.
Every single aspect of life in the Dalhart, Texas, area was displayed, from the accoutrements of the XIT Ranch cowboys, to the correspondence from WWII soldiers trapped by the Japanese in the Philippines. We saw all manner of items from farm and ranch life from the earliest eras to the present day. There were displays on hat making, on cheese making, on local fauna, on photography, on weapons, on wheeled vehicles, on everyday home life, on saddle making, and even on home-built airplanes.
Concetta and I both were taken by the photographic display of local life during World War II. This is the period when women had to assume most of the roles on the farm previously handled by men. They plowed fields, gathered scrap metal, grew Victory Gardens, fixed machinery, repaired buildings, they did in fact take on just about every role on the farm. Even though I might have once congratulated myself with the great luck I've had with vegetable gardening in Nevada, these women in northwest Texas were growing Victory Gardens that were an acre and more in size. I felt humbled to say the least.
Once we had finished our museum experience, we set our course northeast toward the Oklahoma Panhandle and beyond into Kansas. Taking Interstate Route 54, we got rolling about 11:00 a.m. and the going was largely uneventful, though the ribbon of asphalt on Route 54 was just a tad on the neglected side. Today the 18-wheelers didn't bother us much and there were frequent turnouts so that they could pass without getting overly irritated with our 60mph pace.
Our new GPS, designed for motor home travel, told us that we could find the next Walmart in Guymon, Oklahoma, and so when the voice said, "Turn here," that's what we did. Then, we spent the better part of an hour stocking up and filling the fridge for the next few days. If you've ever had to live out of an RV fridge, you know what I mean when I say you have to plan pretty darn carefully and buy only what will fit.
I also picked up a few things I'd had thought of for the rig, including some reflective stickers for the rear bumper. Since the bumper is black, I thought it might be a good idea to brighten it up a bit so people can see it more easily while they're texting and driving.
We didn't do much picture-taking today, as most of the northwest Texas/Oklahoma Panhandle/Kansas prairie is kinda featureless. We didn't even see any of the cattle feed lots like we did yesterday. At one point this morning, while we were touring the XIT Museum, one of the docents told us that the feedlots we had seen held more than 70,000 cows waiting to become dinner. We had figured out on our own that there were a TREMENDOUS number of animals out there beyond the white fences, but 70,000???? We found that figure just amazing.
At one point today we were looking for a nice shady place to pull over and have lunch. When we reached the next town, which happened to be Texhoma, I spotted a really cool building a couple blocks off the highway. At the next street that intersected Route 54, I turned, and we soon found ourselves in the parking lot of an elementary school. The cool old building (that I forgot to photograph) dated to 1920, which the school administrator was more then happy to divulge when he came knocking on our door out in the parking lot.
Administrator Steve didn't really have any problem with us taking up six spaces in his parking lot, he just was wondering first of all, what we were up to outside his office window, and second just how to pronounce the word "Nevada." He told us his secretary, a Nevadan herself, had previously informed him that it was pronounced as if the first "a" were like the "a" in "ladder," and not like the "a" in "saw." He was willing to believe her, he said, but as long as we were handy he thought he'd just get further verification.
We had a nice time talking linguistics with school administrator Steve, and before long he apologized for about the third time for interrupting our lunch, we shook hands for the second time, and he retreated back inside the school. Soon after we wrapped up our lunchtime break, and cruised back to Route 54.
Once we crossed into Kansas, the GPS led us to our RV park for the evening, a slightly down-at-the-heels little refuge called "Seven Winds." Heretofore, we had read some fairly glowing reviews by other RVers who, I suspect, were either related to the owners or had been hired by them to write glowing accounts. Still, the utilities were handy, the site was level (no blocks needed this time), and the price was downright cheap. You wouldn't want to count on their WiFi as they are still using Tengo, a hosting site that was substandard years ago.
The best thing is that Seven Winds is on Route 54 bypass, which means that the trucks are staying out on the main highway and it's downright quiet here. The road is so vacant that Concetta and I took our walk this afternoon on the shoulder of the road and got about 5,000 steps accumulated while seeing perhaps a half dozen vehicles the whole time. Here's the neat part about our walk: with each and EVERY vehicle that passed -- pickup trucks mostly -- the driver made a special point to wave at us. You would have thought we were in our own neighborhood where everyone knew us. We had the same thing happen in Dalhart, Texas, this morning. It appears that the folks in this corner of the world are just the most friendly that you'd ever want to meet.
Once we were back from our hike, I worked on applying the reflective stickers to the rear bumper. What do you think? That's Concetta modeling the rear of the coach. I know the rear tire cover needs replacing, but so far no luck in finding just the right one. We'll keep looking 'till the right one comes along.
Well, Concetta and I have had our cocktails, I've had my shower, and we just finished dinner. Off to the west we've been watching the lightening flash every few seconds and the thunder is muffled, but certainly audible. We hope the storm is moving toward Nebraska or somewhere far away.
The sunset in the west was so beautiful that I grabbed the camera and dashed out to the road to grab a few shots. One of the other campers joined me and we both stood there oohing and awing and firing away. Once back in the RV, we could hear the thunder getting closer and very soon the pitter-patter of rain drops began. Then, just as we've experienced so many days on this trip, the skies opened up and poured fourth a bounty of water that Nevada could only dream about.
But despite the fact that WE don't seem to be able to outdistance stormy weather, we wish YOU Happy Traveling!
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