We left Paul's house with a fond farewell on the morning of the eighth of June and headed out for our next destination of Bloomfield New Mexico, refreshed and excited.
(Refreshed because our time at Paul's had been great for our spirits, excited because- well in my case I had never seen the desert. And if there is one thing that can still inspire the wonder of childhood, seeing a foreign place and landscape is most definitely it.)
Dirty, dirty windshield- remedied in a bit
It was a twelve hour drive not including stops, much of which was spent crossing Oklahoma. And not to disparage that particular state (I'm sure there are plenty of lovely places within it) but I have to say that I'm glad this leg of the adventure occurred at this point on the journey or it would have been extremely tedious. Like the look on this woman's face:
In fact the only thing of note that occurred during those many hours was our startled amusement at a highway sign. I tried to get a photo, but wasn't fast enough, so I'll ask you to picture it from this description- it was a digital sign, the type you typically see if there's a traffic advisory such as an accident. Bright orange letters flashed across it stating
DON'T FANCY DANCE TO THE POW WOW
which was followed up with the advice to 'stay safe and drive slow'.
We spent a bit of time speculating on what it meant to fancy dance to the pow wow, imagined ourselves being pulled over by a traffic cop- We weren't fancy dancing, we swear officer!-- erm, okay we probably were, but it wasn't to the pow wow it was to eminem!
At any rate, I'm grateful to that befuddling sign as it helped pass the time before we began to see the scenery change.
Oh right, I almost forgot! My daughter was a bit creeped out by this:
Which was at a gas station just off the highway somewhere in Oklahoma. And since we went there while we were still musing over what constituted fancy dancing...well, let's just say I hoped not to run into any pow-wowing men in the ladies room ;)
And then we were in Texas- two things stood out as we drove through the panhandle,
this:
Am I weird, or would anyone else be thrilled by this new danger?
And this:
Howie called them wind farms, and when I asked what they were farming he said 'electricity'. I admit to feeling my first real instance of ignorance at this information- lots of owlish blinking.
Slightly concerned about that water tower...*
The sun was going down when we entered New Mexico--
which meant that I would not have my first real glimpse of the desert until morning. It was a good thing the drive had exhausted me or I might have lain awake like a five year old on Christmas Eve.
And I had fully intended to launch into this experience in this post, then found myself needing to fill in some details. And now I think both myself and my readers will be better served if I turn this into a
to be continued....
So stay tuned for Part Three of this epic cross country adventure- The Land of Enchantment!
Other posts about the trip so far:
From NY to Arkansas and @therealpaul
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That lady's face says it all about that drive across OK. Oh that leaning water tower, I remember seeing that. Somewhere in that TX panhandle is a 'farm' where a bunch of old vintage cars are sticking out of the ground, lights pointed to the sky- one of the more quirky things along that part of I-40.
You had to wait through two states to see NM, now we have to wait too! :p
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@freebornangel explained a few things to me about what I mentioned, pretty cool to get the background :)
I missed the vintage cars, too bad, that would have made a great picture!
Yep, there needs to be no other distractions in the post for me to capture the magic of it :)
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I saw that background info on the area, cool to know. Oh I looked up that car farm, it's called Cadillac Ranch, in Amarillo TX, along the interstate. You didn't miss much!
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Lol, we have wind farms all over the place being a windy bastard of a country. No fancy dancing to the pow wow though :OD
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I tried looking that up and couldn't find anything! Maybe it was just a highway worker being funny? Slang for something in Oklahoma? Well it sounded like fun to me, I'm certain I'd do it if I knew what it was hee
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Lol, I bet it was. People can do some hilarious shit! Although that is quite gifted in the hilarious department :O)
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There was a point in my life where I was considering moving to New Mexico. Unfortunately, that woman turned out to be a nutcase.
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It's a truly amazing place, which I'll do my best to show in the next post or two, but to be honest I could never live there. I need lots of trees and grass and bodies of water. I'm a northern girl in the end. Though I would not object to being a northwestern girl, I freaking loved Northern California, Oregon and Washington (it doesn't hurt that they have weed shops like we have liquor stores ;)
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I'd enjoy the terrain for dirtbiking purposes but that's about it. I enjoy the north as well. Heading to the lake at some point this weekend.
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That sounds like a good plan, we're supposed to hit 98 degrees on Sunday- definitely heading to the lake!
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what a trip , can't wait for next part x
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:) xo
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Waiting for the next part. I'm practically following you on the journey.
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Fancy dancing is very energetic, intended to demonstrate one's endurance.
Often fancy dancers are exhausted by their efforts, and in no shape to drive.
Every once in a while, in small town oklahoma, characters are found that like to be odd, likely the local cops required the sign to enforce trespassing laws on any men inclined to enter the ladies room.
The rattlesnakes are more scared of you than you need to be of them.
When walking in their territory stomp your feet so that they think an elephant is coming and they will avoid you.
Just dont sneak up on them, they hate that!
The water tower was built that way to give tourists a reason to remember the town.
Its been there for years.
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Hey there! How have you been?
Awesome, thanks for the tips- are you from there?
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Yes, i grew up in oklahoma, and enjoy being as far from it as i can get.
You met one of our state's 'finest' at the rest stop.
The population has really gone downhill in the bush/clinton crime family era.
It may be making a comeback, though.
2 years ago they made all drug possesion a misdemeanor, and just this week passed the least restrictive mmj law in the country.
Amarillo has a cast of characters, too.
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In New Zealand, most of our power is hydro but we have got wind farms in some of the windier spots. Here's a bad photo, taken out of a very dirty plane window, on our way to Brisbane last month. That's the Wellington coast and if you peer closely you can see the windmills.
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Isn't Oklahoma right smacked in the middle of Tornado Alley? It's a marvel that the water tower is still standing! We have wind farms here as well, but it's on the edge of the islands, where the sea breeze is strong. It's nice to read that there are still so many places that bring you wonder, sis!
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