Tulsa OK to St. Louis MO

We love getting State-line photos.  We put the camera on top of a trashcan and set the timer for this one. It was hard to get the lighting right.  Better luck next time maybe.

Some of the rest-stops in Missouri were really nice.  This place had an indoor rest area, full staff, playground, clean bathrooms, and this cool mural.  Way to go Missouri!  Maybe if Arnold raised the taxes in California we...I mean you... could have nice res-stops like this one.

I saw this sunset in the side mirrors (the rear view mirror is covered by a mountain of suitcases, jackets, sleeping bags, and an assortment of other travel gear)  so I pulled over and snapped a quick photo.

This gas station came with its own candy factory.  It was the kid's favorite gas station so far.  I don't know what it is with the Midwest...their gas stations have Indian trading posts, the worlds largest gift store (that's what it's called), and candy factories.  Another gas station we saw was an official Russel-Stover chocolate factory outlet. Maybe they pay for it all with the toll roads.

If all goes according to plan we'll be sleeping in our tiny new apartment tomorrow night! We have truly had a great time traveling together.  Todays game was "Would You Rather".  It was interesting to hear the questions and answers the kids came up with.  One question Jesse asked was, "Would you rather let a bank robber take your money, or have to shoot him?" We asked the kids "would you rather get to spend a day at Disneyland, or see your Grandparents." They both said "see our Grandparents!"

I better get some sleep.  I have to wake up in 5 hours.

Mike

Amarillo TX to Tulsa OK

We woke up to another light dusting of snow. It continued to snow for the next 2-3 hours so we put the MPV in 4-wheel-drive and took it slow. Not true for the trucks though. Those big simi's just plow away at 80mph as if the conditions were perfect.

We enjoyed our hashbrowns smothered and covered at the Waffle House. I remember that I once ate there 2 meals a day for 5 days staight. I couldn't afford 3 meals because I was on the road on my first tour with Everybodyduck before Kristi and I were married. Several shows were cancelled so the tour manager put us in a hotel right next to a Waffle House.

We stopped at the Cherokee Trading Post.  Funny thing is they were only interested in trading goods for money. No trading goods for goods here.

Oklahoma is a state with wide open spaces. Nicole's favorite memory from the day was our whole family playing "Name That Tune" with a Kazoo Jesse got from his Aunty A.

Jesse's favorite memory was playing with his Star Wars figures.

I was hoping for a more profound answer, but I'm just reporting what he told me.

We did have a scare on the  road.  A very near accident.  Kristi was driving and as we came into Oklahoma City there was a bunch of traffic.  There was a huge simi on our right, and an onramp with a car flying around the corner on the left.  The simi started coming into our lane, and the car entering the freeway from our left came right at us.  Kristi sped ahead of the simi, hit the brakes and turned the car into the simi's lane, then quickly got back in our lane and put on the gas else the simi would have creamed us from behind at this point.  It was a close call, closer than I can descibe in writing.  We were all very shaken so we pulled over at the next exit to decompress.  We believe God really protected us, and on a human level, I'm just so proud of Kristi for reacting so appropriatly to the series of events.

Mike

Albuquerque NM to Amarillo TX

Nicole wanted to send out a few postcards this morning.

We stopped for an hour at the Dinosaur Museum in New Mexico.

We all get our shoes muddy every time we stop for our state line photos.

We ate good 'ol fashioned Texas style BBQ in Amarillo.

Our PODS arrived safely at NTBI today.  The dean of married students sent this to us.

We had a great day, enjoyed our time together, and are looking forwad to getting to bed early tonight.

Grace and Peace, Mike

Flagstaff to Albuquerque

The kids (and their parents) enjoyed waking up to a 1" dusting  of fresh powder.

About 5 miles off the I-40 we stopped to see the meteor Crater.

We wondered if our PODS was on this truck?  I think we creeped out the poor driver because we took so many pictures and kept passing him and then slowing down.

Our "band" photo's.  Kristi went with the traditional "look at the camera" approach, and I tried the "trying way too hard to look cool by staring off in the distance" approach.

A good friend with the initials J.L. recomended this restaurant for authentic New Mexico style food.  I had stuffed Sopapillas...bread stuffed with chicked, beans, potatoes, and an amazing fire-roasted green chili sauce.  The sauce doesn't hit too hard at first, but by the end of the meal I was burnin' up.

We're staying at La Quinta Inn tonight.  There's a little snow flurry action outside.  Looking foward to Texas tomorrow.

Mike

Roadtrip To Wisconsin

Our route to Wisconsin

We plan to take 6 days to drive the 2,204 miles to Wisconsin.  The average drive time is 6-7 hours per day. With stops we'll be on the road about 8-9 hours a day.  

Hesperia CA, to Flagstaff AZ (December 28)

392 mi - 6 hours 12 mins

Flagstaff AZ, to Albuquerque NM (December 29)

322 mi - 5 hours 3 mins

Albuquerque to Dalhart, TX (December 30)

271 mi - 5 hours 12 mins

Dalhart TX, to Tulsa OK (December 31)

450 mi - 7 hours 45 mins

Tulsa OK, to Saint Louis MO (January 1)

393 mi - 6 hours 10 mins

Saint Louis MO, to Waukesha WI (January 2)

369 mi - 5 hours 55 mins