Saturday, December 19th
Tucumcari or bust
A Long, long, long day in the RV. Fortunately the seats and cockpit system are designed fairly well so when we did finally stop, Paul wasn’t all kinked up.
We left the house about 8 a.m., a little later than we wanted, but as usual we underestimated the time it would take to get things out to the RV and clean up the house a bit. The driveway is still obscured by snow, so Paul filled the RV at Casey’s and then drove to the grocery store parking lot to load the car.
We made a quick stop in Casey to check the tow straps as a safety precaution, and it was a good thing we did because one of the straps was gone. Paul prefers the straps that we had for the old car hauler because he modified them slightly to feature a security pin to keep the hook on. He found it odd that the entire strap was gone. He didn’t have to dig far to find one of the straps that came with the American Car Dolly. They don’t actually fit as well around the tire and the securing mechanism doesn’t seem as secure. The straps are a thinner compound than the old ones, however, so as it wraps around the ratchet-bar-thing (technical term), it actually wraps more times.
Paul had planned, let me repeat this: had planned, to go south down 29 to Nebraska City and then south on 75 which was a fast way to get to Topeka. The road was in fairly good shape for Nebraska and was a really good road as soon as we crossed into Kansas.
We stopped in Auburn, NE at an ancient and well-attended diner named The Darling Café. It looks like a turn of the 20th century multi-purpose building that may have contained a hotel, gas station and restaurant. We didn’t have the camera when we went in to eat, so I’ll not try and depict the restaurant through words, you would be here for days and I don’t get paid by the adjective. Paul did take a picture of the outside as we were preparing to leave.
We hit the Kansas border just a little after noon, which we felt was good time considering all the snow still on the roads. A perfect non-descript winter-gray weather day for traveling.
We blew by Topeka and didn’t stop again until Abilene where we had to get gas. There was no feeling of comfort that we could make the next 20 miles to a truck stop in Salina. There was no truck stop in Abilene so we crammed into a gas station and double-swiped. We got out of there as fast as possible and continued west to 156 on the other side of Salina. We started our south-westernly descent on 156, which continues on as 56. The roads continued to be in good shape. Although there was less snow on the ground, it was still overcast and uninspiring.
If you didn’t know, Kansas the state has the most significant elevation change between borders. That was readily apparent as we hit significant hills which used all available engine resources. Paul did well to get a running start at big hills whenever possible. It reminded me a lot of driving my mom’s worn out ’96 Mustang from De Soto to Winterset many moons ago. That car couldn’t get out of its own way, so you really had to use the hills to maintain any sort of momentum. Excuse my digression. 
Just south of Great Bend, the weather finally cleared. Warm sunshine filled the RV and blinded our eyes as the afternoon went on. We put the shades down, sunglasses on and remained happily blinded. No complaining about the sun today. It was a balmy 40 degrees and we felt rejuvenated. The snow was melting off the roof of the RV and running water down the sides and showering those behind us. It felt glorious.
We pressed on from Great Bend finally stopped again in Dodge City at the Flying J for dinner at 6 p.m. We still had quite a distance to go and had been on the road for 10 hours. As a passenger I cat napped frequently except when navigation was needed. Paul, thankfully, did not. A cup of coffee with dinner and he was still in “Go” mode.
Even though we weren’t there long, we were a little discombobulated when we left. The Flying J wasn’t where we thought we were so we had to make a little scenic route through town and significant road construction, but we made it back to the correct road.
There was very little moon last night, and I expect the combination of dark, unfamiliar roads and the long day slowed us down some. At times the road was only two lanes so it required extra concentration from Paul to avoid bouncing off oncoming traffic or barrels and cones. He didn’t hit anything though; I was very nervous but quiet.
We drove through Meade, Kansas, about 8 p.m. and I must tell you they did a superb job decorating for Christmas. All several blocks of Main Street were canopied in strings of lights, it was a pleasure to drive under them.
About 9 p.m. we reached Liberal. The next major town after Liberal (Guymon, Ok) was another 35 miles away, so although we were still a few hours shy of the Tucumcari goal, I insist it was not a bust. Bust is a relative notion when you do not really have to get anywhere within the time you have available.
The drive tomorrow will be very long as well. We still aren’t sure of the best way to get to Phoenix once we cross the border. There’s a stinking mountain range all over the state.
We are pleased to be back on the road and thanks for reading along to follow our resumed journey.
Ann