Second Leg

Traveled today from Russellville, AR to Amarillo, TX. 521 Miles. 8 and one half hours. I did have an issue with the car. It would seem that at the high temperature of 70 Mph for 8 + hours, the viscosity of the oil is extremely thin so that it loses a good bit when I stop. I put in two quarts this morning and then picked-up three more at a Wal-Mart after filling the tank. I probably got the same mileage from the gas as I did the day before. The trip was infinitely easier due to little traffic on I-40. Minus going through the construction and big city mess of Oklahoma City, the trip was rather uneventful. I did find that I was becoming more in tune to driving all day. In that regard I enjoyed the trip more. There was a sense of solitude on this leg of the journey as well. The shift in landscape was more dramatic today as Oklahoma let into Texas. The area I traveled through at first was farmland, which eventually gave way to blackened desert. It did appear as through a fire has swept through in the last year, blackening the earth.

I ate at La Fiesta Grande this evening. I got the Baracoa Dinner special, which was basically make your own pulled beef tacos. I discovered when I arrived back at the hotel that there was no plastic ware, but that was fine since I found a fork in the lobby at the free breakfast area, and because I had five beers and ordered the meal and only got charged $12.89. I'm pretty sure that this was due to the fact that the bartnder was ovewhelmed by a woman and her brood that would order 8 frozen margaritas, 6 virgin, at a time and wonder why it took so long to make them.

I'll be driving across the entire state of New Mexico tomorrow. I'll probably stay somewhere outside of Flagstaff instead of going straight to my friends place in Chandler, because I've found that after 500 miles, my mind becomes numb. Chandler is 772 miles form where I currently am.

I’m currently watching ELECTRA and feeling very sorry for everyone involved.

Oh yeah, I made a movie out of boredom. Youtube cut off the end, but you get the idea.

Thanks to a question from Anne, below is a photo of what was in the care package given to me by Breena, Mike, Angie and Bill.