photos by Elaine A. Russell
...at least when you are on I-40. My niece was amazed when I visited her in Landisville, PA because my directions from her house to ABQ all fit on one page. This is because (in part at least) because you are on I-40 for over 500 miles. Kinda like the song by the Proclaimers ...
So -- my first stops were at the Cherokee Trading Posts in Oklahoma. There were 3 of them in a row.. somewhere in the middle of Oklahoma. Typical kitchy travel stuff. ... with tons of authentic and really nice stuff in the mix. I saw porcelain dolls, native flutes, moccasins, leather travel bags, taxidermy rattler snakes, tons of jewelry.....wow. Near the massive gift shops were always a restaurant (which I didn't go to) and a park which sported real live buffalo. Such beautiful creatures ! Sabrina even laid down next to the biggest one of them all (course, separated by a fence)... but it was amazing.
This was my major stop for the day.. and Brina and I took our time looking thru everything.
An early lunch was spent at a Braum's. I think this is a midwest type of chain... famous for it's burgers and old fashioned ice cream. They have a deal where you can get a bag full of burgers for only 5 bucks. I remember a few years ago when Michael went with me on this trip. He ate 2 bags of burgers... and washed them down with thick milkshakes.
(and then slept for a couple of hours )
Oklahoma scenery is full of farm land, fields, and the reddest dirt I have ever seen in my life. It is almost like watching super Technicolor tv when you see the bright green of the grass next to the bright red of the dirt. I even saw a couple ponds that could fool you into thinking they were pools of blood.
Texas. Ah Texas. You'd think there were be one ranch close to I-40 with Longhorn cattle.. but no. I think the people of Texas should make this a tourist stop. I for one, would like to see a Longhorn close up. Brina and I stopped for a drink somewhere close to Amarillo. We laid down in grass of a McDonald's and tried to cool off. I felt like the air conditioning wasn't working.. but in retrospect.. I think that it's just that it was 95 degrees outside... and I couldn't get cool enough.
Around 3-4pm, we hit the border to New Mexico. Almost immediately, the topography changes from totally flat .. to starting to get hilly and with arroyos. We saw 3 trains go by when we were near Cuervo, NM (one of my fav places)-- I just love trains. We stopped for gas in Santa Rosa, and a pit stop at a very skanky place that I will not mention. We also saw a herd of what looked like gazelles ! feasting on the grasslands fresh with rain.
We encountered traffic congestion to the west of the Sandias... there is alot of construction going on, couple with a fender bender... made life a little complicated. If you've never seen the Sandia Mountains.. I would consider it a must. They are the most awesome jutting monoliths of mountains... full of pine trees and deer.
By 7:30 I was home. I had been craving ice cream since Texas.. so the whole family went out to Coldstone for a treat !
So -- my first stops were at the Cherokee Trading Posts in Oklahoma. There were 3 of them in a row.. somewhere in the middle of Oklahoma. Typical kitchy travel stuff. ... with tons of authentic and really nice stuff in the mix. I saw porcelain dolls, native flutes, moccasins, leather travel bags, taxidermy rattler snakes, tons of jewelry.....wow. Near the massive gift shops were always a restaurant (which I didn't go to) and a park which sported real live buffalo. Such beautiful creatures ! Sabrina even laid down next to the biggest one of them all (course, separated by a fence)... but it was amazing.
This was my major stop for the day.. and Brina and I took our time looking thru everything.
An early lunch was spent at a Braum's. I think this is a midwest type of chain... famous for it's burgers and old fashioned ice cream. They have a deal where you can get a bag full of burgers for only 5 bucks. I remember a few years ago when Michael went with me on this trip. He ate 2 bags of burgers... and washed them down with thick milkshakes.
(and then slept for a couple of hours )
Oklahoma scenery is full of farm land, fields, and the reddest dirt I have ever seen in my life. It is almost like watching super Technicolor tv when you see the bright green of the grass next to the bright red of the dirt. I even saw a couple ponds that could fool you into thinking they were pools of blood.
Texas. Ah Texas. You'd think there were be one ranch close to I-40 with Longhorn cattle.. but no. I think the people of Texas should make this a tourist stop. I for one, would like to see a Longhorn close up. Brina and I stopped for a drink somewhere close to Amarillo. We laid down in grass of a McDonald's and tried to cool off. I felt like the air conditioning wasn't working.. but in retrospect.. I think that it's just that it was 95 degrees outside... and I couldn't get cool enough.
Around 3-4pm, we hit the border to New Mexico. Almost immediately, the topography changes from totally flat .. to starting to get hilly and with arroyos. We saw 3 trains go by when we were near Cuervo, NM (one of my fav places)-- I just love trains. We stopped for gas in Santa Rosa, and a pit stop at a very skanky place that I will not mention. We also saw a herd of what looked like gazelles ! feasting on the grasslands fresh with rain.
We encountered traffic congestion to the west of the Sandias... there is alot of construction going on, couple with a fender bender... made life a little complicated. If you've never seen the Sandia Mountains.. I would consider it a must. They are the most awesome jutting monoliths of mountains... full of pine trees and deer.
By 7:30 I was home. I had been craving ice cream since Texas.. so the whole family went out to Coldstone for a treat !