katuah
Adventurer
day 15/16/17: Santa Fe to OKC to Memphis to home
Another brief visit downtown...
DSC00844 by katuah, on Flickr
DSC00843 by katuah, on Flickr
On the way out of Santa Fe, we could not resist stopping at the Mexican pottery warehouse on Cerrillos Road, where we bought random items of basketry, metalwork and complete silliness.
Stuffing them into the Jeep was nearly impossible, but I managed.
April2015_download 1144 by katuah, on Flickr
April2015_download 1143 by katuah, on Flickr
Down past Lamy, a small herd of antelope cruised by. And that was about it. It was almost as if they showed up just to say goodbye, so long, see ya next time. From the moment I got on the interstate, it was like the trip had already ended. I really didn’t care any more about stopping, I just wanted to get home. We drove until it got dark and crashed in a generic room in OKC.
A storm woke me late that night, and I laid awake, considering how little I knew about where we were, and what I would do if a tornado came through. The thunder sounded enormous, a whole different tonal quality than back East or in the mountains. The storm was the leading edge of an enormous blanket of moisture; we awoke in rain, drove in rain, crossed the Mississippi in rain. Within only a few days of our return, I would see reports of record rainfall in the Four Corners area, and tornadoes all along our Midwest route. Apparently the universe conspired in our favor to send us home just in time. If we’d pushed on into the Maze or Escalante, we would have had a thoroughly miserable trip the whole way, rather than a bit of rain at the end.
Our Memphis AirBnB for the night was the only one I’ve ever rented that was flat-out bad. A damp basement with “hipster antique” furniture (read: castoffs), and an ancient gas heater that frankly should have been against the law to have connected. Note: If free wine is a selling point in the listing, there’s a reason. The next morning, we were up and gone before daylight, with nothing but a bunch of gas stops and some bad food before finally pulling in at home.
2000+ miles, tons of photos, and many good memories. With some adaptability, we managed to make the best of our complications, and enjoy what we got to do rather than worrying too much about what we didn’t. I’m sure I’ll go back again (I still want to get down in the Maze!), but at 82 Mom probably won’t, so I am profoundly grateful for the chance for us to experience it together.
Another brief visit downtown...
DSC00844 by katuah, on Flickr
DSC00843 by katuah, on FlickrOn the way out of Santa Fe, we could not resist stopping at the Mexican pottery warehouse on Cerrillos Road, where we bought random items of basketry, metalwork and complete silliness.
Stuffing them into the Jeep was nearly impossible, but I managed.
April2015_download 1144 by katuah, on Flickr
April2015_download 1143 by katuah, on FlickrDown past Lamy, a small herd of antelope cruised by. And that was about it. It was almost as if they showed up just to say goodbye, so long, see ya next time. From the moment I got on the interstate, it was like the trip had already ended. I really didn’t care any more about stopping, I just wanted to get home. We drove until it got dark and crashed in a generic room in OKC.
A storm woke me late that night, and I laid awake, considering how little I knew about where we were, and what I would do if a tornado came through. The thunder sounded enormous, a whole different tonal quality than back East or in the mountains. The storm was the leading edge of an enormous blanket of moisture; we awoke in rain, drove in rain, crossed the Mississippi in rain. Within only a few days of our return, I would see reports of record rainfall in the Four Corners area, and tornadoes all along our Midwest route. Apparently the universe conspired in our favor to send us home just in time. If we’d pushed on into the Maze or Escalante, we would have had a thoroughly miserable trip the whole way, rather than a bit of rain at the end.
Our Memphis AirBnB for the night was the only one I’ve ever rented that was flat-out bad. A damp basement with “hipster antique” furniture (read: castoffs), and an ancient gas heater that frankly should have been against the law to have connected. Note: If free wine is a selling point in the listing, there’s a reason. The next morning, we were up and gone before daylight, with nothing but a bunch of gas stops and some bad food before finally pulling in at home.
2000+ miles, tons of photos, and many good memories. With some adaptability, we managed to make the best of our complications, and enjoy what we got to do rather than worrying too much about what we didn’t. I’m sure I’ll go back again (I still want to get down in the Maze!), but at 82 Mom probably won’t, so I am profoundly grateful for the chance for us to experience it together.
