Friday, June 26, Early Departure and Late Arrival

Well. Before we retired last night, we all discussed our timetable for departure from our Rio Grande cabin hideaway. K was really concerned about their furry baby, Jaxon, because of the paw injury. B already has a driving commitment for next Monday -- he has to go to H-town to oversee a roofing job. D wanted some extra "down time" at home before I return to the workplace on Monday. Sooooooooooo, we decided to get up early this morning and drive straight through to home. Our week at the cabin isn't up until 11:00 Saturday morning, but all things considered and agreed upon, we left at 6:30 a.m. (7:30 Texas time).

I took some photos of the early morning landscape because the clouds were so low as we drove out. In fact, there was so much cloud cover around the little town of Creede, that you couldn't even see the little town of Creede and definitely not the mountains behind it. We've never seen it like that before -- could it be because we've never driven around the area so early before?!

The morning drive was uneventful. #2 drove, K slept, and Dear and I silently brought up the rear. (None of us are morning people, can you tell?) At 8:00, I was getting grumbly in the tumbly just as we were cruising into Monte Vista. A quick drive-through at Mickey-D's for me and #2 (the others weren't grumbly yet) and we were back on the 160 toward Walsenburg, Raton, Dalhart, Dumas and Amarillo.

We made it to Raton by 10:30 (11:30 TX time, but still breakfast time in NM) and stopped at Sonic to get a little something for K and Dear to gnosh on since they hadn't partaken at the McD's stop. They didn't want breakfast fare, and Sonic was the only thing around that was serving something other than breakfast fare. Food, potty break and gas fill-up took about 30 minutes and we headed southeast again. This is where it got interesting.

#2 has always been a daredevil (thus accounting for many of my gray hairs -- which are cleverly disguised every 2-3 months by Jeff at One Fine Day or by #3 if I can't afford Jeff at One Fine Day at the designated time) and especially when driving. Remember the jeeping activities earlier in the week? Anyway, while K and I dozed, #2 hit 100 mph a couple of times on the 2-lane road between Raton and Dalhart. I'm sure it was only in a passing zone and then only for a nanosecond each time, but I wasn't awake for the rush and I lived to write about it. So. No harm done. Right?

Somewhere between Dalhart and Dumas (home sweet Texas!), K developed a craving for a Wendy's chicken sandwich and there weren't any Wendy's restaurants until we got to Amarillo. So she snacked on Wheat Thins and gummy bears (yes, she's pregnant -- check out the baby bump on some of the pictures!) until we pulled into the first Wendy's the GPS could find. It was 2:30 and home was just 6 hours away.

After lunch, we all switched places in the Pilot and Dear took over the driving duties. I did some crocheting and B&K lounged in the back seat. We stopped for gas somewhere (I forget the name of the place -- Qanah maybe?) and we all headed for the restrooms, which were of the outside-the-building ilk. Interesting though, the doors to each restroom locked from BOTH sides. Hmmm.

After Dear got the Pilot filled up, he headed for the facility and B sneaked behind him and locked the door from the OUTSIDE. #2 came back to the Pilot laughing hysterically until he saw a geezer drive up and get in line to use the restroom. Rats! So much for locking Dear in the can. It was a fun thought, son. For you anyway. I'm not convinced that Dear would have been amused.

That's pretty much the highlight of the trip home. We pulled into B&K's driveway at 8:30 -- a mere 13 hours after leaving our Colorado haven. *sigh* The temperature in Midlo was 102.

We unpacked the Pilot, repacked Dear's car, said our goodbyes to #2&K&the furries, and headed for Seneca Drive. After a quick detour to Taco Casa (LOVE their super tostadas!), we caught sight of the Jones homestead at 9:30. More unpacking of the vehicle -- how do we always end up with more than we took? -- squdges for #3, a phone call to tell Granny that we're home, a walk-through inspection of the house and yard to make sure everything's still in working condition, and a sigh of content to be home.

Another road trip for the books -- or blog, as the case may be. We're still technically on vacation, so we won't be announcing our arrival to the general public for a couple of days. But we are home safe and sound, rested and ready for the next challenge. Dear has another week off, but I go back to work Monday, we start rehearsals for our next show Monday night, and I still have another week of Finance class to get through. Before getting totally immersed in the routine, though, we'll enjoy some pool time and maybe take in a couple of movies at the theater.

Thanks for reading along. I know you couldn't really feel the cool weather or hear the gurgle of the river as it rushed by or actually see the beauty of the majestic Colorado Rockies, but I hope my ramblings took you to a quiet, serene and sometimes funny place for just a few minutes. 'Til next time...

ttfn