Friday, June 16, 2017, Move to Shawnee, OK

We drove from the Flying J to Shawnee, OK, for the American Coach Association National pre-Rally. It was almost a boring drive, just 163.4 miles (82,966.6 miles total) of straight, level Interstate highway. Surprise, there were already dozens of American Coaches parked and ready for the rally! We were surprised because we thought we were not supposed to arrive before the 16th.

Our assigned site was unavailable because our neighbor parked over the line and refused to move. It was quickly resolved and we got settled in. Sam and I did our usual thing and explored our new digs. I noticed a German Shepard at a site ahead of us. I said to Sam "let's just move along" but his tags jingled which alerted the big unleashed dog. I will say I witnessed the most sudden and vicious attack I could have ever imagined. That dog covered 30 feet in less than a second and pounced on Sam. Sam had enough time to turn away before the 80 pounds of fur covered razor blades clamped down on him. I was able to get him away before a second bite but the damage was already done.

Sam was in so much pain. I carried him home and Joani found a vet. Their examination recommended a pet hospital emergency room. Eight hours later, Sam was recovering from the anesthesia and we headed home with a bunch of prescriptions and instructions to help him get through the next few weeks. The drains were a surprise and gave him a real Frankenstein look. We were so relieved to get him home knowing he would be alright.

 The damage was four deep punctures and two one inch lacerations (and all wounds communicate - a new term for me.) The good news was - no broken bones and the abdomen wasn't punctured.

Look at that face!  Is he thinking "What's going on?!" or "Look, Mom, I'm standing!"

Sam wouldn't eat or drink water and his pain pills needed food in his stomach to work. Believe it or not, he even turned his nose up to bacon! For some reason, bits of ham steak he found irresistible and the pills went down right along with it. He still would not drink water. We remembered a few years ago when he drank from a stream which resulted in stomach problems, the vet recommended pureed pumpkin and he loved it. We had a can so Joani gave that a shot and, hallelujah, he gobbled it up.

Our good friend, Loren, suggested wet food if he wouldn't drink. It worked like a charm! Joani started with a little water in the pumpkin and he ate it up. She then progressed to just a little pumpkin and a lot of water. Someone should market "pumpkin soup" for dogs!

Update: It's Sunday - two days later - and Sam is so much better!  He is back to his "wiggle butt" self. Walking like nothing was wrong. Jumping on the couch (despite our efforts otherwise). Tomorrow he gets the tubes removed.

Thursday, June 15, 2017, Flying J and our anniversary

Well, today was a special day - it was moving day. We drove 125 miles (82,803.2 miles total) to Sayre, OK, and stopped at another Flying J for the night. More importantly, it was our 44th wedding anniversary and we spent it at a truck stop. Now that's special, wouldn't you say?

Joani surprised me with this one - digging up photos from the year we were married (1973) - but how can I object on our anniversary. So I'll just say everything below is her idea.

Our actual wedding pictures have yet to be digitized, but years ago David took some of our favorite slides and made a jig that allowed him to take a photo of a slide (way before Amazon sold such a thing) (way, way before Amazon existed).

This was a cabin in the Smokies that my best friend's grandparents allowed us to use.  It was a shoe-box, but we all managed to fit and, wow, such fond memories. (We are the newlyweds on the far right.)

 The cabin was bigger on the inside than on the outside!. (There we are on the far right again.)

 I love this photo!  (David is second from the left in the peacoat.) Where are the girls? We are back at the cabin playing cards and drinking way too much cherry wine. (Tennessee's legal drinking age in 1973 was 18. I had just turned 18 a few months prior.)

David is in the middle.  He wore glasses with newfangled photochromic lenses. Hey, aviators are back in style!

This was my best friend from high school, Debbie, and matron of honor at our wedding.

 Yes, this is how we chose to spend our honeymoon - camping in Cades Cove, TN, with friends.  So I guess it should be no surprise that we would spend an anniversary in a Flying J Truck Plaza!

 That's my man, 45 years ago!  Besides a brilliant mind, come on, he's a hunk!
(David is not happy about this caption!)

This is Rita, my best friend from the age of 12, when I lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  She traveled all the way to Hendersonville, TN, to be my bridesmaid.

Doesn't everyone play double solitaire on their honeymoon? Gotta love the candle in the beer bottle!

Tuesday, June 13. 2017, Palo Duro State Park

Just a short drive from Amarillo, TX, was the very well reviewed Palo Duro State Park. We thought about just leaving it for our next time through the area since we had just the visited the Grand Canyon. I mean, how could you top that? It was so hot that hiking the dog-friendly trails was not an option, but we decided that we should at least take a little driving tour.

The canyon walls were loaded with impressive color with the various sedimentary layers exposed by centuries of erosion. 

When we realized we were crossing the Red River, we had to wonder if this was the Red River Valley memorialized in the old western song. Joani's subsequent research seemed to indicate it was not the case.

I do not know why the rocks below made me think of The Flintstones. I guess the relatively flat slabs of rock reminded me of the roofs in Bedrock.

Lighthouse Rock, the park's most famous landmark (almost any search of the park will show beautiful views of this rock formation) was more than a three-mile hike (one way) from the road. One of the Rangers said we really should start that hike much earlier in the day. I thought it would also be better on a day where the temperature was not in the triple digits. It was just barely visible from one of the overlooks and without a guide, I might have missed it completely. See it there just below the horizon in the picture below?

(Lighthouse Rock is down 1/5th and over 1/3rd of the  - good luck!)

From three miles away, the best I could do was this grainy, low contrast shot that certainly did not do it justice.

Castle Peak is lower left and Lighthouse Rock is upper right.

Monday, June 12, 2017, Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo Botanical Gardens

The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX, was commissioned by Stanley Marsh 3 in 1974. (He thought III was too pretentious.) He hired a group of artists from San Francisco, known as the Ant Farm. The cars were originally installed on his property two miles to the east, but that property became too valuable as Amarillo grew. The cars were relocated in 1997. 

The installation was to be an homage to the evolution of Cadillac tailfins. The cars range from 1948 to 1963 (some say 1964).

Leaving your mark with a can of spray paint is not just okay, it is encouraged, as long as you don't try to leave an advertisement - that requires permission from the artists (although, they disbanded in the late 70s.)

As someone was leaving, they handed David their spray can that still had a little fluorescent pink paint waiting to record David's wishes.  He added DP + JG (my maiden name was Goodman) to the layers of latex.

The cars were supposed to be tilted at exactly the same angle as the faces of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, in Cairo, Egypt - 52 degrees.

Snap a picture fast because in an hour it will have another layer of latex over your artwork.

A church group on their way to Colorado from Harlingen, TX. They climbed aboard two of the colorful cars for what I am sure was a great picture among many they will cherish from their trip.

We headed, next, to the Amarillo Botanical Gardens. We were a little early, but the gardens were next to a park where Sam met his first box turtle. He was curious but cautious - not a bad combination.

Sam was curious, but when the Box turtle moved, Sam jumped back as if he was goosed.

The low early morning sun makes for a great "Texas Howdy" shadow wave.

Nothing ever explained the connection between a violin playing frog and the gardens, so it must have just been a bit of whimsy. I think they could have added some nice Mozart music, violin solos, obviously, on some outdoor speakers.

The beautiful flowers have to speak for themselves because so many were left unidentified.

Inside the conservatory were the exotic plants. I suppose the waterfall feature helped maintain the high humidity. It was also home to two lucky ducks who I am sure were very pampered. I learned too late the conservatory was also home to a lot of mosquitos.

This is a banana flower. The dark red (8" long and 5" wide) bud is the male flower.

The white (2-3" long) female flowers are what will eventually become bananas. A banana tree is not a tree at all, it is actually an herb, distantly related to ginger. Technically the banana is a berry.

We both loved the exquisite mosaic tile work in another of the outdoor gardens. I would guess it was at least 20 feet long and 9 feet high.

 "Sentinel of the Canyon" 2008, by Kenneth and Tarrie Sue Pirtle

Sunday, June 11, 2017, Big Texan Steak Ranch

R. J. “Bob” Lee opened the original Big Texan Steak House in 1960 on Route 66. In the early 1970s, Interstate 40 replaced Route 66. Bob saw the writing on the wall and bought property along the new interstate where he built a bigger and better Big Texan Steak Ranch (and an RV Park).

We could have been chauffeured (starting at 4 o'clock) to the Big Texan for dinner in one of the Longhorn limos the RV park maintained for that sole purpose. We opted, instead, to go for a late lunch and avoid the crowds.

We watched many a neighbor accept their free ride to dinner, but we opted to drive the 1 mile ourselves.

Surprise! There was still quite a large crowd at 2 in the afternoon, but we were quickly seated in the huge two-story dining hall.

The 72 oz challenge is the Big Texan's claim to fame. The current champion is 35-year-old Molly Schuyler, a 120-pound mom-of-four. She managed to eat three 72 oz. steaks (13.5 pounds total), 9 shrimp, three salads, three potatoes, and 3 rolls in exactly 20 minutes. Don't believe it? There's video, but beware, it's not pretty.

One guy was taking the 72-ounce challenge. I did not realize it meant sitting at a raised table fully on display for the entire restaurant. As he was choking down that huge chunk of meaty goodness, people would walk right up and snap a picture or have a little chat. This guy, by the way, did not win the challenge which also included a salad, large baked potato, 3 shrimp and bread. That meant he left the table with a to-go box and a $72 bill.

To be honest, we are not sure whether he won or lost.  There was clapping when the clock ran out, but his name is not on the "challenge" board (and he left with a to-go box.)  Maybe they only update the board once a month, in which case, we won't be sure for a while.

Joani had 8 ounces of a beautifully rare prime rib. I had the smoked brisket and ribs, maybe eight to ten ounces total and I couldn't finish it - the challenge would not be for me!

Friday, June 9, 2017, Jack Sisemore's Traveland RV Museum, Amarillo, TX

Amarillo was home to the oldest RV dealership in Texas, Jack Sisemore's Traveland. Joani's research found that Traveland was also home to a highly regarded RV museum (with free admission). That was enough to justify a visit, but I also wanted to check their parts department for several small things I had been trying, unsuccessfully, to get for some time from Camping World. As it turned out, Jack had exactly everything I was trying to find.

One of the salesmen led us out back to a separate building where we were free to explore the museum exhibits on our own. Having seen the RV Museum Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN, we were not expecting too much. WOW! We were very much impressed. Make sure you visit if you are ever in the area - what a trip down memory lane.

Jack and Trent, his son, have been collecting rare and unique RVs and motorcycles for almost 30 years. Each item was nicely restored and displayed. He even recreated the Standard Oil Company service station where he began his business in 1963. I hate to admit it, but a lot of it looked very familiar - I worked in a Shell station for a few years in the late 60's. I guess that means I'm getting old when I see stuff from my youth in a museum.

This 1935 Torpedo is the worlds oldest Airstream. It was owned by the Holman family for 81 years.

 This 1948 Flexible bus was modified for the Robin Williams movie "RV" and used by the Gornike family in the movie.

 Can't you just see Jeff Daniels behind the wheel? No? You need to watch the movie again.

This 1975 Itasca was the 1st Itasca Motorhome ever built - Serial #1. It was the prototype for Itasca.

 It was in Winnebago's Welcome Center for over 20 years. It has 6,000 original miles and is in brand new condition.

This 1955 (the year I was born) Airstream was found in Santa Barbara, CA. The stove, refrigerator, and bathroom have never been used.

  The curtains and bedspread are original.

The A&W drive-in menu board brought back a lot of fond memories from the late 50's and early 60's for both of us. A frosty mug of root beer was quite a treat back then.

The Coleman Desert Water Bag triggered memories of camping when I was probably no more than 10 years old. The slightly porous material would sweat and evaporative cooling would provide us with a nice cool drink. There was also an Argus camera like my dad had and a picnic basket that was virtually identical to the one our family packed for lots of outings.

We spent almost an hour wandering through the displays. I forgot to mention the museum was pet-friendly, so Sam was right there with us, tail wagging, even though he was less moved by all of the nostalgia.

Back in the campground we saw this on a late afternoon walk and had to snap a picture. This was based on a line in the Disney version of Robin Hood, a favorite of our kids (and Joani) when they were very young.  It seemed like a very nostalgic kind of day.

This put a smile on my face.  (My kids will know why.)

Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day!