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Day 7 ~ Trailing Back Albuquerque, NM to Foss Lake, OK

Writer's picture: Terese and ThomasTerese and Thomas

Ooook-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...

Rodgers and Hammerstein


Well, who would have thought that we are staying in a state park in Oklahoma that is just beautiful? And who would have thought that we could sit outside (jackets on) and eat our dinner under the stars and not even be cold the weather is so temperate? Not me. I had some crazy idea that Oklahoma was a bit of a wasteland with weather and bugs that would make it difficult to enjoy. Another lesson learned by a Californian who has thought that the plains in the middle of the country offer nothing (but corn). To be fair to me, I had a client who asked me what route we were taking to go back East. A native Oklahoman he said to me "So you'll be driving through Oklahoma. Let me give you some advice; just drive on through". Well, I am charmed by this beautiful little state park on a lake just a tad off of Interstate 40. And here is something that doesn't happen in California ~ in this whole beautiful park there is only one other RV camping here. I like that these trips across country keep humbling me.


The part of Texas that we drove through to get here, Northern Texas, looks exactly like I imagined Texas would. Miles and miles and miles of dusty plains with some cattle scattered here and there. The only big town we drove through was Amarillo and you can't get much of a feel for the soul of a place on the Interstate. So I will need to likely experience a bit more of Texas in my life before I can know if Texas also does not fit the stereotype I grew up with.


One thing we did see a lot of in driving through these particular parts of the three states is rural poverty. We saw rural poverty when we drove Interstate 80 in the summer, but this is different. It has a whole different feeling when the leantos and the old trailers are sitting on a dry piece of land where nothing green can be seen growing anywhere close by. Many of these "towns" we passed were on Indian land and we were both reminded of the way our country continues to marginalize the Native people. We saw a big billboard along the road that read "Indians for Trump". I am reminded of how out of touch we are in our bubble (it's still my bubble even as I move to Virginia!), and I am perplexed as to how we can bridge this giant chasm of understanding.


We are approximately half way (in miles) to our new home. We are over half way in traveling days. The limbo feeling is still there, but like everything, we are getting used to it and the shock of being nowhere is wearing off. Today Hilary asked me if I had sent sheets and a comforter so she could prepare our new bed for our arrival. And she asked if there was a special dinner we wanted her to make for our first night. Kiel FaceTimed us tonight as Tala was having her dinner. She was showing me how she eats bananas and when she saw me she pointed to the phone and gave a big grin. If there is any doubt as to the why of this giant life transition...


Tomorrow Arkansas. Let the humbling continue.

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