The highway took us from Minnesota through Iowa into Kansas, then through a bit of Oklahoma and across the tip of the Texas Panhandle into New Mexico. Our third night of sleep was in Springerfield, Arizona. We had stayed in this same small town and same motel on our way to Arizona last spring. The lady at the motel remembered us and we remembered her. It was good to stay at a place where we knew all was well. That said, all of the motels we stayed at on this trip were just fine. No complaints from me.
From Springerfield, we traveled highway #60 through beautiful mountains. Nature had been busy painting the wildflowers with her favorite colors of yellow, orange, white and purple with a dash of red sprinkled here and there. (I think “Spring” knew I was coming so she got busy painting!!) The wildflowers grew along the roadways and up the mountainsides and wherever they could find a bit of soil to spout a seed. .The scenery was stunningly beautiful. At one point the California Poppies, Arizona’s State Flower, were abundant in their bright orange color. They grew in every crack and crevice they could find. It seemed they were true wildflowers and not planted purposefully. I picked one of the blossoms and pressed it in the book I was reading. Today it is still bright orange so will likely keep its color. I took many photos of those poppies for you. Here is one.
Phil filling the 52-gallon tank on the Suburban. We don’t have to do this very often and what a great ride we get. So comfortable on the road. We do need a new black cloth rear passenger seat so if anyone knows where we can get one, let us know.
Below is one of the many loooooong, straight as an arrow roads we traveled on our way to Sun Lakes, Arizona. And through Kansas and most of Oklahoma, it seemed we were the only ones on the road for as far as we could see. Just one car headed our way. Alone on the road was great driving….quiet and peaceful. We had Willie Nelson’s Willie’s Roadhouse on the radio so we were singing along.
The rain clouds above looked threatening. The sky was darkened, but we never had any rain. I am sure someone got really wet. This photo was taken in the little piece of Oklahoma that sticks out to the West.
In the center photo, which I took in northeastern Arizona, these yellow wildflowers were sprinkled all over the lower mountainside and along the roadways. It was an amazing sight.
The photo on the right is of one of the residential lawns in a small town in Oklahoma. We saw this purple color on almost every lawn from western Kansas to the Texas Panhandle.. We thought it might be Creeping Charlie. I am sure you are all familiar with that “evil” weed. The bloom was a pretty purple color even blooming in the fields and along the roadside. We were not sure if it was Creeping Charlie, but it was the”right color.” Because this area is so dry at this time of year, we thought the plant, whether it was a welcome ground cover or a weed, it would certainly help to hold moisture. in the soil…..if ever raindrops should fall.
Just look at how ovey these Poppies are. How pretty they would be on a hillside. While in Sun Lakes, I bought some seed to plant when I get home so I am hopeful I will have California Poppies in my yard this summer. Wonder why these flowers are not called the Arizona Poppies?
We had never seen semi-cabs being transported like this. The blue one is pulling three cabs and I think there may have been one more that didn’t get in the photo. The “train” was pulling out from a Rest Stop so a quick photo.
This sight surprised us too.. These three cars were rolling along together with tow straps between them. They were just inches apart. Not sure if there was a driver in each vehicle.
One of my favorite Disney characters is this guy….Donald Duck. Phil can sound just like this “cranky” duck. Just love Donald…..Phil too. This is a tray I painted in ceramic class. I didn’t get the “jaw” quite right, but Donald will never know!
In Kansas, they were burning miles and miles of grassland. The smoke could be seen for distances without end. Phil took this photo as I was driving. He may have zoomed it in a bit, but the blaze was intense. We were so surprised to see this happening.
Below is the smoke and small fires right along the highway. The smoke could be seen (literally) for miles on both sides of the road. They are burning off old grasses so new can grow.. We saw only a couple of trucks looking after all of this and that was surprising, but I think they do this every other year so I guess they know what they are doing.
Somewhere in the Texas Panhandle (I think it was), we saw this black mass along the highway and what seemed like miles in the distance. We wondered what it was….then we realized it was a HUGE Feed Lot of Black Angus Cattle. There must have been 10,000 animals behind these fences. My opinion (and this is just my opinion) is that is a terrible way to contain cattle. Having been raised on a farm, this made me sad. Yeah, I know…they are only cattle, but I am sure they are given lots of antibiotics in their feed (which we then eat) to contain disease and lots of food to fatten them up. I am happy to not eat much beef. Just my opinion!!!
The cactus are blooming in Sun Lakes. These photos are from the yards of people living here. The blossoms don’t last long. I had seen pretty white blossoms on one plant and in 2 days, they were gone.
Citrus trees in the back yard where we stayed yielded oranges for us to drink. Later there will be grapefruit and tangelos.
We stayed with a very nice man named Bill. Here he and Phil are picking the oranges. The ones on the bottom of the tree are easy to get, but the ones on top are difficult. Bill has a gadget for grabbing them.
We saw LOTS of American Flags flying as we traveled. A happy sight for us. Both Phil and I honor and respect our Flag. And we are proud to be Americans. Perhaps this will be the summer both of our political parties will decide it would be better for all of us Americans if they work together. And let’s all let them know that is our wish. After all, they are our employees…we pay their salaries with our tax dollars. And I would like to see those tax dollars being spent on things other than investigations.
This morning, April 18, we begin our journey to home in Minnesota. We will “puddle” our way along exploring interesting things, taking photos, meeting people and just plain enjoying the ride.
We wish Phil’s Korean Army Buddy, Tony, the best of everything good. We thank his daughters for helping us maneuver around difficulties. And we thank Bill for his wonderful, generous, kind hospitality in letting us stay with him in his lovely home. We wish him well.
And we wish all of you well…..Anne & Phil