Moab,
Utah/Bill Burke '04 Trip
OK, before I begin, here's my disclaimer:
This is my account of the journey. The opinions
expressed in this article may not be fully representative
of the rest of the folks traveling with me or the HLRC
blah blah blah...
Web Dood
Friday, March 26th, 7:30AM.
Doug, Josh,
Angie, S pecial
Ed and I headed
out of Houston at 3:30PM on Thursday and drove north
towards somewhere. After several bio breaks and the
sit-in
dinner at
Chick-Filet, we ended up in Camp Arrowhead just before
Wichita Falls, TX. We had a nice 21mph tail-wind to
help us along our way (the weather band told us that).
For the most part it was an uneventful
drive.
We
arrived at the campsite (N33°45.485', W098°23.233')
at 11:00PM and set up camp in the dark... in the 21mph
wind...
but
it
didn't take long for me to fall asleep. I slept like
a brick until around 4:30AM when the coyotes started
to howl and howl and howl.
 After
they left, I hadn't realized how the wind was drowning
out the sound
from the engine of the pump-jack we didn't see when
we set
up camp in the dark--
thump. Thump. THUMP. THUMP! THUMP!!
THUMP!!!!!
All's well, we're up and all packed up.
Part of the conversation on the CBs on
the drive up was about things we forgot to bring/do.
We
all managed
to forget firewood. I forgot to put the Expedition
Exchange stickers
on my rig, though I did call Steve
McDonald and he's
going to bring them when he heads out on Saturday.
Similarly, Doug forgot his "bug-out bag." A
call to
Sergio who is heading
out on Saturday should fix that too. Nathan
Hindman from Pangaea
Expeditions is also sending some stickers to the
Big Horn Lodge in Moab.
So far things are good. I'm averaging
about 13mpg even loaded down. I think the tail wind
is helping. Gas has also not been too expensive yet--$1.77
for premium.
Friday, March 26th, 10:30AM.
Well, we left the camp ground and sure
enough, we got pulled over. We were told by the Texas
Parks folks that there was no one at the camp site
until 9:00AM. Long story short--we had to go back and
pay the $5 per car and $2 per person. (Why is it when
we go on these adventures there is always an altercation
with local law enforcement?)
 Anyway,
we just left Quanah, TX. Special Ed is driving for
a bit, so I have time for an update.
We stopped at Allsup's Chuck Wagon (a gas station).
Apparently there is something called a "Pancake
on a stick." I didn't know such a thing existed;
I do now.
 In
addition to the pancake on a stick, they had a corn
dog special for $1.99. A "Tallsup" is a 32
ounce drink. Ken, Steve, Mary, Kai and Sergio... you
may want to stop and take advantage of this deal!
 To
kinda help you get a real feeling for the Allsup's,
I thought this plunger sums it up.
I mean... I mean...
I mean... why? Why is there a 5' handle on the plunger?
Friday, March 26th, 11:30AM. Memphis, TX. I will
be damned if we did not see Barney. As soon as we pulled
into town,
there he was. He immediately u-turned and followed
us all the way through town in his brand new black
Mustang
GT
patrol
car...
cigarette
and all... probably a Natural Lite can in the back--we
didn't stop to ask.
Erik and/or Micah: you may need to share
this story with the new members in the club via our
Yahoo Group (hehe). Anyway, we're on the road again and I
am getting kinda car sick looking at the screen.
 Friday, March 26th, 3:00PM
(2:00PM New Mexico time)
Lots
more driving. We are finally in New Mexico... just
across the border having lunch
at the visitor center.
 The
wind is no longer our friend. It's a cross wind,
though slightly in our
face. I'm assuming the gas mileage has turned to
crap, but I haven't filled up lately.
Josh's
CB wasn't getting the reception he shoulda been
getting with his current antenna,
so at the last truck stop, Josh bought a new antenna.
It's approximately 87' long, but we can hear him
now (so can aliens).
We're going to eat lunch. Here's some
of the sites from the visitor's center:
We also need to take a second to thank the folks
that got us here. I'll start with Land Rover Houston
(sticker will be here soon). Thanks for the quick
replacement of my drive shaft! We also need to thank
these guys:
Cheesy face on purpose!
Next
Page>>
Back to Previous
Page
|
5090 Richmond Ave. #313 
