THE DRIVE BACK HOME

NEW ORLEANS TO SEATTLE

 

Monday, October 2, 2023

They love their
beef in Nebraska

So here we are at Farewell Bend State Park, just north of Ontario, Oregon, with one day to go to get back home. Back in New Orleans, we thought the third leg of our Mississippi River Road trip would take five lengthy days—instead it will take eleven sometimes trying days. Several of the added days are due to avoiding interstates and instead taking the two-lane highways laced with quaint small towns, and following the roadways of our favorite guide book, Road Trips USA. We also took in quite a number of sights along the way and Roger did manage to stop at (quite) a few historical points.
The Broken Leaf Spring

Another reason for taking longer was a blessedly brief one. As we were driving through Liberal, Kansas, on our way to Dorothy’s (of Wizard of Oz fame) House, a passing motorist alerted us that we were spewing sparks and smoke from our trailer. Our right leaf spring had just broken. But the good news was that a trailer repair shop was just two miles away. But then the bad news was that when we tried to drive there, the tire, rubbing on the trailer wheel well, blew apart. But the the good news was that we could immediately pull into an empty motel parking lot. But the best good news was that Ryan Hills, owner of the shop,

Lynne and Salty with
Dorothy and Toto

made an exception and did a highway repair for us, and two hours later we were on our way.

Incidentally Liberal, Kansas is a lovely mid America town, but is right smack in one of those red state areas. Perhaps they should rename it Conservative, Kansas?

Driving through different parts of the country does indeed expand one’s horizons. For example, we noted that in Mississippi and Louisiana and even Eastern Texas, the largest economic endeavors seemed to be Churches and the second most numerous endeavors looked to be penitentiaries. I doubt these two are related but that certainly was our view from the roads off the beaten track.

Another observation we made was that the most aggressive drivers encountered on our trip were those in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. This was pointedly reinforced as we waited  for the light in the Lufkin, a small town in East Texas. Some yahoo to our right raced to make the yellow-now red light, and, at the same time, another yahoo in the lane right next to ours, tromped on the gas as soon as the light went green. KAPOW!! Both vehicles lifted off the ground as they smashed into each other. Surprisingly, a policeman was entering the intersection on our left and within 45 seconds had the intersection  blocked and took charge. We were able to turn left and scoot away, but I doubt it went down well for with either driver. Wow--driving etiquette, Texas style!

We were really looking forward to seeing one of our country’s most popular National Parks

Autumn in the Tetons

—Grand Teton. Unfortunately, this turned out to perhaps our most disappointing day. Yes, the mountains are majestic, and certainly, the bright yellow autumnal show from the Aspens was lovely. But there are simply WAY too many people trying to crowd though the park. And then the rain came just as we took in Jackson and Jenny lakes; the lodge we picked for lunch didn’t allow RVs in their lot; the alternative restaurants one and two had enormous long waiting lines; dogs are not allowed anywhere on the trails; and to top it off, Roger decided to drive over Teton Pass with its 10% grades, way too much for our Xterra and trailer. We made it and along the way sighted three moose in addition to the many deer seen earlier, but sigh…
3 Mule Deer--Aren't they cute?

But our Grand Teton disappointment was offset by the surprisingly impressive (smaller) parks at Scotts Bluff and Craters of the Moon, among others. And of course, it was the numerous small-town contacts that really made our trip the special adventure it has been. We have a great country and it has been our good fortune to have toured a small slice of it.                                           

On back to Liberal, Kansas—as Dorothy said, “There is no place like Home” and we are glad to almost be there.

Full moon over Texas

Happy Trails,

 

Roger, Lynne, and Salty

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