Today was a breezy drive, the wind buffeting us around. I could imagine the wind howling across the prairies, constant and relentless, as described in literature. We watched a program on the dust bowl years ago, and the wind literally drove a woman insane. Why would anyone want to live here I wondered... it is flat as far as one can see to the horizon making it a perfect corridor for wind.Ginny steered us back on to I-40 which circled the south end of Oklahoma City.
The red soil in this region fascinated me. It looked almost unreal. Even the smaller rivers and lakes were a deep red color.
At one point, there were gigantic American flags along the highway. We were approaching Tinker Air Force Base. The flags were also buffeted by the strong winds today.
We saw Oklahoma City ahead of us.
Once we navigated towards Amarillo, Ginny announced: Continue on this road for 264 miles. It was going to be another loooooong day of driving.
This time, we had Alexander McCall Smith entertaining us with his The No1 Ladies Detective Agency. Michael had not yet read Blue Shoes and Happiness and I never mind hearing it again.
We continued past fields, under blue windy skies.
This sign announced that we were driving along the Chisholm Trail, a trail used by cowboys to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. I couldn't imagine in what shape these poor cattle arrived after that long march.
Here are more photos of the view from my buddy seat as we continued to cross to the other side of Oklahoma -
Windmills suddenly began appearing, and with the wind we had today,
it is a perfect spot for them.
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 The red soil continued, a bright contrast to the surrounding dry vegetation and green fields.
I noticed that the houses we saw are all one-storey.
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We were reminded several times that we were traveling along historic Route 66 along this stretch of highway. We traveled along the section from Kingman to Oatman twelve years ago. One day we hope to travel all the way from Chicago.
At one point, I was surprised to see cotton fields in this area.
Except for a few rises, the topography remained flat, and the landscape grew more dry.
It took three hours to drive across Oklahoma from Oklahoma City to the Texas border. The winds did slow us down somewhat, and also did not do the mileage much good.
We were planning to stop at a rest stop just before the border but it was closed. We had to drive almost 20 more miles before being able to pull off the road at a gas station. This part of Texas seems desolate, with so many abandoned gas stations and diners along the highway.
But at least the wind was less severe along this stretch.
Sections reminded me of Eastern Washington, particularly around the Columbia Gorge, except without our river.
We have seen many different churches along the highway, all denominations I do not recognize. Several churches were as grand and elaborate as any European cathedral. Others were smaller as was this one in the picture, except for the Texan-sized cross on its grounds. It certainly was difficult to miss.
We covered miles of ranches, seeing our first longhorn cattle. There were also silos, windmills, and an interesting crop that I could not identify. The ruddy tops of the plant looked pretty, contrasting with the bright green stalks. Beyond them, there were more cotton fields, a surprise to see them here.
Two hours later, we were approaching the outskirts of Amarillo. It seemed that suddenly out of the vast nothingness we had driven through, a bustling large city manifested. Situated in the northern "square" between Oklahoma and New Mexico, Amarillo is located at the intersection of the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe lines. In the late 19th Century, Amarillo was a railhead for the cattle drives. Today, it remains a major cattle feeding and shipping town, hence the huge rail yards on either side of the highway as we drove past.
Originally, Amarillo was called Oneida when it was established as a town in 1887. It was renamed shortly afterwards by majority rule. Amarillo means "yellow" in Spanish, more than likely because of the gold-colored soil surrounding Amarillo Creek. Apparently when the name changed, many residents painted their houses a yellow hue.
At exit 66, we pulled off I-40 and straight into a Love's Gas to fill up. Love's are similar to Flying J's.
Our RV Park was just a few hundred yards further along. Oasis RV Resort is our oasis after today's 284-mile drive in strong wind.
You know the drill - we set up, made tea, logged on to check emails. Before the sun went down, we walked around the park which is, in true Texan style, huge with 192 spots.
I found out that we are at an elevation of 3,672 feet here. It must have been a very gradual increase across the prairies because we did not climb steep grades.
Judging by the front desk personnel, we have definitely left southern charm behind us. The two women were quite curt - not rude or unfriendly, simply firing questions and commands at us as if firing bullets.
The sunset tonight was very pretty, with pink fluffy clouds.
We had dinner, easy left overs, accompanied by a bottle of Shock Top Honey Bourbon Wheat. I think this will become my favorite beer....
Tomorrow will be another long day of driving. Santa Fe is our next destination. I have wanted to see Santa Fe and hopefully tomorrow I will. What Michael does not realize is that there are numerous quilt shops and quilt galleries in Santa Fe.