Memorial Day in OKC

Good day to all,

I’m in Oklahoma City this Memorial Day. After spending the night in the Texas panhandle city of Amarillo, or Yellow in Spanish, the scenery has certinately changed from the deserts and mountains of the western part of this tour to the plains and rolling hills.

After crossing the New Mexico border into Texas, the drive and weather transformed somewhat. I grew up seeing mountain ranges in every direction I looked, but I never experienced flat lands in person. Nothing taller than the countless wind turbans that peppered the landscape, except maybe a grain silo or two. As far as I could see the land looked the same. If it wasn’t for the compass on my rearview mirror I wouldn’t have had a point of reference to guide myself at mid-day. That was the Texas panhandle portion of the drive. The sky was also dark and gloomy and the winds were gusting to the point of making the big rigs sway a bit. The radio alerted drivers with storm warnings and possible tornado watches, a far cry from what Im used to in Arizona! Okay, Phoenix gets a Haboob a couple times a year but I’m sure it’s nothing like a twister or cyclone! Besides those Sun Valley snobs deserve a little dirt in their face once in a while! Ha-ha! J.K.!

Now I’m in OKC waiting for the phone to ring or an email to come through for work tomorrow. Being a holiday I figured the picking would be slim for today. I did inquire for a couple of gigs but I received no answer. Even for a big city like this, the posting are few. Kinda nervous about tomorrow since now I’m also battling the weather conditions here in the state. The forecast for the rest of the week is stormy with a chance of severe conditions, including tornados! I was run out of Colorado for the same reason so I’m hanging on here at the KOA campgrounds hoping for the best. I suppose I could swing around these parts also on the back side of the tour as I come through Little Rock in a few months, but I prefer not to skip anymore stop if at all possible. The more I do that, the more I will likely be digging holes in the cold and snow later on down the line!

I do look forward to my next stop in Dallas where my one and only daughter Vanessa lives. I plan to stay with her a few days since I haven’t seen much of her the last ten years or so. As I look ahead to that stop, the postings are plentiful and vary in skills required.

I also wanted to mention a few of the apps I use quite often with my travels. Some, if not all of you are familiar with most of these and since this is an internet tour, I can’t imagine not having access to these great tools. They have made my trip so much easier, especially not being familiar with most of the miles I’ve travelled already and will continue to cover the next few months.

My most used app is of course the Google Map that guides me within ten feet of my destinations, whether it’s a city, motel, campground or restaurant. The voice activated system is idea if you own an older model vehicle like mine that didn’t come equipped with one. Yelp is good for finding any category of services nearby and also rates them on a scale. Trip Advisor, Trivago and others get me the best price available and the best and worst rated stays around. My Tunein app keeps the music and sport talk shows going when there is no stations around and I get tired of my own playlist and CDs! There are many others, but those are a few of my favorites.

Well my clothes is just about dry here at the camp laundry mat and I have to make dinner before the twister arrives! Have a good night friends!

Juanjohn