Not to jinx ourselves, but since we rolled out of Redlands the travel has been relatively uninteresting to write about. Other than the long climb out of Arizona on I 40 with way too many trucks struggling with the climb which meant we lost our momentum and had to resort to low gear struggling ourselves. Even the most foolish drivers have only resulted in my resorting to some blue language, neither of us has had to hit the brakes. 

Our first night we stopped in Quartzite at the Hi Jolly STVA and then on to Pioneer RV Park in Phoenix so we could have a delightful dinner with Mary and Tom Markussen. From there we continued on to  an Elks Lodge in Holbrook AZ. It’s only redeeming virtue was the dust was flat. A quick look into the lodge lead me to not even consider returning for the supposed dinner, since all three denizens were smoking. Back on to I 40 for a two night stop at American RV in Albuquerque so we could visit with niece Erica. We went to VanGogh Immersion. It was fascinating to see so much of his work displayed with so much information and in such a satisfying manner. If I had not seen original Van Gogh works in great museums I would have been much more impressed. As fine as the presentation is the images are still flat, the impasto is flat and does not provide the depth and energy of the original. 

After lunch and some time at the Eco Garden we returned Erica to her apartment and returned ourselves to the coach to prepare for 4 solid days of driving. We stayed last night, Monday, at an Eco-Village Artist community that may be restored to activity some day. During the drive, I turned the wheel over to Carol so I could attend a Zoom Jojoba Hills Board Meeting. She drove almost 180 miles while I attended the meeting and participated and voted. Today was another road day and it brought us to Native Spirit Winery in Norman OK.  The driveway entrance was a bit narrow and we ended up disconnecting the car so Carol could maneuver the coach in between the ditch drop offs. It was nicely done and I get to try my hand at getting us out. The wine is adequate, I bought a couple of bottles to “pay for my stay”. 

Tomorrow, Wednesday we will drive to Post Winery in Altus Arkansas. Then one more road day to Tom Sawyer RV Park on the bank of the Mississippi river where we will stay 2 nights with full hookups. Laundry, long showers and a break from the road. We will travel on OK  9 for a bit to stay off the Interstate for a while. 

AS I post this I am off to solve today’s Wordle