from the Tucumcareh KOA

Road Day today. Looks like the rest will be all road days as we run for home; one would think that nothing of interest would happen on a Road Day. One would be wrong. For one thing, Dapple kept us amused all day today - after the had the screw removed from the rear tahr, she then developed a shimmy, which proved to be messed up front tires - so two new tires went on. Then, as he day progressed and the heat increased, she started stumbling and missing like she was fuel-starved, which (checking my pocketbook) she cannot possibly be. Vapor lock? It's a mystery. What we know is she does NOT like the heat of the day.  We passed one bank tower that told us it was 108.  And I'm not sure that was the peak heat, either.

We called it quits in Tucumcareh, after I think M noticed my nose was pressed against the window in each new small town. Once it cooled, though, Dapple smoothed out and I gave up my fantasies about breaking down by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in the Texas Panhandle and being found as dessicated skeletons weeks later; still, I was ready to hang it up.  We'd drive alongside an amazing electrical storm for many miles, sheet lightning and fork lightning hitting the ground, so I was working on some new fantasies of being flash-fried in our metal camper instead of being slow-roasted into roadside jerky. We cruised some cute Route 66 motels but decided it had cooled enough to try camping again, so we're at the KOA, where we do not have the right cord to connect to power.  However, there IS a pool, and M is going to check and possibly replace spark plugs for Dapple in the morning, and I am going to SWIM.

Today's other highlight was stopping in the Jesus Is Lord Travel Center for gasoline. I do not think I could do it justice with words, and you would not believe me anyway, so I will post pictures.  I'll also go back to yesterday and add a photo of the Bates Locust Plague motel.

Incidentally, in Amarillo (along with the JIL Travel Center) there was a hand-lettered sign for The Bates Motel and Taxidermy Shop. I would've stayed there.

Note the temperature at 8 pm!

in Dallas