Onward...

After visiting Midwest City High School, I decided to journey onward. We were only halfway though our first portion of the trip and only had two more days to make our destination of Las Vegas, NV. Westward we went.

The ride from Midwest City/Oklahoma City towards Albuqurque, NM, was uneventful, although the ride itself, was rather dangerous. The journey between Oklahoma City and Amarillo, TX, was probably one of the most boring legs on this trip. There literally was not much to see but fields and fields of nothing. Once we passed Amarillo, TX, warning signs about dangerous crosswinds and dust storms could often be seen. I didn't realize how dangerous the route really was, until several days after our arrival at Vegas when the news announced a deadly 28-car crash on that same stretch of highway. It seems a dust storm reduced visibility in the area, causing the cars to pile up one on top of another.

After leaving Texas, we got our first glimpse of the desert. It started off with plains and reddish colored earth...with scatterings of strange desert plants...but soon blossomed into spectacular scenery as we approached Albuqurque. And throughout the ride, especially around Albuqurque/Sante Fe, trains could be seen for much of the journey. I guess trains still play an important part in distribution of goods throughout the country. I wish we could have stopped to take pictures of all the trains, but alas, all we have are a few pictures snapped from our moving car. Another thing that we saw, which scared me a bit, were all the apparent car "grave yards" along the highway...and many of the cars that were parked in the graveyards appeared to be late model cars in good condition...much like the very car we were driving...

The desert wasn't anything like what I had imagined it would be. In my mind's eye, I always pictured the desert as barren, flat land...with nothing on it but cactus. What we saw on the other hand, was mostly spectacular moutains and rock formations, with interesting desert plants thrown in for good measure. The most spectacular desert areas that we saw would have to be around Albuqurque, NM, and shortly after entering Arizona.

I wish I had gotten some pictures of the Albuqurque desert, as well as the city, itself, as I was really surprised at the size/development of Albuqurque. It was, indeed, a very large and modern city.

Arizona was interesting because it gave us a glimps of what I thought the Grand Canyon might be like...but I would find out later that I was very wrong.

Rock formations along the Arizona highways were very spectacular, so we decided to stop shortly after entering Arizona to play tourist and to buy some souverniers.

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