The road trip began about 2:15 p.m. Friday, November 16. We arrived in Ulysses at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, November 17, 16 hours and 1,011 miles later!
Four animated kids six years old and under and two equally animated adults is an interesting mix to throw into a 16-hour minivan ride! God kept us sane and safe for the trip, however.
We immediately had a 1 1/2 hour setback at the start of our trip. We were rerouted (along with thousands of other drivers) immediately after crossing the Mississippi River bridge in Baton Rouge. A huge natural gas leak had forced closed I-12 from Baton Rouge clear to Lafayette, Lousisiana. We crawled on the alernate route (Highway 190) for over 45 miles. Thankfully we were still in good spirits since we were only in the first several hours of the trip.
We drove 500 miles (8 hours) to Denton, Texas and stayed in a Motel 8 for the night. We woke up Saturday and drove the remaining 500 miles.
A few observations.
#1 No one observes the speed limit in Louisiana. The minute I crossed over the Texas border, drivers generally observed the speed limit within about 5 mph and continued to do so through Oklahoma and Kansas!
#2 Every bridge through Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma has a "Caution, Bridge May Ice in Cold Weather" sign. I always thought this information was a given. Kansas either doesn't have enough money for these signs or assumes (like I do) that when it's cold, drivers know how to slow down to cross a bridge (or at least stop breaking and accellerating) so they don't go flying off.
#3 Oklahoma has some of the nicest four-lane highways going from nowhere to nowhere that I've ever seen!
#4 Louisiana has alligator farms, Kansas has wind farms.
#5 A Texas road sign alluded to mountains!? Everyone knows everything is bigger in Texas, but does that make hills mountains?
#6 Cow manure smells good if you're used to the smell of feed lots. Dawson squeeled in delight and said, "I smell stinkin' cows!" when we passed our first roadside feed lot in Oklahoma. The rest of the kids welcomed the smell as a sign we were getting close to "home."
#7 The person who invented portable DVDs needs to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize. Who cares about nuclear energy. If my family is entertained long enough to make a 16-hour trip bearable, the prize needs to go to the maker of the portable DVD player!
#8 Separating the two squabblers BEFORE the beginning of the trip saved our sanity and eardrums.
#9 I brake too abruptly and Travis tailgates.
#10 The sixteen-hour drive was worth every minute!
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