Albuquerque, NM to Oklahoma City, OK

I got a late start leaving Albuquerque. Driving 800 miles the day before was a bit more exhausting than I realized. I confirmed with my sister switching hotels to the one by the airport so she could check in without waiting for me to pick her up. That ended up being a smart move. I also decided to burn a mix tape for the road. Another smart move.

The thing about driving through the southwestern part (AZ, NM, TX, OK) of the I-40 is how flat and seemingly empty it is. Occasionally there was pleasant greenery and blue skies to see, but in general it was like driving into an endless perception painting. It only exacerbated the emotional weight of moving away from my California friends. I was glad I had the meet-up with my sister in OKC to look forward to.

Amusements came in the form of food stops with seemingly double-entendre-loaded tag lines:

The other wild thing about driving across such flat country was that you could see rainstorms happening miles away:

Or I would suddenly drive into a rainstorm myself:

And then poof! No more rain, just sun and road:

In Arizona and New Mexico, the I-40 had a ton of billboards encouraging me to exit to purchase Native American souvenirs and artifacts. New Mexico also would flash a sign that said "Cops Everywhere 100 Days and Nights". Not sure what that was about. But the roadwork that I kept driving into kept me from speeding anyway. A LOT of roadwork--very frustrating. I thought this was a pretty unique billboard right before the New Mexico/Texas border:

Dhillon Fuel
Taste of India
Gas Diesel & Restaurant
Exit Now, Then Left

Driving through New Mexico through Texas, I noticed the billboards tended to be more of the "Jesus Saves" variety. Also armadillos were a common roadkill sight. It took a few for me to realize what they were. At first I thought they were possums that had been picked clean to their rib cages but I realized that it was the shell of the armadillo that I thought were rib cages. Either way, roadkill not the best sight.

There was, however, one very blessed sight for my eyes in Amarillo, Texas:

Thanks to a friend I was finally guided to this Starbucks in Amarillo, TX. The first one since California. I know it's easy to dismiss Starbucks as the McDonald's of expensive coffee, but Starbucks was so ubiquitous and consistent in Orange County that it had become a delicious and reliable steady in my SoCal life--I associate it with meeting up with friends there, a happy work trip pit stop, and of course, a nice coffee break. Enjoying an iced latte was like being with an old friend:

I was enjoying my drink so quickly I realized that perhaps I should get one to enjoy on the road. I went back in and the young lady behind the counter said, "Another one?" Yeah, I'd like one for the road--it's been a while since I've seen a Starbucks. And she said, "Well that's because the next Starbucks is 4 hours in either direction." I reflected on what she said. Make it a large.

Oskar got a little restless on the road:

A sign near Groom, TX, claimed this was the "Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere":

Finally after 558 miles, and over 10 hours on the road (including rest stops and road work that brought traffic down to one lane), I was happy to see my beautiful sister in Oklahoma City: