This will probably be our longest day driving of the entire trip. We were both a little anxious to get through both Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. And by the time we did, New Mexico looked good! We ran somewhat parallel to Route 66 most of the way. Oklahoma boasted signs along the way "Home of Carrie Underwood" and the town that had the Roger Miller Museum had us bursting into our off-key rendition of "King of the Road". But the terrain turned scrappy and...

We spent most of the morning/early afternoon sitting on the front porch and talking. Well Buddy the cat must of thought of it more as "yammering" and snuck off to get some rest nestled up under the bushes!

Can't believe we've been gone for over a week! It's been nice visiting with Richard and getting a little feel for the culture of a small town in Arkansa. Tomorrow we take off. This makes for the beginning of a new phase of our trip...just us. We probably won't be visiting friends or family until we get to Seatlle. Josh (Jeffrey's friend since 2nd? grade) and his wife moved out there from Simpsonville about a year or so ago. I'm not sure if we'll get into ca...

Went to the Choctaw Indian Reservation Casino in Oklahoma today. We had dinner at their buffett which featured prime rib and shrimp. Richard said it had been a number of years since he'd been out to eat at a restaraunt. I think it did him good to get out of the house. The casino is about 15 miles from his house. They have an Arkansas state line sign and it looks like the casino is in Oklahoma and the parking lot is in Arkansas!

This is country. And sitting out here on the front porch I realize I've missed country. Real Country. The Sumter County SC country. Even though the house sits on a fairly busy secondary road with cars driving by at 50 mph, it doesn't seem to make a difference. The birds going at it and the bugs flying around don't even pay them no mind. I think they just blend in to make them part of the natural flavor of the whole drink. Oopsie! I may be feeling a bit tips...