I've spent the past week sorting photos in my spare time. I'm not counting, but I'd say there were around 1000 to 1500 photos taken between my mom's camera and my own. Most of the shots are not noteworthy... There is us. Three days (sometimes four days!!!) unshowered, travel tired, honorary truckers. There are hundreds of photos taken from within the truck as the landscapes moving by. They are not beautiful... they aren't even very clear half the time, but they are snap shots of where we where and what that day had in store for us.
Because I have SO many photos I want to share I'm just going to jump in and break it up a little. Today's photos are from days 1 through 3. The first three were spent pretty much driving and shopping. We shopped in Wichita Kansas while the truck got a new alternator (fix #1). We shopped in Texas at funky western wear stores, and somewhere along the way we found my mom the perfect mother of the bride dress.
In Texas we visited a community called Horseman's Ranch were my mom was interested in learning about the lifestyle for retirement options. It's a pretty cool concept, but I think we all agreed that the summers would probably be unbearably hot for us Minnesotan natives.
Probably the most dramatic thing about driving across the state of Texas was seeing trash almost everywhere. Old rusted-out vehicles and machinery, loose plastic bags, and overgrown yards where common in just about every town we passed. We didn't make it to any large cities, but the ones we passed looked almost abandoned they were in such disorder and ruin. I don't mean to say that Texas is a trashy place to live, I'm sure in other areas and larger cities things are better maintained, but from my perspective it was a bit depressing.
My favorite part of driving through Texas was seeing the cotton fields and red sandy earth. After spending most of my life surrounded by rich-dark-brown-earthy-Minnesota soil it just amazing that anything can be harvested from ground that looks so unnaturally red, but that's the beauty of travel.... it opens your eyes to things unknown and unnatural to you.
{Iowa Roads}
{Abandoned in Nebraska}
{Taking turns sleeping. I spent the first 5 days of the trip with a pretty bad sinus cold. John said he can tell by this photo I was sick. THANKS John.}
{Truck stop in Nebraska. I still cannot believe I drove that mammoth truck!}
{Grazing ground in Texas}
{Harvesting Cotton in Texas}
{Lines of huge cotton bails in Texas}
{Cotton}
{Lake sunset}