The Long Road Home (Part 2)

Here’s where things are gonna suck. A 14 hour drive across the Great Plains to reach our next destination. And then Google suggests an alternative to the interstates.

Naturally, I’m a little suspicious. But we get up early… Okay, I get up early and drag my son out of bed… And then we got the road at 6 am Mountain time. So that’s an estimated arrival at my dad’s place in Nebraska by 8 pm. Not looking forward to this trek.

One thing I’m shocked by is how green the Llano Estancado is. Knowing how little rain gets to Eastern New Mexico and West Texas, I’m expecting Arizona levels of desert. Nope, green as far as the eye can see. Apparently, not enough water for crops, but plenty for grass!

I turn off the interstate at Tucumcari, NM, and am pleasantly surprised. We’ve got hills, we’ve got scenery, we’ve got… A two lane highway, but hey, I’m thankfully not behind too many trucks. We cross the panhandle of Texas and Oklahoma no problem.

Even Asher was doing great on this leg of the trip! We’re doing fine until Kansas when we realize a) how frickin big Kansas is and b) remember that summer means construction. We get stuck behind three one lane roads, one for twenty minutes, so that throws off my estimate.

However, once we reach Nebraska and have to cut across country roads (still US highways), things get easier. Mostly because I can beat the estimate thanks to driving way over the speed limit in this rural area.

I forgot how beautiful this region is. You get a very sckewed view of how the Great Plains look from the interstate. It’s really quite beautiful once you get off it. As my Dad says, “Nebraskans made I-80 the most boring stretch of road so that no one would be tempted to stop and stay.”

Made it to my dad’s place at 8:30 pm, safe and sound, and had a great time talking and relaxing. Have you ever been surprised on a road trip? Tell me about it in the comments below!