Tunnel Vision

Oh, my! I guess you could say we had a case of 'tunnel vision' - as we set our focus on May 8th - and our flight home to see the family - especially the grandkids!

The pace was demanding, but we had a goal. Our last post found us in Cedar City, Utah. From there it was Beaver, Richfield, Fillmore, Green River, Provo, Salt Lake City, Ely (Nevada) and . . . finally . . . viva Las Vegas!

Utah & Nevada are beautiful, but desert sand is not my favorite landscape material, especially when the wind is blowing! And blow it did, especially in Green River. We were beginning to wonder if we would survive our night with our slide-out awnings intact.

But all was not lost, as we found yet another Cracker Barrel as we arrived just south of Provo - and stopped for another lunch. This time it was not taken up with a conference call and we were pleased to find that the special that day was their turkey & dressing - a real treat.

We have been a bit adventurous and taken some of the 'roads less traveled' as we wound our way around Utah, visiting the "Open All Year" parks. We are definitely seeing some new scenery and, although very desolate, it is beautiful in its own way.

After our visit in Salt Lake City, we headed west - past the Great Salt Lake and the salt flats, just across the Nevada border to Wendover (which put us back in Pacific Time), and then south to Ely. Now Ely is truly in the middle of nowhere! In fact, the best seller in their store is a t-shirt (36 dozen a season) - that says "Ely, Nevada . . . 398 miles round trip to the nearest Wal Mart!"

Our last day of driving was long - south to Las Vegas - but again, gorgeous. We saw a side of Nevada that neither of us had ever seen (but it is still desolate!)

Las Vegas KOA at Circus Circus is a company-owned property - and they treated us like royalty. Since we had a couple of parks that we had to bypass due to conflicts, we ended up with 3 nights in Vegas before our scheduled flight home. Since we are not gamblers, Las Vegas doesn't really hold much attraction for us, but it isn't always we have time to stop to have routine maintenance done on the truck, etc. So Tuesday morning Roger headed to the nearest dealership to get the computer 'tweeked' and the oil changed.

And I did absolutely nothing ('cept take a couple of naps!) I really intended to turn it into a 'house cleaning' day, but the recliner - and a good book - won out. I figured I would probably have trouble sleeping that night, but nope! Think I'm more tired than I really knew.

When the truck came back that evening, we headed out to sample the famous West Coast "In N Out Burger". Now we've had two different sources tell us that this is the BEST hamburger! They have three items on their menu: hamburger, cheeseburger and a 'double double' (that's double meat/double cheese). We went with the 'double/double' - and found it to be a decent burger - but NOT the best we've ever had. Frankly, we'll take our Sonic cheeseburger any day! And, it doesn't hold a candle to Oklahoma's claim to fame - the Del Rancho Steak Sandwich Supreme!

I had to laugh, for these 'burger joints' are so busy that there is always a long line. So we "Okies" get to the register and order ours without the "spreads". We felt a bit like the guy in the credit card commercial when things come to a 'halt' when he tries to pay with cash! The poor kid behind the register had to stop and actually 'think' for a bit. (Afterwards we were told that it is the 'spreads' that make the burger!) Oh, well.

Wednesday we spent the day doing the review at this huge park (375 +/- sites). They graciously loaned us a golf cart, and by 2:30 p.m. we were 'finished' and it was time to break out the suitcases and start packing for our trip home.

I'm sure the airport security had to 'wonder' at our cargo. Since we had left a well-supplied closet at home, we only had a few 'necessities' - and, of course, Roger's DirecTV 'box' - so we have TV while we're at home. Bet they don't find many of those in the average suitcase.

Russ and Hayden picked us up at the airport. Hayden just wasn't 'sure' about us, but it took Grandpa Roger all of about 2 minutes to have him giggling and jabbering as we made our way home through rush hour traffic. Pulled in just in time to get a hug from Hunter, before they had to rush off to the Mid-Del Choir concert. We did a quick walk-through of our house, jumped in the Blazer and headed to the Carl Albert middle school spring band concert. I told Wesley that I bet we traveled the furtherest than anyone else to get there!

Finding that everyone else had eaten . . . we made a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up our beverages of choice (Diet DP and Diet Coke) - and then made a bee-line for the Del Rancho to pick up our supper. Got back to the house to find the big boys on their scooters and skate-board, and before long Russ & Hunter popped in. Made for a late night for a school night - but Grandpa and I loved the 'chaos' of having everyone around! That trailer can get awfully 'quiet' when we're out on the road.

It's so good to be home! Told Roger I felt like we were staying in a 'fine hotel' (although it's a bit dusty . . . and no one comes in to make up the bed!) Today (Friday) will find us stopping in to say 'hi' to the folks, having breakfast at Jimmy's Egg, and making a supply run to Wal Mart and Sam's so we can 'eat' while we're home.

I'm betting this will seem like the shortest 3 weeks in history!