East or West, Home is Best!

Back home! Got in Thursday - dropped Dad off at his conference in downtown Denver, amidst road construction and rush hour traffic on narrow downtown streets. Then got on I-25 and made my way home. Traffic lightened up considerably after Castle Rock, got heavy again close to Colorado Springs, lightened again coming in to Woodland Park.

It was a rough trip. Dad still has some pain and some healing issues on his knee. We drove across Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and eastern Colorado during the time when wave after wave of tornadic storms were going west through the country. We were on the road headed toward Missouri when the devastating tornado hit Joplin. Dad called me into his room to show me the weather and ask if we really wanted to do this.

I prayed a lot during the trip. Prayed for guidance, prayed for protection, prayed for strength, prayed for patience and love. Every night and morning I checked the weather radar and weather predictions, and every night and morning I saw on the coming day that the storms were dissipating right before we would get to a place, and forming up again right after we would be out of the area. So we would hit the road.

We had unbelievable rain, where we would have to pull off the road because I literally could not see the road - couldn't see the hood of the car sometimes. We had strong winds, sometimes steady and sometimes gusty, coming in unpredictable blasts from different directions. But we didn't have tornados, we didn't hydroplane off the road or get blown off an overpass. We made it in to a hotel each night safe and sound. And when I would look at the radar that night, I would see that we got the least of the weather going through.

We were protected.

So, I've been home a few days. SO glad to be home. The cats are getting used to Punkin again. I go hug Loren every time he gets in reach. Putting the house back in order, getting ready for Dad's visit after his conference, which is going well. He sounds good.

Thank you, God!

Travels with a Diabetic Cat: Part 2

Punkin has done pretty well here. In the photo you see her trying to talk me into playing with her favorite stick toy. It has little leather strips on the end - doesn't fall apart like feathers, and has a little weight to it, so all the cats like it.

Punkin's glucose levels have been a little higher than we really like to see, but overall she's done well. She's been active, playing for fairly long periods, interested in watching birds and chipmunks in the back yard and in chasing spiders who make the unfortunate choice of coming into the house. Just garden spiders - their bite would probably hurt a little, but not be dangerous.

We're headed back to Colorado today. Dad's coming with us. We're planning a very easy trip - eight days to handle what I took four to do coming out here. We'll stop more often than I did for Dad to walk around so his leg doesn't get stiff. I'm only planning to cover about 300 miles a day on average. That still gives us an extra day to visit people along the way and to explore a little. Today is actually only about 70 miles - to Greensboro to visit some of Dad's people.

I've adapted well, finally, to Raleigh. Learned my way around a little, gotten used to not being able to see anything but trees when driving. There's always something in bloom this time of year, and it usually smells wonderful.

But I'm glad to be going home, especially since Dad's coming, too. It's going to be hard to let him leave, but I'll also understand his wanting to come home a little more, having recently experienced it myself. When I get back, I will have been gone almost 2 months.

The car is almost packed, and the camera is handy, and we'll be stopping a lot, so hopefully I'll get some good pictures along the way. Please pray for good weather for us!

Ice Packs

One cool tip I learned (please pardon the pun) is how to make ice packs. One of the home health nurses shared this with us.

Take one bottle of regular rubbing alcohol. The green kind makes a better texture, apparently. Pour that into a gallon-sized zip-closed freezer bag. Pour in two bottles of water. Press out all the air and seal. Seal that bag into another bag, then add a third bag around that. Freeze for about 4 hours.

You may need to squish it a little to soften it enough to mold around wherever you want it, but it will stay cold for some time, and chills back up quickly.

Great, huh?

Another good thing to do is make rice bags. Sew a bag approximately 15"-16" by 4"-5" finished size. I've found that fat quarters will make two bags of about the right size. I double-seam all of bag seams to make sure the rice doesn't work its way out of the bag.

Fill with cheap-o white rice, leaving a space of about 5" at the top, and sew closed. You need some room so the bag will drape around your neck or can be shaped as needed.


You can add essential oils to the bag, too - lavender is really nice. Put a layer of rice, a few drops of oil, another layer of rice, some more oil, until it's as full as you want it.

Now you can either freeze the bag for a really nice cold-pack, or you can warm it in the microwave. How long depends on your microwave - I use about 1 1/2 minutes per bag. The first few times you microwave it you may have a rice smell, but that will eventually go away, and the oil helps with that, too.

I also like to use the heated bags around my feet at night in the winter. Toasty!

I Feel Pretty...

Today I made some beauty and personal care products. One was new - hair gel! The other two I've done before, but I will share the recipes.

Hair Gel
So, I'm a curly girl. In Colorado it's more of a "wavy" girl - but here in the humidity it's frizzy. I'd forgotten how frizzy! I wash it, condition, put on more conditioner after I towel-dry, and within a couple of hours it has puffed out like a steel wool helmet, only soft. If I comb it out, it's like a larger, fluffier steel wool helmet only soft. Definitely a white-girl 'fro.

I tried making hair gel using aloe vera gel and some jojoba oil. Didn't work. And smelled funny, like aloe vera. It was better than using nothing, but not by much.

I found this clip on YouTube and tried it today. Success! Curls, not frizz!



Of course, the real test will be tomorrow, but I have a good feeling about this.

I have some suggestions. Follow her example and strain the seeds out in at least two batches, and use something wide-mouth to do it into. And go ahead and spring for the cheap knee-highs for straining.

Also, while it's very effective at controlling hair, and your hair dries nice and soft, the gel itself feels a little slimy. Could be a useful substance for practical jokes or other occasions, and depending on what you do to it, I would expect it to be edible and even good for you. Hmmm, maybe put some gummy worms in it, mix in some peppermint essential oil... "Yuck" could be on the table, and pretty tasty, too!

Deodorant
I've made my own deodorant for a couple of years now. It's more effective than the natural brands I've paid top dollar for, I can control what's in it, and it's cheap.

Use one part baking soda and one part cornstarch. I find 1/4 cup of each works well for me, and is not an unmanageable amount. Mix it well, getting out any lumps.

In another bowl, mix about 4 tablespoons of coconut oil and 10 - 20 drops of essential oil. I like lavender, but you can use tea tree, sage, or really any other oil you like. Be sure the oil you use does not irritate your skin - rosemary is a little irritating to some people, and citrus oils can cause some sun sensitivity. You'll be putting this on your underarms, so make sure your skin can handle whatever oil you use.

Mash the oil into the dry ingredients using a fork and mix well. You want it to be soft enough to spread without the dry ingredients caking up and dropping off, but you want enough of the dry to absorb moisture and odor. You may need to experiment with amounts to get a texture you like. Stuff it into a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, and you're done! It will meld together a little more as it sits, so it will be nicer in a couple of days than it is right after you make it, but you can still use it now.

One thing to know about coconut oil. It turns liquid at about 80 degrees F. (If it doesn't, your coconut oil is not pure.) This means if you live in a climate where your home is 80 degrees, your deodorant will turn liquid and some of the solids may settle out. Maybe keep it in the fridge, or some other cool spot. Also, if you're traveling, make sure your container won't leak if the deodorant becomes liquid. You may need to mix it up again once it solidifies.

Bath Salts
This is super-easy, and a really nice addition to your bath! Mix 1/2 cup Epson salts and 1/2 cup baking soda, and add 5 - 10 drops of essential oil. Mix the oil in, mashing the little balls that form with the back of a spoon, until it's pretty well mixed in. That's enough for one bath.

You might want to just make a bunch of the plain bath salts and add the oils at bath time. If you love a particular oil and want to mix it in ahead of time, just make sure the storage container is tightly sealed so you don't lose the volatile compounds of the oil.

This is a great way to use essential oils in the bath. If you just drop them in the water, they float on top and are attracted to your skin when you get in the tub, and some of them can sting. When they are finely dispersed in the bath salts, they mix in the water better.

You can add food coloring to bath salts, too. The amount needed to color the salts will not color the bath water. And it makes a great gift! A pretty jar, a ribbon - you're all set!

So now...
My hair is curly, my skin is soft, and I don't stink! A pretty nice thing for Mother's Day, don't you think?

Raleigh: Thoughts and Notes

Raleigh is beautiful. It's like living in a park - lots of green trees, and every time I step outside I hear all kinds of birds. Sometimes I see them - ones I don't recognize, for the most part.

Lots of people walk here - why not, when you live in a park? Driving out here I noticed people getting fatter and fatter - more morbidly obese people than I've ever seen. But they are not so fat in Raleigh - I guess because they walk a lot.

The weather has been moderate - cool and moist, with more cloudy days than I've seen since I moved out of Seattle. Yesterday we had a gentle rain all day. Today I've felt a few drops, but it's mostly just been cloudy, near 70. The temperature has been between 60 and 80 the whole time I've been here - very nice, in a park.

The downside is driving in a park. The roads mostly wind around, and you can't SEE anything except trees! Even with the GPS (which sometimes gets its left and right mixed up - well, so do the best of us...), I've had trouble finding things because there are TREES everywhere. Fully leafed-out trees. Great for a park, lousy for navigation.

I'll have to think of all this when I'm walking at home, where the dirt road (you knew that from looking at my car, right?) sometimes has dust within an hour of a "rain" or "snow" (quotes, because this year has been SO dry).

The pictures are of my Dad's back yard, by the way. This is what I see when I open the blinds on the french door in my room.

Worse and Worse

This morning the news on CNN said there were over 90 tornadoes yesterday. Each time I see a news broadcast there are more fatalities, more destruction, more lives and livelihoods lost.

Yesterday it was a little scary here, but I had no idea how bad it was just a short distance away. We heard some thunder, saw some lightning, had a little basement flooding but not much.

And I was complaining about my hair frizzing out. I'd go around forever looking like a white-haired Bozo the Clown if it would bring back some of what was lost for others yesterday. But it won't.

My prayers are offered for you.

Weather Update

We were indeed fortunate. This is being reported as the worst tornado outbreak ever in this area. One did go straight through Raleigh, killing several people. The entire area of the state saw tornadoes and damage, and many counties saw fatalities. In some areas there is simply nothing left. Even power poles were ripped out of the ground and carried off - they are not down, just flat gone. Over 143,000 people are without power tonight. The infrastructure will have to be rebuilt before some of those people get power again.

Some people lost everything, including family members. We had no damage. We have power and dry beds, our cars are intact and not upside down in some tree or building. We have our lives and limbs. My heart goes out to all those who are not so fortunate.

Weather

We had a tornado warning today. The radio was talking about damage in downtown Raleigh - I'm unclear whether there was a confirmed tornado there, or if it was just ("just") other storm damage, but there were several long-track tornadoes in the area, and we saw one on the weather map south-west of us, then saw it north-east, so it could have been. Dad and I came down into the basement - fortunately he can do one floor of stairs now. We set up the weather radio and the regular radio, and for a while hung out in the bathroom.

The long-track that went through (past?) Raleigh was on the ground for over 90 miles. They kept saying on the news how unusual that was, and also how unusual it was to see so many on the ground at one time.

Punkin started out safely under the couch, but when she came out I grabbed her and put her in her carrier and stuck her in the shower (towel over the carrier in case the shower door broke). She was not pleased, and loudly let us know that for some time.

After a while the tornado warning was lifted, then the thunderstorm warning lifted, and we went back upstairs. Had our excitement for the day - and I thank God that's all it was. Some storms in other areas of the South have killed several people, mostly when trees fell on their houses. I guess we're at risk for that here, too, but we would be safe in the basement hallway and bathroom where we were.

We had some water leak into the basement in the utility room - not sure where that was coming from exactly. I heard the water running, and went in to find it pooling on the floor. Didn't cover the whole floor, and as far as we could see only caused minor damage to some wood Dad had stored there. Guess we'll have to track it down at some point.

After a week and a half in the humidity, and especially today, I have my "white girl's 'fro". My hair is officially un-comb-able. Not sure what to do with it at this point. I'd been thinking I'd lost some of the curl as the hair went white, but I guess not. And I'm thankful that that is the worst of my problems from the storm!

Travel Notes: Kansas

Well, better late than never!

One of the things I noticed both in Kansas and in Missouri was the burning fields. I guess they must use burning as a way to get rid of weeds and cleared brush, and possibly also to clear out last year's corn stalks or other leftover agricultural stuff. Coming from a dry and fire-prone area, it seems strange and risky to me. Probably just a sign of spring to them. Junction City, KS was covered in smoke.

A way to tell a good restaurant is that the locals go there. How to know when you have locals in Kansas? The men all wear "gimme" hats (baseball caps advertising agriculture-related companies, like fertilizer and tractor companies). These were older men, with their wives, and each table had at least two couples. I guess it's acceptable to wear your hat at the table, because the ladies didn't seem to notice. The only table with men not wearing gimme hats had other travelers at it.

I was driving on I-70 / I-40, and the upper speed limit was 70 and minimum speed was 40. Really wanted to get a picture with the speeds and the highway numbers, but the only time I saw them was when I was driving.

It was so windy - I was very glad to be driving my trusty CRV, and not a motorhome or something. I was also very grateful for cruise control - and for other drivers using cruise control and going the speed I wanted to go. Relaxed, orderly.

I drove over the first section of the US Interstate Highway system. I looked it up because I couldn't remember which state it was in, and it turns out there are at least three claims for that honor, so I was on the one in Kansas.

Raleigh

The dogwoods were in full bloom when I got to Raleigh, and I noticed the azaleas a couple of days later. I didn't know what either of those plants were, and had to ask. Dad's townhouse has pink dogwoods in front and white ones in back. A week later, and the white flowers have a brown tinge on the outside of the petals, and tonight we have a rainstorm, and when the wind blows it looks like large snowflakes falling. The brick patio in back is covered with ivory petals.

Another wonder are the cardinals – common here, non-existent at home. And there's some sort of jay I'll have to look up, not like anything I've ever seen before.

As I drove out from Colorado, I time-traveled into spring. The trees went from bare to buds to fully leafed out. Here at Dad's, there's a small lake in back of his house, and the trees are so thick you can't see the houses on the other side. It looks like a secluded park.

I've been here a week. We had a day to go over things, and realized I should have come a week earlier. Then we had the time in the hospital. I was leaving a timed food dish down for Punkin; with the diabetes, she needs frequent small meals. When the ants discovered it, I changed my schedule to come home every 3 hours to feed her, then go back to the hospital. Not a problem – it's about a mile away, an easy drive. It was actually nice, giving us some structure to an otherwise totally unpredictable day.

Some things about hospitals have improved in the last 30 years (since the last time I was in one), and some have not. Food is better now. But people pop in at odd times, and with everyone on the floor trying to provide service, sometimes it turns out that no one does. Anyone staying in a hospital needs an advocate, who can get water and blankets, reach things that fall off the tray, and go down to actually get a nurse if needed. Call buttons get you someone who answers, but whether someone actually comes and takes care of the problem is another matter. I've stayed a couple of times with my daughter when my granddaughter was having tests done, so I knew what to expect with Dad's stay.

Now we're home – all three of us are happy about that (I'm including the cat). Dad's doing well, healing and rehabilitating, getting back on his feet – literally.

I've made a few forays out into the neighboring areas here in Raleigh, and learned that it IS possible for me to get totally lost. I've never done that before, but I've managed that dubious accomplishment here. Fortunately I had the GPS and I was going to a bookstore, so I bought a map. And also fortunately, it was AFTER I bought the map that the GPS went on the blink. It's working again, but the streets are so twisty-turny that the map is still invaluable. I can get a picture of where I am in relation to where I want to go, and I don't feel so, well, lost.

We're trying to settle into a schedule now, but we have various health personnel visiting here and there. This week the visits started on a Sunday, so the days and the people were all different. We should have the same people from now on, though, and next week will be the “regular” days. Of course, the home visits won't go on for long, so it will all change again. Just as well, though. Dad will be glad to get out and about again, even if it's going to doctors' appointments.

And we have the lovely rain, and the flowers everywhere, because it's fully spring here.

Update

Sorry I haven't written. Dad and I were going over things on Tuesday, and Wednesday was his surgery. It went well, looks good. He's healing. Thank you all for all of your prayers!

The ants discovered Punkin's timer dish, so I now have to be present and semi-awake to feed her every 3 hours or so. Probably good - I was at the hospital all day yesterday and most of the day today (until I came home and found the ants in the food dish), and she had been lonely. She's doing well - happy that we're not in the car, eating well, drinking well, good glucose readings.

I really will write more about the trip - like how to tell a good restaurant in Kansas. Just a little busy right now.

I'm here!

Another windy day, but what I could glance at of the landscape was beautiful! West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.

I'm an avid reader of the Mrs. Murphy mysteries by Rita Mae Brown (when she's not soapboxing), so was very interested to see Virginia where the stories are set. Hillier than I expected, but so green and so lovely.

I'm getting things set up and put away, since I'll be here for a while. I still have lots of notes, and will write them up for you in the days to come, but wanted to let everyone know I'm safe and sound and off the road, so it's safe to go out in your car again!

Today's Word: Wind

My goodness - I'm so glad today was the short day! The wind was fierce. My loyal little CRV is usually pretty good in the wind, and even so I was fighting almost the whole way here. Louisville wasn't bad, and the mountains in Kentucky broke it up a little, too, but whew!

Indiana was beautiful but smelly. Note to highway folks: don't place rest stops downwind of stockyards. But to be fair, it smelled that way through most of the state. I put some Peppermint oil in my car diffuser and that helped.

Kentucky is gorgeous! I love it! I didn't get to sight-see as much as I did earlier in the trip - with the wind I couldn't really take any of my attention away from the road - but what I did see was beautiful.

Spring has been "springing" the farther east I've come, and it's going strong here. Grass is green, and there are leaves on the bushes and just getting started on trees. I saw forsythia and daffodils yesterday, but even more flowers today. And bugs. Lots of bugs on the windshield.

No music today - had to keep the GPS plugged in after I didn't need the diffuser any more. It didn't play any nasty tricks on me today. Things went smoothly.

Punkin's doing well. She's eating and drinking almost normally. Sleeping a lot in the car. She really didn't want to get in the carrier today - I think she's tired of the trip. So she slept - resting up for her room explorations tonight!

Tomorrow's route:
I-64 East through Charleston, WV, joining with I-77 South there and on down to Beckley, then I-77 on through Virginia into North Carolina to I-74, to 52, then 421 to I-40 on into Raleigh. At least, it looks like that will do it. I don't have satellite reception in my hotel room to see if the GPS agrees with that.

I decided to go ahead and take the WV tollway - it's not expensive and it is MUCH easier than trying to avoid it. Maybe if I come through another time with a navigator I'll take some back roads.

Well, this is the room with the whirlpool tub - can't let that go to waste! And I want to catch the weather on TV before tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in! I'll write more about some of the sights and events of the trip later.

'Night!

Sky Paintings

Saturday's drive was long, but pleasant. The sky dominated it. I started out with a buttermilk sky - a light layer of clouds that look like a glass you just drank buttermilk from. All day the clouds changed formations. It was pretty overcast most of the day, but the clouds were just magnificent - except for the 5 minutes at the last rest stop when I tried to take a photo. But back on the road, and they got beautiful again. Guess you really did have to be there!

Kansas and Missouri have a nice series of rest stops along I-70. But don't speed - both states have troupers or state patrol cars sitting every few miles monitoring traffic. It was pleasant, really - everyone was comfortably going the speed limit, nobody was pushing or driving aggressively. Nice. Actually not much traffic at all, although more than Friday.

Until St. Louis. Lots of traffic there, with a highway system reminiscent of a Rube Goldberg device. Absolutely insane. And I don't know what drugs the construction planners were taking, but I think I'll pass - the construction detours were bizarre, splitting lanes up and joining them back together in really odd places with no apparent purpose. Add to that incredibly rude drivers and a slightly mischievous GPS taking me to the second place to join 64 rather than the first (and they were subsequent exits - why??), requiring me to cross 4 lanes of traffic from left to right, and I was SO glad to get out St. Louis.

Once in Illinois, drivers ignored the speed limit signs again. I found a group of other out-of-staters, and we kept each other company at only about 2 mph over the limit.

But the hotel is nice - I like Drury Inns. And Punkin has adapted well. She started out under the covers, but came out of hiding, is eating well, and exploring. She slept on top of the furry blanket I brought from home, which usually covers Loren's fancy leather desk chair that the cats have taken over.

For those who care about such things, Suellen, the music I played on Friday was Roll the Bones, by Rush, Supernatural by Carlos Santana, and 'Ulalena, which I like to describe as the soundtrack to a stage show I haven't seen, telling a story I don't know, in a language I don't understand. It's from a CD I got on our honeymoon in Hawaii - I asked the vendor for some real Hawaiian music, explaining that I like slack key guitar, and she recommended 2 really fine slack key albums and this one. It really is the soundtrack to a stage show. Marvelous music, great drums. I love it!

Saturday was a little more mellow - Earthbeat, by Paul Winter and the Dmitri Pokrovsky Singers, and Earth, from the Elements Series by Peter Kater.

One great scene - just as the song "Winter" was starting up I passed a large pond. The slightly-rippled water reflected the slightly-rippled gray sky, with a mirrored backdrop of still-bare trees bordering the far side of the water and shoreline. There was a small boat in the water, with two fishermen, back to back with lines dropped in the water.

If you haven't heard Earth, it has some really beautiful pieces. "Winter" and "Celestine" are my favorites. See if you can find them online and hear clips.

And for my family, I'm not sitting there changing CDs or anything. Loren gave me an iPod a couple of years ago, and one time when I was playing around with it I set up some of my favorite albums in playlists. I start it up at a rest stop and can go for hours.

I have some more notes, but I'll save them for another time. Shower (yay!), free breakfast (yay!), and on to Indiana and Kentucky!

Bare Basics

Well, the day went much better than I had thought it would! So the long day is out of the way now! I was still functioning pretty well when I got in and got everything into the room, but decided I'm too tired to go out to get dinner (missed happy hour), so I'm eating a soggy-but-still-good corned beef sandwich I made yesterday morning, and a few containers of yogurt that I brought along for the trip. And you know, it's just right! And I didn't have to go anywhere!

Punkin did better today. She drank some water last night, and has been drinking a reasonable amount today. And she got her appetite back today. She had been just eating a few crunchies, but at one rest stop she was eating like she was hungry, so I opened a fresh can of her preferred flavor of food, and she ate a good amount of that. So she's doing well. She is hiding under the covers at the moment.

I made notes today at each rest stop of the things I want to write about, but I don't think I could do them justice tonight. I'll catch you up on the trip experiences after I get to Dad's, but here's tomorrow's route information:

Sunday will be my shortest day - 350 miles, estimated at 5 hours and 37 minutes. I'll be on I-64 the whole way to Grayson, at the eastern side of Kentucky. And my room is supposed to come with a whirlpool tub! Definitely soaking tomorrow night!

Monday I'll have a choice to make. There's a long stretch of toll road that I was planning to avoid, but the alternatives look like a lot of work without having someone to navigate. I was on a toll road for a while today, and it was nice and only cost $2.50 for the whole way (take THAT, E-470!)! So I'll do a little research tonight, and if you have any advice I'd appreciate it. The stretch is in West Virginia, from Charleston down through Beckley on I-77.

And I will write about the trip itself - as I said, I'm making notes so I don't forget!

Catch you later -
Linda

Travels with a Diabetic Cat: Part 1

I'm driving to Raleigh, NC, to be with my dad while he has a knee operation and during his recovery. I'm taking the diabetic cat, Punkin, with me, because Loren doesn't do needles. I'm glad to have her - I've felt cat-deprived when I have traveled without a cat.

It's a long trip - 1698 miles (when you avoid toll roads), and estimated at 29 hours of driving. It will take me a little longer, because I have to stop to care for the cat every 2 to 3 hours. I have it split up into 4 days of driving.

Today I drove from home to Salina, Kansas, 440 miles, estimated at 7 hours and 37 minutes. I took Hwy 24 east to Hwy 94, then took I-40 up to I-70. Once I got out of Colorado Springs, there was almost no traffic. When I-40 split off from Hwy 287, it was EMPTY. Good roads, too. There was a little more traffic when I joined I-70, but it's two lanes instead of one, so it didn't really matter. Not near as heavy as I would expect on a Friday afternoon.

It was great weather - overcast most of the day, but I could see blue sky around the clouds. Later it was just white, puffy clouds in a blue sky; when the landscape is mostly rolling golden hills, the sky really jumps out at you.

Stopped in Woodland Park for cash and fuel, then drove to Punkin Center (of course), for our first "Punkin stop". I had to pull her out of the carrier, but then she walked around the car a little before going back into the carrier. She didn't drink any water or eat any canned food, but did eat a handful of crunchies over the course of the day. Didn't use the catbox while we were in the car, either, but did finally at the hotel (whew!). I stopped 3 more times during the day - at Cheyenne Wells and at a couple of rest stops.

Saw 2 quail - one ran across the road in front of me at the eastern edge of Colorado, and another was flying low next to the road a few miles into Kansas. First time I've seen wild quail before.

As I drove farther east, I noticed more and more green fields. The oil wells I saw were all pumping. I saw a small herd of deer trying to get through a fence into a last-year's cornfield. Why didn't they just jump it? I don't know, but they were nosing around the fence wires. Silly deer.

I drove past a wind farm, with those huge, silent windmills. I don't know why I love those things so much! They are just so other-worldly. The sun was very close to the horizon, and the shadows the windmills made on themselves were a work of art.

When there are no mountains, the sun makes LOONNNGGG shadows.

Once we got to the hotel, Punkin first tried to find a way between the bed and the wall (two of the three pillows on my bed took care of that problem), then crawled under the bedspread. I had to pull her out to test her blood, and then she ate (again, a few crunchies, but no water or canned food) and did her business. She's back under the bedspread, but she knows where everything is and seems to be comfortable, just a little stressed. She was SO good during the trip - didn't really start talking to me until we were about ½ hour away from Salina! I'll check her hydration tomorrow before we leave. If I have to, I'll force some water down her with an eyedropper (yes, I have some with me), but hopefully she'll relax enough tonight to drink some on her own.

I can recommend the Econolodge in Salina, KS. Nice room, nice people, great Mexican restaurant next to the office. And the best price of the three hotels I reserved for my trip!

Tomorrow (Saturday) I'm headed for Mt. Vernon, Illinois. I'll stay on I-70 through the rest of Kansas, through Missouri, and then at St. Louis switch over to I-64. Oh, Joy - Kansas City and St. Louis in one day! Oh, well. At least it's a weekend, so I shouldn't have to deal with rush hour. Saturday is my longest day - 499 miles, estimated 8 hours and 19 minutes. Guess I'd better get some rest, huh? The hotel I'll be at tomorrow is a Drury Inn, and they serve free food and drinks in the evenings - hopefully I'll get there in time to get some!

I'll post more later in the trip!