 There, we met up with other folks on the journey including
David O'Brien and David Williams. We also made our first field repair with Duct Tape, as Paul
pointed out a fallen headlight ring. "Hey, is that yours?" he replied. "Nah, don't think so" I
said. "But I'll check." Sure enough, Bumba was shedding unnecessary parts again. Nothing a quick
bout of DT couldn't fix. The rest of the crew (mostly) flew by and we were westbound again. After
the 60 seconds to sixty miles an hour, so was Bumba. We headed west through Oklahoma bound for
Texas and beyond. The scenery was amazing, as I had only been through this area once, and that
was at night. Who knew Oklahoma had oil? At this point in the trip, Jason and I had no idea that
no doors would be an issue. The air was dry. The temperature was hot. And we were even getting a
bit of sun on our left and right legs respectively. The next stop was lunch at Micky D's, where
we could all spend some time getting to know one another. Great time for fellowship, and we all
got to meet Michael from Ireland.
Back in our cars for a little while, and Jason and I were
starting to feel the brunt of the escalating wind, not to mention the excruciating noise that
riding at highway speeds (nudge nudge, wink wink) can produce. Thus, our first stop at Wally
World, where we picked up ear plugs, sun tan lotion, and other stuff. I can remember having to
put my shirt on before I went inside. That was the first time in a long time when that happened.
We're back on the road. Fresh tank of gas. Unfortunately, my second tank was shot, and we were
limited to 120 miles before we'd have to pull off again. We did have 10 gallons of petrol in the
back in two jerry cans for emergencies. Just around then or shortly thereafter we inched into
Texas. Seems the state needs to be jacked up on the east side a bit, cause from the tip of OK to
the tip of NM we were heading uphill. Bumba, despite the Powerplus kit and the Roverdrive, simply
couldn't keep up with the coilers. Thus, the decision was made to let 'em go. Jason and I decided
to take our own time. For a while Randy, with the giant Sub and the D-90 were behind us. But
there are limits to one's ability to ride at 55 on the interstate. Even someone as nice as Randy.
That was the last of our group we saw until much later on that day. But it was cool. As Bumba was
running like a champ. And the day was delightful. With our earplugs in place, we could actually
make out conversations with each other, and caught up on some CDs. Unfortunately, every CD Jason
owns is FUBAR.
Much of the trip through Texas was uneventful, go for a while, get gas, go for a
while more, etc. It wasn't until we reached New Mexico that the scenery dramatically began to
change. I remember pulling off cause I had to whiz, and low and behold, the desert was off to the right.
We got some really cool pics here. Got back into Bumba and the long trek through New Mexico's
wind tunnel began. Words do not do justice to the pounding winds that came through Bumba from the
South. All you had to do was look at my left eye to see when we finally pulled into the Mexican
restaurant in Albuquerque. I looked like I took a couple of right crosses to the eye, as it was
badly bruised by the wind and dust. On the way home, I invested in some sharp looking goggles
(although my girlfriend doesn't agree). About 7 or so we received a call from David Williams on
the cell. Seems everyone had sh@#, showered, and shaved. We were still 90 miles away. (Think LR
hasn't made any progress in 29 years! Ha!) It was cold. But we had layered up for this part of
the journey, and we pulled into the restaurant for some good grub and a few beers. Then it was
back to the hotel, where we proceeded to park about 3/8ths of an inch away from Mark's Disco and
David's Disco II. Series III anti-theft system. Ha! Rest of the night is a bit of a blur. A few
more beers then some much needed sleep.
|
.
|
Day Two - Truck stop in AR.