Do we really live here?

Al from Bayfield brings up the trucks on the highway around Dalhart, Tx.  And this is a big concern, as Dalhart is cattle feeding country.  That fact is readily apparent when you come anywhere near the place.  That is if your nose works only rudimentary.

There are thousands and thousands of cattle in pens on booth sides of the road for miles mostly to the South of town.  While many of these operations have their own feed facilities, much of the raw materials are trucked into them.  When I worked for the grain company, this was one of our large destinations and we had an agent that lived and worked right in town.

Also US 54 seems to be a major cut thru for many over the road trucks, and it is so popular, that Oklahoma has improved the road to 4 lanes most of the way across the pan handle.  The problem is that none of the towns have done anything to improve their roads.  So towns equal bottlenecks...  Eventually there will be bypasses I am sure, and Dalhart would be the first place that could be skirted.  But it is out in the middle of no where, so we usually stop for provisions of some kind.

Loyce and I think that eventually there may be an interstate that will take over US 54.  Much of that road in Missouri is now being rebuilt as a four lane as well.  It is the same road that goes thru Lake Ozark and has been changed to a bypass system now that goes right thru town.

We have begun taking the bypass diagonal up to US 50, between Pratt, Kansas and Hutchinson as well.  This completely removes driving thru Wichita.  The road is freeway like thru the center of Wichita with limited access, but it still has nasty drive time delays.  That seems to be the exact time of day that we always arrive.....

Highway US 50 skirts Hutchinson and Newton on bypasses and travels at 65 mph without much delay.  And when you get to Emporia, it is I 35 from there on up to KC.  I get the idea that we will become very bored with this drive in the future..

But there are other alternatives, but they are much farther.  Remember that in the winter, we go to Oklahoma City, to miss the Western Kansas snow storms altogether.   Western Oklahoma interstates are the roughest roads we usually encounter however......

Our day here was mostly unloading and sorting all the stuff we had jammed into the little CRV.  It was soo packed that we barely had room to sit in it ourselves.  Stuffed clear to the roof with the top most layer being our pillows.

Also we had tossed almost all of our groceries, so I ended up going to Wal Mart twice today with varying lists.  Of course there was almost nothing in the way of groceries here with exception of frozen stuff.  And its old.....

Also every time I sat down in the big chair, I would nod off for a nap.......  Not up to those 600 mile days any more......

Retired Rod