Day 52, April 23, 2023, Sunday. Santa Fe, NM (78 miles) (elevation 6,986)

We awoke to no running water as the outside temp was 27 and ice was causing a blockage. No damage to our equipment and the water was soon running. We departed Taos and headed south to Santa Fe Skies RV Park (FHU). We thought it would be warmer but did not realize we gained elevation. But hopefully no freezing temps tonight. We visited the NM Museum of Art. After parking and while walking to the museum, a gentleman walking with us indicated there was a free concert at the museum. We arrived at the concert just minutes after it began. A wind ensemble called the Santa Fe Concert Band played for about an hour and included a West Side Story medley and a Beatles medley among other works. A pleasant surprise. We then visited the art museum. It took us only an hour to see and read everything in the museum. We walked around the downtown visiting art galleries and shops. A walk to dinner at Andiamo! We shared a caesar salad and we each had chicken parm over penne pasta. The food was excellent. 

Day 53, April 24, 2023, Monday. Santa Fe, NM 

We visited the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum with timed tickets. We had visited this museum in 2015 but the collection presented varies from time to time. An enjoyable museum. Next it was off to Bubble King for boba teas. We then drove to the Santa Fe Railyard Park but we did not even get out of the car as the place was dead. We drove to the art gallery area near downtown and visited more galleries. The first one we stopped in was the Longworth Gallery which we had visited in 2015, and which I am still on its mailing list for new works. Their main artist represented is Vladimir Kush, a surrealist who does amazing paintings.  Next we went back to the downtown area for more wandering and shopping.  I bought a couple of salsas which were actually from Texas. Hopefully not too spicy. Dinner downtown at Dumpling Tea. A family run operation with grandma making dumplings in full view. We had 3 types of dumplings - shrimp/egg/veggie dumplings, veggie dumplings and pork soup dumplings and chicken fried rice noodles. Each order of dumplings came with 6 large dumplings. These were the best dumplings I have ever had! We polished off the dumplings but the rice noodles had to go home with us. Way too much food! A conversation with a grandson revealed his cousin has a sushi restaurant, Katana, in Riverview near Tampa. Might have to check it out. I went in to blow a kiss to grandma as we departed. Alas, forgot to take a photo of the dumplings.

Day 54, April 25, 2023, Tuesday. Amarillo, TX (295 miles) (elevation 3,668)

Travel day. Departed Santa Fe, NM, and arrived at Amarillo Best Wonderland RV Park (FHU). Back to central time zone.

Day 55, April 26, 2023, Wednesday. Amarillo, TX 

Our plans to visit the Palo Duro Canyon State Park about 30 miles southeast of Amarillo were thwarted by a rainy and cold day.  Instead I visited Bill’s Backyard Classics, a private collection of over 100 cars ranging from the 1920's to the 1980's. I looked for a 1966 Cadillac Sedan de Ville (my first car) but the closest they had was a 1963 Coupe de Ville. I enjoyed the visit for $10 but Rosemary stayed in the car reading her book.  Next we drove to the Cadillac Ranch.  This is comprised of 10 Cadillacs buried halfway in a field. The sign encourages people to paint graffiti on the cars and there are barrels with spray paint to do so. I chose not to spray paint on a cold and very windy day. We then drove around the around the historic Route 66 area which looked like an area that time had passed by.  We drove around what maybe could be called downtown but not much to look at. Finally something good, we stopped at Tyler’s Barbeque and brought home a pound of sliced brisket and a rack of ribs. With sides, enough for 3 meals for the two of us. Good, a little peppery, but not as good as Feedstore BBQ near Dallas.

Day 56, April 27, 2023, Thursday. Amarillo, TX 

After yesterday’s miserable weather, today was sunny with temps in the 70's. We visited the Jack Sisemore RV Museum with free admission. Many old classic motorhomes including a 1973 Winnebago. My folks first motorhome was also a 1973 Winnebago although theirs was a larger (a whopping 25 feet!) Chief model and the one in the museum was a smaller Brave model). I lived in the Winnebago for a year while in my second year of law school.  Next we visited Palo Duro Canyon State Park about 30 miles south of Amarillo. It claims to be the second largest canyon in the US. We were looking forward to doing some hiking, but when we got to the entrance station we were told all the trails were closed due to the wet conditions caused by the previous day’s rain.  We proceeded anyway since the park has a loop drive beginning at the top of the canyon and proceeding to the bottom of the canyon. We had our picnic lunch and did walk around the rocky landscape a bit. The canyon was nice but rather unexciting compared to other canyons we have visited on this trip.

Day 57, April 28, 2023, Friday.  Weatherford, OK (196 miles) (elevation 1,634)

Today was a stormy travel day. The strong winds blew the rain horizontally, pelting the driver’s side of the coach. About halfway to Weatherford, I noticed that the rain was coming in around the driver’s side window. I pulled over and we discovered that rain had come through all of the windows on that side creating quite a mess. After cleanup we proceeded with towels stuffed into the tracks of each window. We arrived in Weatherford at the Stafford Air & Space Museum just after 3:00. The museum highlights the career of astronaut Thomas Stafford, a native son of Weatherford. He is credited with having gone on more space flights than any other astronaut. He was on Gemini VI, Gemini IX, Apollo X (on which he piloted the lunar lander in orbit around the moon) and the Apollo/Soyuz docking. He was the first American to float through to shake the hand of the Russian. He became a three star General and is now retired but still going at age 92. The museum covered the history of flight as well as the history of space flight. After a good visit at the museum, we checked into Wanderlust Crossings RV Park (FHU and concrete pads). 

Day 58, April 29, 2023, Saturday.  Oklahoma City, OK (73 miles) (elevation 1,198)

As we arrived in Oklahoma yesterday but in bad weather, today with good weather we placed the State of Oklahoma on our coach map. This is the 50th State we have visited during our RV travels and our map is now complete! (We visited Hawaii in 2017 during our ownership of the coach but no, we did not drive it there).  We departed Weatherford and checked into Twin Fountains RV Resort (FHU concrete pads) in Oklahoma City.  After lunch we visited Myriad Botanical Gardens which has a 3 story greenhouse called the Crystal Bridge Conservatory. Inside we felt like we were home - hot and humid. Next we walked a few blocks to the Festival of Arts in Bicentennial Park and perused the art.  We drove around the Asian District but there were so many choices we opted out of Asian food and drove to the Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant.  Very good meal followed by a drive to the Gelato Caffe where we had coconut and pistachio. A very fulfilling day on our anniversary.

Day 59, April 30, 2023, Sunday.  Oklahoma City, OK 

Our gastroenterologist is from Oklahoma City and when he found out we are going to be in the city he said we have to go to Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler and have a burger and onion rings. Probably not the best advice for a person who has stomach issues. So we went to Johnnie’s and I ordered the Johnnie burger with Johnnie’s sauce which was described to me as a mild hickory sauce and an order of onion rings. The burger had a nice charcoal flavor and the onion rings were good. The Johnnie’s sauce was loaded on which made for a very sloppy burger. I would not rush back there. Rosemary brought her yogurt. To make up for a lunch stop which Rosemary wasn’t thrilled with, our next stop was in the Asian District for Gong cha boba teas. Boba teas were very good (better than the lunch).  We then drove to the Bricktown District and did the Canal Walk. A pleasant walk on a beautiful sunny day. We came upon the Centennial Land Run Monument which included 45 figures celebrating the 1889 opening of the unassigned lands in Oklahoma. After the walk, a perfect time to visit the Bricktown Brewery where I had a Single String Stout which was great. 

Day 60, May 1, 2023, Monday.  Oklahoma City, OK

Today we had a private tour of the State Capitol. Our tour guide was the wife of one of the State Senators and did a great job explaining the history of the building and the sites inside.  The center of the state seal has a 5 pointed star and in between each point are 9 smaller stars.  This adds up to a total of 46 stars to commemorate Oklahoma joining the union as the 46th state. The building was built between 1914-1917 but the dome was not built due to WWI. It was not until 2002 that the dome was built. Our next stop was to the Oklahoma City National Memorial.  Located where the Murrah Federal Building stood before the 1995 bombing, there are 168 chairs representing the 168 victims who died there.  The chairs are arranged in order of the floor and location in the building where each of the people died. The second row has numerous small chairs for the children killed on the second floor daycare center. We opted not to go to the museum as the memorial was sad enough.