The trip home

We headed home after a great visit in Fort Collins.

Cross Country

First stop was WaKenney Kansas. Essentially an exit off of I-70 surrounded by vast fields of something or another! We saw a killer sunrise in the morning before heading south to Oklahoma.

Kansas Sunrise
Kansas Sunrise

We stopped in Oklahoma at a park near Tulsa. That night we got a good rain storm so we didn’t get to see much of the area although what we did see looked nice. The area was a lake off of the Arkansas river and obviously popular with boaters.

On day three we headed east through Arkansas to finally end up at a KOA just north of Memphis. It started to rain hard again so we hundred down for the night. We discovered one of the two main interstate bridges across the Mississippi River was closed for repairs and the advice to get on the road early!

We headed out at 5AM to drive about 2 miles before getting stuck in a 1 1/2 hour traffic jam. Seems a semi flipped and burned right where I-55 and I-40 come together. No wonder given the huge numbers of trucks and their (the truck drivers) mind-numbing idiocy when it comes to driving fast in heavy, rain-soaked traffic!

Memphis Truck Traffic
Memphis Truck Traffic

After that it was a day of crumbling infrastructure and numerous traffic jams trying to get through Memphis, Birmingham and Montgomery. By the time we got through all of that mess it just rained consistently all the way to Panama City. After 14 hours driving my butt was numb and my back was killing me!

Back in Florida

Back in Florida
Back in Florida

However – we arrived safely back at brother Dave’s in Panama City. We spent 3 nights here with Dave & Lisa – took in a Rock the Dock music from his nearly completed back porch, played with the pups and relaxed.

Next stop Cocoa Beach – exactly 7 weeks from our launch date! The Excellent Adventure – Part 1 – is quickly coming to a close!