Almost 2 weeks ago I received a call from one of my sister's telling me my Mom was hospitalized. She has been battling breast cancer for years but the most recent chemo kicked her hard. They also discovered a mass in her brain. It was clear I needed to go now. A plane ticket was out of the question, so I loaded the Jeep and said goodbye to my wife and kids for the 3 day drive to Indiana. We were able to get a lot of care put in place for her and it was a worthwhile trip. In addition to my Mom's health issues, my Dad has Alzheimer's and lives in a nursing home. This was a good opportunity to spend time with him as well.
No road trip across this great and beautiful country without construction!
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My first stop was the KOA in Tucumcari, NM. my tent was the back of my Jeep. I didn't get any pics of my bed, but I basically stuffed some memory foam in the gap between the folded down seat and the tub. Then I laid on a sleeping bag and was quite comfortable for four total nights of KOA camping during the round trip.
Sunset on I-40 just east of Tucumcari.
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I did discover a good place to air out my shoes.
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And a place to hang a wet towel, the RH4x4 3rd row bar.
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The next morning I started towards the Springfield, MO KOA
The cross near Amarillo, TX
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Then some fog
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It was nice to see the thick trees again at the Springfield KOA
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And some nice camping setups
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Sunrise after leaving Springfield
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After checking in on my Mom and a few days of going to appointments with her, I picked my Dad up. We discovered early on in his Alzheimer's that he loved to bowl. I took him to the local bowling alley and he kicked my butt 2 out of 3 games!!
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Last year my parents sold their house of 43 years to downsize. I did not get to sort through stuff so they saved a bunch of boxes. I found a bunch of 35mm slides of pics my Dad took when he was in Vietnam. I'm working on the best way to convert those.
When I stopped in Tucumcari on the way to Indiana I remembered something about the musical Route 66 Eddie posted awhile back. I sent him a PM and made a plan to take the small detour on the way home. Here's what it sounds like with Nitto Trail Grapplers and windows down.
https://youtu.be/rLCBGZQTj14
I did try it with the windows up but it could barely be heard.
I saw a lot of Jeeps on the round trip including some old iron
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Of course I saw some funny stuff too (check out the bicycle)
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Got some Hatch chilis from Hatch, NM
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Added a new sticker to the tailgate
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Saw some beautiful scenery
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And stopped at the Geronimo Surrenders monument
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The total trip, including some driving around in my hometown
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This is one of my favorite things my Mom saved for me from their home sale. It's a propeller from a missile drone from the Vietnam era he was given as a memento. He was stationed at Ft. Huachuca, which I live next to now, prior to shipping out to Vietnam.
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As you may imagine, I have a unique "collection" of insects from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on the front of my Jeep.
Lastly...cancer sucks and Alzheimer's does too! It was great having 3 days of solitude, each way, in the Jeep, to clear my head. It was great therapy.
