A mini vacation

We were gone for a couple of days, five and a half actually. Drove to Dallas, TX in one day (14 hours, plus 2 hours time-change), en route to Tulsa, OK to see our niece get married. From Tulsa to Albuquerque, NM, and home. Dave and Barbara volunteered to take care of the WD, and Cindy had flown in to take care of her own horses, so we had no worries about everybody and everything left behind. It was a long-awaited trip, and we enjoyed it a lot.

I am always surprised at the size of the country, and I love to see the landscape change. New Mexico and west Texas are still desert country, but then suddenly, somewhere in Texas, you get out for a pit stop and the air smells tropical and moist. There are lots of grasses and wild flowers along the interstate, and it was obvious that it had recently rained. A lot. All that greenery!

We made it to La's (mother-in-law) in daylight and spent the next day doing little projects around the house and loving the dogs. In comparison with Arizona, Texas knows nothing of a recession. There is building going on as if there's no tomorrow, and what was a field yesterday is a mall today. Restaurants are full. People drive huge, new cars.


On Friday afternoon we convoyed to Tulsa, all new country for me. Lovely rolling hills, large meadows interspersed with huge oaks. Very pleasing to the eye, and wonderful for horses. We once considered retiring in Texas, but there are few places to ride as most of the land is privately owned. Besides, as I said when we left Oregon: green is highly overrated. It comes with a price: rain and high humidity.

Tulsa is a nice town, not too big, not too small. Big river running through it, the Arkansas. Large trees, and overall it had a good feel. It also has a brandnew baseball stadium for their AAA team: the Tulsa Drillers. We went there for a game on Saturday night and it was great fun. Our team even won!


After the wedding, and the game, we headed back on Sunday morning, via Oklahoma City and Amarillo, TX to Albuquerque, NM, and then home this morning. I was a little worried that after seeing all the green and smelling the moisture in the air, I would be disappointed at being in the desert again. I do love that tropical air and the plants it brings, such as the magnolia. But while driving, I realized there is little variety in plant and animal life in that part of the country, which is why I love the desert so much. Perhaps the harshness of the climate promotes great diversity. In short, I am happy to be living in SE Arizona.