trip

Emailed in by Wayde and Barb Dudley

Ron suggested we send some information about our trip. We left LVH on Sept.7 and drove to Carson City NV. Visited a long time friend there. The area is really growing fast. No cell service between Weed CA. and Reno. Lots of highway work though. We then went to Las Vegas via Elko and Ely. We had no cell service from Reno area until we reached Las Vegas. Spent 3 days visiting friends then headed southeast. Crossed Hoover dam the day before the bridge towers fell. That saved us a big detour. Stayed in Flagstaff AZ. Nice area, a lot like the Bend country. Hope we don’t offend anyone but we were not impressed with Arizona after we left Flagstaff. Lots of sand and cactus (but it’s probably dry and warm in the winter). We looked for a girl in a flatbed Ford in Winslow but did not see her. We passed through some truly bad places where we definitely would not to have to live: Window Rock AZ; Gallup, Grants, Socorro and Roswell NM stand out. Looked for little aliens in Roswell but did not see any live ones. We finally got cell service near San Antonio TX. I guess if you travel the west much you need a satellite phone. Spent some time in San Antonio visiting Wayde’s brother, then on to Dallas where we played golf at the Dallas Cowboy Golf Club. This is the nicest golf facility we have played yet. Very enjoyable if you were a fan of the old Cowboys (Tom Landry era). We crossed the Mississippi River at Vicksburg MS. A lot of Civil War history around there. This part of the country is heavily forested with a mix of conifer and deciduous trees. A little clear cutting would help the view. Mississippi and Alabama are both heavily forested. Have eaten a lot of good barbecue (and Barb has enjoyed the grits). Georgia is more open with a lot of meadow and pasture lands. We went to Waycross GA so Wayde could see “Millers Cave” of song fame but alas, no such cave. We did go to the north end of the Okeefanokee swamp and toured Obediah’s Okeefanok, an old homestead. Hot and humid! We both miss our Oregon mist. Saw the Atlantic Ocean at Jekyll Island GA., it was great to see ocean again. Savannah is our next stop.