Day 1: Oklahoma City to Santa Fe, NM (547 miles)

Avg. Gas $2.66
Music- Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, Nickel Creek, Wily Mason
Podcasts- The History of the World in 100 Objects
Audio Book- 3 Cups of Tea


Nestled comfortably on the plains of the Bible belt, the familiar land of Oklahoma welcomes us. We rise with the dawn and are on the empty highway before the sun has fully enveloped downtown with his warmth. The long stretch of I-40 reaches before us, straight and flat. The only scenery is the sheer vastness. Cows dot the sides of the road, grazing happily alongside crosses and signs that say “Jesus Christ is Lord, Not a Swear Word.”
There is hardly a change as we cross the border and enter the Texas panhandle. Soon after entering the 2nd biggest state in the Union, we are beckoned to the grand city of Amarillo, where gluttony meets glory with the “Free 72 oz steak” ad. Eat it all, including the sides and it is yours free of charge-heart attack is an included bonus. The entire span of highway in Texas is boring. Everyone says so, and they are all right. There is the occasional feedlot to wake your nasal senses, and then it passes, and there is nothing more but flat, open land.
When first entering New Mexico, the landscape offers little. There are scrub brush and rock. Between Texas and Clines Corner, where we turn to head on highway 285 to Santa Fe, there are two towns. That’s it. New Mexico isn’t a very populated state. Due to the lack of towns and roadside stops, the two gift shop/gas stations between Texas and the Hwy 285 turnoff have a monopoly on the billboards. The pit stop in Clines Corner starts advertising 125 miles before the exit. Teasing you, beckoning you. It’s the only stop before arriving in Albuquerque, 110 miles further down the interstate. As your bladder gets desperate, and your gas starts getting dangerously low, Clines Corner hounds you with more than 25 billboards in a 5-mile stretch. Like so many others we took the exit. Along with the other helpless travelers with few options, we overpaid for a tank of gas and a drink. Proving once again, location is everything.
Highway 285 to Santa Fe is a hilly, beautiful road. It showcases some of the highlights of the land of enchantment, mountains, plateaus and desert colors. We had gained an hour entering Mountain Time, so we expected to get to Santa Fe around 4:00 pm. However the ominous clouds that had summoned to us since heading west out of Texas were not filled with empty threats. About 30 miles outside of Santa Fe rain quickly turned to sleet, and then snow. We creeped along the highway at 20 mph, thankful we only had a few miles to go. Once safely parked at the apartment of Colby’s brother, we stepped out of the car and admired the soft, scenic snow, now much less threatening. We stretched our legs and let our bodies enjoy time not cramped in a car. We have a night ahead of us filled with March madness, wine, dinner and laughs.