Saturday, October 2, 2010

10/2/2010 Train Whistles ALL Night Long

First it was one of those days and it turned into one of those nights! I couldn’t find a talk radio show which I like to listen to before I fall off to sleep. Well, there was one but I don’t understand Spanish so it didn’t do me any good. I finally found one that was half talk and half music. It was a Christian radio program and the listener call-in part of the show was insightful and interesting. However, I don’t know who picks out the music they played but from the sound of it I’m thinking they were demo tapes from Christian garage bands! Now I can’t carry a tune in a bucket so I certainly have no room to talk but whoever helped these groups make their records had to be tone deaf. Of course once I got in bed I was suddenly wide awake so I had to listen to this for awhile.

We weren’t completely set up since we were just staying overnight. We didn’t even put the back jacks down and while I’m laying in bed trying so hard to go to sleep Bob was doing something in the living room that had him moving around quite a bit and the trailer just rocked back and forth.

So Bob settles down, the 5th wheel stood still, the radio program changed to a discussion panel type show now and I’m just about to fall off to sleep and the trains started! Now I could deal with the sound of the train on the tracks, in fact that sound is rhythmic and could certainly aid in one getting to sleep. However, there must be a train crossing over a busy road nearby because the train whistles started. Three short blasts and one LONG and I mean LONG! Oh great, awake again.

This went on all night long. I would estimate a train passed every forty minutes or so. All. Night. Long. I was so glad when the sun came up and a new day was starting.

I took these pictures just before we pulled out of our space. There were a lot more overnight guests but they all left very early this morning, they were probably up all night too. Somehow, some way, Bob was able to sleep through all the noise.

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So we started out in Kansas on the border with Oklahoma. We weren’t going to be in Oklahoma long as we were crossing that narrow little strip that sticks out from the rest of the state. See that diagonal line that is running through the upper left corner of the pic below? That’s the route we took,,,Route 54.

Oklahoma map

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We passed this building and we noticed the huge yellow ribbon on the front. I wish I had been able to get the camera up fast enough so i could have had a clear shot without the tree.

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I’ve posted many pictures on here of the huge windmills we’ve seen as we travel.

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There is absolutely no doubt these things are huge but things were really put into perspective for us today. We passed two trucsk hauling one of the blades for a windmill.

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Again, trains came into play today. We saw a train carrying car after car of this type.

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And inside each one? Cars! Small cars, nine to a carrier, three levels of three each. I could see the sun shining off the hubcaps or something shiny on each car. If positioned just right with the sun I could see the outline of the cars.

This is what Oklahoma looks like.

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I’d like to know what’s in these containers. Just curious.

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If you have to come up with a name for your town and it sits right on the border between Oklahoma and Texas what do you call it? How about this?

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It didn’t take long and we were in another state.

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This is what Texas looks like.

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Actually, Texas didn’t look like that for long because we soon came upon acres and acres, if not square miles and square miles of corn fields ready to be harvested like pictured below.

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Feed corn, don’t expect to find this under a Green Giant or Del Monte label.

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A going down the road picture.

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Since we were only going across the corner of the Texas it wasn’t long before we crossed into New Mexico.

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Not a bad day, four states, nice scenery, very little traffic and with the time change we gained another hour.

We’re in Tucumcari and we’ll be here a minimum of two nights. Depending what it is in the area to see, maybe a third.

I’m really looking forward to our next stop but that’s all I’m going to say for now.

LaVon, wish you were here to eat with us! SPAM, it’s whats for dinner! Hmmm…frIed Spam, parsley potatoes, garlic green beans and stewed tomatoes! Hmmmm, Hmmmm, GOOD!

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it is a law that all campgrounds have to be within earshot of a railroad track. Glad you guys survived.

Joe

Anonymous said...

That's the way it was in Goshen during Escapade...trains all night long, honking and blaring. Egad, how does anyone sleep in that town? Well, I didn't the first night. The second night I slept simply because I was exhausted! What is so very irritating is that is never bothered my husband, grrr.

Someone said that sometimes one hundred trains a day go through Goshen.


I'm so glad we both survived the long night of trains.

Karen

Lou said...

If your staying at Cactus RV park, you won't have to worry about it being to crowded.

LaVon Baker said...

The two areas you crossed in Oklahoma and Texas are both called, The Panhandle. The Panhandle of Oklahoma and The Panhandle of Texas, for obvious reasons.
You took that picture for DON'S benefit, not mine!!! Everything on your plate looks delicious, except for the Spam. Not gonna do it.
:-))

Peggy & Bill said...

Hmmm someone else besides Bill doesn't like Spam????? We ate it all the time at home when I was a kid so when we were first married, guess what? Now he won't even let me buy it!