We're Coming Home

4/26 Hot Springs --> Oklahoma City

4/27 Oklahoma City --> Amarillo

4/28 Amarillo --> Albuquerque

4/29 Albuquerque

SATURDAY 4/26/14
For some reason the air never smells sweeter than we head off on our next adventure. Even though we have lived in Destiny for over a year and a half that nervous excitement gets us every time! We definitely enjoyed our time in Arkansas and soaked up all the beauty of winter and spring. That transition was really quite amazing. From ice storms to thunderstorms to watching everything turn green. It was truly incredible.

As we pulled out of the ranch we stopped real quick to top off the fluids and check the tires and then we were off. We decided to take a new way out of Arkansas. Instead of the the normal way through Hot Springs and out to the 40W we jumped onto the 270 West from Royal almost to Mena and then took the 71 North to Fort Smith before heading to OKC. It's those little two lane highways that always get to us, with the little pop up towns in between all the farm land. We were just a day ahead of the huge tornado and the pre-storm skies illuminated the fields all across the horizon. The greens in the grass and the trees were so vibrant and alive, the tall yellow plants danced with the wind along the roadside, the streams glistened and reflected an eerie blue as if they were trying to warn us all of the storm to come. I wanted to jump out of the car and go get lost in a corn field and dance across the prairies. I know most people have these preconceived notions about Arkansas, I know I did.... but man have you ever been there? It is seriously a beautiful state. The humidity and constant storms keep it so green and there are so many trees and ponds and rivers. That's something that I think this California girl will never get used to.

I loved every minute of our drive to Fort Smith. As it got later we rushed to find a home in the OKC Walmart so we could batten down the hatches before the storm hit. We were nervous this tornado cruising by us was going to cause a horrible storm but we ended up only getting a little bit of rain. It was quite traumatizing though because we got to Walmart so late that we were too tired to put the tarp on and we hadn't tested out our new roof.  I woke up every twenty minutes jumping out of bed to make sure there was nothing leaking. To my surprise there was never a drop of water. It seemed too good to be true so I continued to wake up in pure panic throughout the whole storm.

SUNDAY 4/27/14
I spent the morning grabbing a few necessities at the store then we went over to the laundry mat to do the massive amounts of laundry I had been avoiding for a week or two. Jordan stocked up on propane and then we hit the road. We read the news as it poured in of the tornado that tore apart and demolished some the beautiful little towns we had just driven through in Arkansas. Gratefulness filled our hearts as we both knew that storm would have tore Destiny to pieces. We were once again reminded that checking the weather is extremely important when living on the road.

We only have 260 miles to go today as we are planning to spend the night in the Walmart of Amarillo. The same one that we got stuck in the blizzard in over a year ago. We needed to have a toast there to celebrate another year on the road!

Jordan is driving and I'm sitting in the passenger seat with my feet on the dash as we make our way across the Oklahoma plains. The winds are strong causing us to rock back and forth like a boat. The highway cuts through farmland that is so green you can feel the life that has been stored up all winter bursting from the earth. There is tall wispy green grass that grows right on the edge of the highway, it sways back and forth with the wind. Lone trees with crazy branches are scattered about the fields as if to break up the flatness of this state. A light brown mist is covering our horizon, the dust storm is coming. It's almost eerie because you can't see anything past the brown cloud and all these beautiful fields are about to disappear.

So I just lay my head back on the head rest and soak in all the sights from my windows and think of all the sights I've seen from this seat. Then comes a smile on my face and I think to myself......

Wow,
my house has some of the best views in the world





MONDAY 4/28/14
I don't think I like the 40 freeway anymore. It seems that just about every time we are on it something crazy happens or we run into some gnarly storm. I think I'll just call it the wind tunnel of America. Well at least the stretch from Amarillo to Albuquerque. We were white knuckle driving across the desert as we watched our gas gauge move closer and closer to empty. The wind was blowing 30-35 miles an hour straight at us with gusts over 50 mph. Mind you we only have four cylinders and no overdrive at this point (not that we could have used it anyway). With the pedal to the medal we were barely cruising at 35 mph and couldn't stay in our own lane. So even though we were anxious to see our friends in Albuquerque we had to pull over at a rest stop. At this point we walked around the motor home to see if everything was still attached and noticed that we lost part of our roof.... the part we just added to finally have a leak proof house. We also lost the plastic molding that keeps water from the seams where the motor home walls are screwed together. It was pretty discouraging but just like everything else you have to realize this is part of life on the road. There will always be setbacks! We sat at the rest stop for the next three hours. We tried to hide behind a picnic area but the wind still managed to rock us back and forth and howled as it went through the little cracks of Destiny. We tried to go outside to keep the "stir crazy" at bay... the wind nearly picked us up off the ground. I would have been able to fly if I had something to use as a parachute!

We ended up making dinner there and hoped that as the sun set the winds would die down. We were just praying we would have enough gas to get to the next gas station. Our mpg goes from 13-18 to 7-9 with the wind like that and we only have a 12 gallon tank. We definitely didn't plan for this storm!











ALBUQUERQUE
By the grace of God our gas stretched as far as it could and we found some super ghetto gas station on the side of the freeway. It was closed.... and sketchy but fortunately two of the six pumps were left on overnight and we were able to fill up!
We finally made it to Albuquerque super late but were so excited to see the Soto's! They are the incredible family that we met in Kauai 5 years ago and who we visited last year on our way home. Danny and Abby have two beautiful kids who we love to hang out with too! We spent the next two and half days catching up, playing, and just enjoying each other's company. For whatever reason hanging out with them is just so easy and natural... and just so comfortable. We laugh a lot and have some amazing conversations. They are passionate about natural living and eating healthy. We always love to soak in their knowledge and share what we have been learning. They absolutely spoiled us while we were there. They gave us our own room, hot showers and fed us like royalty! They also hosted a big family dinner with their friends and family. Abby made some amazing dishes and Danny killed it on the BBQ! I literally ate three platefuls. We had such an awesome time hanging out with everyone. The kids went to bed after dinner and we broke in their newly landscaped backyard and fire pit. It was such a bummer we had to leave after only 2 and half days because Jordan has committed to working at the World Help Conference in Palm Springs on Friday. We have a lot miles to go and only a few days to get there.
With super grateful and refreshed hearts we said our goodbyes. Even if we only get to see them once a year we love them so much and are so thankful to have them in our lives. They are by far some of the best people we know! ~'Til next year Sotos~