Monday October 5, 2009-Coming back to Texas!!

Today is the day we return to Texas. We are both ready to get back to some warm climate and our friends at Rayford. We got everything done and pulled out from the park at 9:45, just about on time. We only have about 285 miles to drive today, to the Oasis RV park in Amarillo.

We had a little excitement before we left. I had heard sirens nearby and then had seen two news helicopters circling around overhead and knew that something was going on. When we left, we saw several police cars, an ambulance and a couple of news crews standing in the intersection. Of course, we didn't know what had happened but guessed that there had been a serious accident, possibly involving a fatality. Stella guessed that a prisoner had escaped from a nearby jail, but we didn't know for sure. She had heard of an accident at the balloon grounds in which someone had fallen out of one of the balloon baskets when it hit the top of a tent. She said that one of the newscasters on site had actually seen the person fall, but at the time, no one knew the extent of his injury. When we arrived in Amarillo, I found out that a car had run into a bus carrying prisoners and 14 of them, a guard and two people in the car had all been injured, but no serious injuries had been reported.

We made good time to Amarillo and after a couple of stops, we arrived at 4:30,
Texas time (3:30 Albuquerque time). We got set up and relaxed under the air conditioner for the first time since we left Houston. I don't remember if we used the a/c here when we left or not, but it was pretty cool at night.

We decided not to stay two days here in Amarillo or tomorrow night in Mansfield. Stella called Rayford and got permission to come in on Wednesday the 7th, so one more night on the road and WE'RE HOME!!!

So long.