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“Livin’ on Tulsa time
Livin’ on Tulsa time
Well, you know I’ve been through it
When I set my watch back to it
Livin’ on Tulsa time“

There’s never a dull moment in Lucyland and our latest trip was no exception. What has that got to do with Tulsa Time?  Glad you asked! Well, GPS kept routing us through Oklahoma City and we wanted to head to Tulsa. I knew that Google added a feature that allows you to add a stop so I finally just added in Tulsa as the next stop on our way north; no address, just Tulsa. See where I’m going with this yet? Sit back, you will.

I set the GPS for Tulsa and forgot about it. My intention was to keep us on the interstate once we got to Tulsa but I have zero attention span and the new meds make that – can you go less than zero? Hubby was intently following the nice lady’s directions and made a right turn and a left turn and a right turn and a left turn and after a few of these odd turns, she told us our destination was on the right. Uh! Where are we?!

What?!?!?! We looked at each other and suddenly I realized I had forgotten a small minor infraction – pay attention. We were smack dab in the dead center of downtown Tulsa! Oh no! I told hubby we were probably going to be on the six o’clock news with the headline, “Don’t know who the idiots were from Southern Louisiana but they were seen towing their Airstream through downtown today. Hey Charlie, any campgrounds downtown?”

After a few more right, make that “correct” turns, we were back on the interstate and heading north again. Mental note – pay attention!

We quickly learned that there is almost an invisible driving line between our East and the west. We have become quite spoiled to the many interstates and state highways along with countless gas stations in the east. When we left Tulsa, the quickest way to get to our first destination were the state highways and the state highways in Oklahoma and Kansas took us through miles and miles of nowhere.

Don’t get the wrong idea. The views outside the windows went on forever and we loved the openness. We just had no clue where the next town or fuel was. I had all the apps, just no service. This was our maiden voyage towing our Airstream and we had no idea how far a tank of gas would take us. We did have the gas can in the back of the truck for emergencies.

We eventually returned to somewhere in the middle of nowhere and the only campground in the area had one review that said it was like something out of a horror movie. I looked at hubby and said, “Nope, not going there.” Thank goodness I had over a year of camping and boondocking experience with other people – thanks YouTube!! It’s amazing how much you can learn from YouTube. Our first and then a second night on the road was spent boondocking at a Loves along with the truckers. Towing is so much simpler now than it was in the past. A long (and I’m talking long) time ago, you had to know where the next campground was and that is how you planned your travel. Now, businesses are set up to not only accommodate tracker-trailers but RV’s as well. Some of the businesses that allow free overnight parking for RV’s are Cracker Barrel, Walmart, Cabelos, Love’s, Flying J. But, it doesn’t stop there. There are literally hundreds of places to stop in for a night.

Most of the people I’ve followed on YouTube didn’t try boondocking for at least a year. We seem to never do anything the easy way! Right out of the starting gate, we were boondocking and learning about water consumption and conservation. We not only survived but went on to spend several more nights with the truckers while driving through to destinations. I found it interesting. The truckers roll in about dark and they roll out at dawn. We felt completely safe. There was ample lighting and the white noise from the trucks lulled me to sleep like a baby.

Our first morning after boondocking (above). You just never know what you’ll see on the side of the road (below).

I love pictures of forever highways, landscape, and old buildings on the side of the road. It is fun to imagine the history of the family that lived there. Some places were abandoned and it led to me wondering about their story. Then, there is something about a long rolling highway that fascinates me. It may be that I’m a wanderer at heart. Where we live in Southern Louisiana there are swamps, swamps, swamps, and more swamps. When we travel, the landscape changes with every mile and as you can see in the photos, you can see forever. That is the one thing that captivates me – seeing forever.

This was our first glimpse of the Chimney Rock Monument in Nebraska. The monument is literally out in the middle of nowhere and we were surprised by the number of people who thought the drive was worth it. There was a really nice and informative museum at the site and for a nominal fee of $3 per person, you could stay as long as you wanted. Children accompanied by adults are free.

A little bit about Chimney Rock’s history:

“Designated the Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Chimney Rock is one of the most famous and recognizable landmarks for pioneer travelers on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, a symbol of the great western migration. Located approximately four miles south of present-day Bayard, at the south edge of the North Platte River Valley, Chimney Rock is a natural geologic formation, a remnant of the erosion of the bluffs at the edge of the North Platte Valley. A slender spire rises 325 feet from a conical base. The imposing formation, composed of layers of volcanic ash and brule clay dating back to the Oligocene Age (34 million to 23 million years ago), towers 480 feet above the North Platte River Valley.

After examining over 300 journal accounts of settlers moving west along the Platte River Road, historian Merrill Mattes concluded that Chimney Rock was by far the most mentioned landmark. Mattes notes that although no special events took place at the rock, it held center-stage in the minds of the overland trail travelers. For many, the geological marker was an optical illusion. Some claimed that Chimney Rock could be seen upwards of 30 miles away, and though one travelled toward the rock-spire, Chimney Rock always appeared to be off in the distance—unapproachable.

Because of this optical effect, early travel accounts varied in their description of the rock. Some travelers believed that the rock spire may have been upwards of 30 feet higher than its current height, suggesting that wind, erosion, or a lightning strike had caused the top part of the spire to break off. Throughout the ages, the rock spire has continued to capture the imaginations and the romantic fascinations of travelers heading west.

Chimney Rock and its surrounding environs today look much as they did when the first settlers passed through in the mid 1800s. Erected on the southeast edge of the base in 1940, a small stone monument commemorates a gift from the Frank Durnal family to the Nebraska State Historical Society of approximately 80 acres of land, including Chimney Rock.  The plot of land that the State owns provides a buffer zone to protect the historic landmark from modern encroachment.  The only modern developments are Chimney Rock Cemetery, located approximately one-quarter mile southeast, and the visitor center nearby.  Chimney Rock was designated a National Historic Site in 1956.  The visitor center provides information on the history of the Overland Trails and Chimney Rock.”

 

After taking the requisite picture of us and the Airstream at the Chimney Rock, we headed north to South Dakota. I should probably mention there was another “Lucy” story that took place here. We haven’t quite mastered the selfie stick and the battery was not charged for a remote photo. I approached a car that was getting ready to drive away and waved to them. They waved back a little confused and started to leave. I waved again and they looked more confused. Then in full Lucy fashion I tried to motion with my phone that we would appreciate help with a photo. It took a few seconds that felt more like minutes to determine the smiling waving lady was harmless and they took our picture. In fact, the guy let his wife get out of the car. They may have left a cloud of dust in their wake, but we had our picture.

The drive through the country was beautiful and we absolutely enjoyed the changing landscape.

This was a recap of the first four days of our journey. I hope you enjoyed traveling along. If you have any questions, please comment. You can read about Dignity here. She was towards the end of our trip but I wanted to feature her first.