THE Trip, Grapevine Texas to Odessa Texas, Westward HO

For most of this trip we have been going slow and easy, busy in Dallas/Fort Worth, but otherwise, pacing ourselves, enjoying.  However, on departure day from DFW for some reason, we decided it was time to pack on some miles and head WEST.  Once we got west of I 35 we are in new territory, new experiences.

So, we packed up, said goodbye to Coleen and Ray, and to Dallas and Fort Worth.  We love DFW, it is a energy packed vibrant community (with killer traffic).  As much as we love it and all our cousins there, it wears us out quickly (we are such country folk, used to living the laid back life - LOL).

Man has been messing with
camera settings, found one
for better 60 MPH photos!

Our basic route out of Grapevine was 121 to I 820 west, to I 30 west, to I 20 WEST!!!.  We did 336 miles this drive day, more than any day prior.   We zoomed past Abilene,  Sweetwater, Big Spring and Midland.  We landed between Midland and Odessa at the Midessa Oil Patch RV Park.  Man has developed a cold/sore throat thingy, so asks for help driving, I do the last 150 miles or so into the park.  We were tired, did minimum set up, crashed, rested.

We noted several museums and such along the way.  We saw the Permain Basin Petroleum Museum near Midland.  Did not stop, from the web site, it looks like something that needs to be added to the bucket list.

We saw sagebrush blowing across I 20 (a first for us).  We saw lots of oil wells, and cattle.  I missed what could have been a great photo, cattle grazing amidst the oil wells. 

We also drove through more Wind Mill Farms.  When I googled for information, I found several sites, one is Trent Mesa Wind Project.  The farms are so large it is hard to get a photo that shows off the true scope (as in HUGE!)

They also grow cotton in this area of Texas, and this is how they take it from the farm field to the market, these bundles are quite large.  To put in perspective, they look to be about the size of a 18-wheeler cargo trailer, only not quite as long. I found a web site (sadly, the URL is now non-functional as of April 2019), that I believe describes this transportation method, which states the 'modules' are 8 foot wide by 32 foot long by 8 foot high and weighs 18,000 to 22, 500 pounds.

Cotton bundled for market,
note windmills in the background.

One knows you are in the west, AKA oil country when the decorations at your campground for the night look like this:

Well, we are past I 35 and on to points west, what will THE Trip bring next??  Excitement, we hope so, new sights and sounds, for sure.  The rest will unravel and make itself known as we wander, camera in hand, our souls open to the unknown.  We are now officially out of our comfort zone!  Onward - -

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