Willin'

As it turned out, I didn't get out of Christopher Creek till 11 am, so it was a push to achieve Santa Rosa. Nothing much of note on the drive: Arguably, getting passed by the John Force NHRA* caravan about 2 hours in was the highlight, which is admittedly not saying much. My brain willingly steeps in the alpha waves.

A ribbon of highway. Lots of open range. Cows. Horses. (Where do they sleep?) Craggy rock formations that reveal the earth's immense forces and give you perspective on how fleeting, and insignificant, human existence really is. Billboards. The twinge of guilt of not bothering with Route 66 in my haste to get east. I had forgotten how windy New Mexico can be--drove over/through a tumbleweed about 3 feet in diameter and was sure that the engine would start spewing smoke. It did not.

I ran a constant stream of tunes and local radio, interspersed with Rosetta Stone French I. It's always fun to match the playlist to the geography: Lyle Lovett's "Nothing But a Good Ride" cranking as we passed Clines Corners; today, Little Feat's* "Willin'" will be a must as I pass through Tucumcari, and Pete Townsend's "Jools and Jim" through "Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma...OK."

*An assist to JRF for correctly identifying John Force as an NHRA guy instead of NASCAR. In my defense, I was doing about 75 and they blew my doors off. Maybe John Force was driving the semi.

**An assist to Bruce Farr for catching my early-morning misattribution of this song to The Band.

Quit making me look bad, smaht guys!