Extraneous Sign Verbage and Extra-terrestrials

Joshua and I have a habit of pointing out weird road names and laughing at them. Yesterday it was Noodle Dome Rd. Today there was a town named Gary and Joshua said it was rather narcissistic. Also we saw signs that said “Use EXTREME caution” (not just the regular kind) and “Dust storms may exist” (you mean like the aliens?). We got a late start today after dealing with our bank on some of their new fees (I miss WaMu) so we got to the International UFO Museum and Research Center at about 10:30. Figuring it would not be much to look at, the late start did not faze us. Three hours later, we walked out and I was sorely disappointed that the t-shirts were all so lame because I really wanted one. The museum was thought-provoking because A) we are definitely weird like that and B) because we got to make jokes the whole way through about the characters from the television show Roswell. It did make us think, though, about how inconsistent the government’s “official position” was on the incident but that the personal accounts from many different kinds of people were relatively consistent. All the same, I don’t think either of us are willing to be converted to believing in extra-terrestrials quite so quickly. (When we passed what looked like a thick-web covered bush in Arizona it was still difficult not to think of the pods from aforementioned show). The spaceship themed McDonald’s is everything one might expect with a UFO shaped play area, complete with Ronald in a spacesuit. We left Roswell satisfied with our short but enjoyable stay in quirky Smalltown, USA.

Our time on the road totaled about eleven hours today, coming in at over 600?? miles. The route had us on the interstate again and I think it was delightful for both of us to be reunited with I-10, this time westbound. It was pretty much like yesterday’s drive, but a bit more scenic. The mountains were a nice change to Texas’ hills and windmills. Hours later, even mountains can seem redundant, especially when repeatedly paired with stretches of desert. When twilight hit, the scenery lit up in shades of purple, red, and orange and we were able to snap a few shots at 70 mph.

Yesterday’s incident has made us very aware of our gas levels and it is nice to know we can laugh about it already. KFC was our choice for dinner and a bathroom break (McDonald’s, Subway, Wendy’s, Sonic, and Arby’s is all we have seen for two days… notice their menus are not unique). While we were waiting for our order, a group of beefy men walked in sporting matching black shirts labeled, “Geronimo Hot Spot.” Joshua made me really nervous when he observed in a loud, awkward whisper, “What is this, a biker gang?” It turns out they were a volunteer fire squad but all I could imagine was angering a group of scary guys who would demand the Uhaul as payment for our offense.

A couple hours and playlists later, we arrived at our other set of parents, talked for a little bit and headed to bed. Looking forward to a fun few days…