I haven't talked much about what motivated the trip, or the drive down there.
I had already arranged to take May 16-19 off, because I had a meeting to attend in Seminole on the 16th and 17th . This was an overnight meeting of the Diocesan Commission on Christian Formation (neé Christian Education) at our church conference center in Seminole, OK. It's been a slack time at work, and I have the vacation time available, so it made sense to take as much of the week as I could.
About two weeks prior to this scheduled vacation time, things at work became stressful. This stress was related to interpersonal issues, rather than the job itself. At that point, I decided I needed to get as far away from the situation as possible. The goal was to gain some emotional distance through creating physical distance.
Seminole is south of OKC, and Brother Dave is even further south. It occurred to me that my stop in Seminole was en route to his place. What I had failed to take into account was the fact that Seminole is only about ten miles south of OKC, but is about 20 miles east (give or take). Brother Dave's place is roughly WSW of OKC, so I would have to double back on that 20 miles.
In the past, the route to the estate has involved driving south on I-35, driving west on some other interstate, then driving south on Highway 281. Not surprisingly, I've gotten lost each time. Sometime in the past couple of years, Dave and Linda discovered that Hwy 281 links with I-44 in Oklahoma — pretty much a straight shot.
My primary goal was to arrive at the last major turn-off before sundown. I left Seminole a little after 12; I had estimated an eight-hour drive. There was a strong wind from the west, so I had a headwind as I re-drove that 20 miles.
Not too far from the Oklahoma/Texas border is Jack County. One of the towns in Jack County is Mineral Wells. As is common in smaller towns, the highway is also main street. I got to Mineral Wells between 4:30 and 5.
The road was blocked.
I could see fire trucks. High school marching bands. People on horse back. I assume this was some sort of Founders' Day Parade. On a Wednesday.
My first idea was to parallel the parade on the closest available street. It was only a block away, so I had the potential of seeing where the parade's southern-most turning point was. Problem was, the closest available street wasn't a through street; for a while, it zigzagged, then came to a dead end.
Have I mentioned my talent for getting lost?
At this point, it seemed best to cut my losses and wait the parade out. So, I drove back toward the main drag. I put the car in park and switched off the ignition, and chose to enjoy the parade.
I was impressed by a couple of things. First, several mounted posses were rode by. They seemed to represent about every town in the county. Second, there was a very small child on a horse, with his mother riding ahead of him. The mother was not holding the horse's reins (I suspect the horse was exceptionally well-trained). Judging from the boy's size, I would guess he was between one and two years old.
Sure do start early in those rural Texas counties.
Between 20 to 30 minutes later, the parade was done. I cautiously trailed behind them, at a safe distance and speed. I almost felt like I was an unofficial part of the parade. Part of my caution, reasonably enough, involved avoiding horse apples to the best of my ability.
So. Back on the road. I lost some time there, but I figured I would still get to the turn-off by dusk, at the latest.
One of my landmarks, so to speak, was the town of Burnett. I was a little less than 20 miles north of Burnett when I hit road construction. There was a sign man there, who informed me that a guide vehicle would have to take me through the construction; it had just left, and it would be about 25 minutes before it returned.
Like I had a choice?
Happily, I had purchased a pay-as-you-go phone especially for this journey. I called the estate, and let my hosts know of the delays. They told me I had about two hours more to drive. It was between 6:30 and 7 by now.
Sure enough, the sun set between 8:30 and 9, as I had expected. I drove the last 45 minutes or so with headlights on, squinting to see the turn-off sign.
I saw the five mile warning for the turn-off, then the turn-off itself. I made the turn without incident. I pulled to the side of the road, and let Brother Dave know I was very close indeed. He told me not to worry about bringing in any of my gear, that I should focus on dinner (lovely lintel soup) and unwinding from the road.
Which I did, most gratefully.
And as I have said, the stay was relaxing. Both forms of distance were achieved.
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