October 24, 2010. Abilene, Tx. Almost There.

We could have made it tonight, but we were weary, so we decided to stay in Abilene tonight, eat a good dinner, then arrive at the ranch tomorrow morning. Now we have done it all, including a swim and a hot tub. The car made a funny sound tonight on the way home from dinner so I feel sure we are fortunate to be at the end of our trip.

Ken admitted tonight that the trip was a lot more interesting than he had thought it would be. In fact I had to talk him into taking the trip, but this south to north journey had a lot of variety. When you drive across the prairies east to west, it seems to take forever just getting across the flat land but our trip was not that way. Many hills and valleys along with the hugh acres of fields meant for a different look every mile.

This country is definitely not crowded. And the center of the country is definitely not dying. The population may be smaller than fifty years ago but the farms and ranches are productive and thriving with large machines everywhere. The fields we have seen are impressive. In northern Texas we began to see fields of cotton, then many many large fields of cotton.

Soon we will see our small ranch and our few heads of cattle. But I was pleased to see the extent of the production going on in north America. It is an impressive scene, all along the highways and I feel fortunate to have seen it.