My first night back was pleasant, though I woke up a few times because I was overheating. At sunrise, it was even warm enough to go outside for a pee and take a few photos without getting dressed. I felt very lucky to be reaping the rewards of heading south so early. All my usual habits came back to me as I washed my face and had cereal for breakfast. I listened to the news while I ate, sitting on the living room floor and looking out at the swimming pool (Two Buttes Reservoir). After doing the dishes, I re-installed a nut that had come loose and come off yesterday. I was lucky to have heard the nut fall onto the roof when I went over a bump and even luckier that it was still there by the time I pulled over. I will have to invest in some Loctite to stop them coming loose again. It would be highly embarrassing and damaging should my solar panel fly off the roof on the highway.

I left camp and drove along the dirt road for a few miles to get back to the highway. Within an hour, I’d entered the panhandle of Oklahoma and a new time zone that put me an hour backwards. I wouldn’t stay in the state for long though, I was into Texas not long after.

I was on the lookout for a public library that would offer computers for use and I found one in Dumas. It was my task to help Dad out with an Excel macro and I’d discovered my Mac software was too old to even know what a macro is, hence the public libraries computers. The librarian issued me a log in for one of the computers that gave me a thirty minute session, that I could extend if needed. Time pressure! I extended twice. It took me about an hour to get it done, kicking my brain into gear for the first time in a few months, but I wasn’t too rusty. Feeling pretty chuffed with myself, I sent an email off to my employer with the finished spreadsheet, hoping for high marks.

I made lunch outside the library and ate it inside the car, out of the very high wind that was whipping at the flags atop the pole in front of the library. When I got back on the road, I played hit and miss with the tumbleweeds that incessantly crossed the road at high speed. Funny little things, they explode into millions of pieces when you hit them, the ones that survive line the barbed wire fences next to the highway. It felt like Texas. As well as the tumbleweeds, there were oil rigs in every field and only country music on the radio.

In Amarillo, I stopped in at the visitor’s center to find out more about my Route 66 plan. I spoke to a very helpful lady who took out a visitor’s map and ran me through everything there was to do in the city, but didn’t really go into the route I was planning east. I listened patiently to all she said and came away with a few gems, including a souvenir pin that had cowboy boots and “Amarillo” on it. I was sick of driving and the lady had been so convincing, I figured I would check out a few sights and stay in the area for the night.

First attraction was the free RV museum that was at the back of a huge RV sales and service yard. I must have been greeted by at least three different staff members in the store, all with typical Texan accents “How y’all doing today?” I was directed to the museum where there was only one other Mum- and Dad-aged couple inside. Mum and Dad would have loved this small museum, I’m sorry I didn’t get to share it with them. They had a collection of old motorbikes, but what was impressive were the old campervans and RVs. Such small spaces, but with every comfort! I loved the floral curtains and bedspreads and the number of couches in some of them. I gasped in surprise as I entered most campers, blown away by the comfort features or horrendous colours that were a trend back in the day. For such a small museum, they had some great relics, like the first-off serials of certain builds and an RV that was restored for use in a Robin Williams movie. I was stoked that the visitor’s centre lady put me on to this. On my way out, I think I met the owner who was very thankful that I’d enjoyed the museum, shaking my hand and wishing me well on my travels.

I drove west about ten miles to go to Cadillac Ranch, another free attraction. Similar to the Car Henge I’d seen in Nebraska, there was a line of ten Cadillacs partially buried in the middle of a field. They were free to graffiti and most of the other people at the monument had spray cans in hand and were writing their names. The paint on the cars must have been at least a centimetre thick and had started forming stalactites in some places, probably from melting in the heat. It was something different, especially with the cars all in line with each other, it would make a good silhouette at sunset.

Speaking of sunset, it was getting that way and I didn’t fancy doing much camp-hunting. Freecampsites.net didn’t offer anything, so I resolved to do a tour of the nearby Walmarts. The market in Amarillo was a bit small not to be noticed so I decided to drive fifteen minutes south to the town of Canyon. Before leaving, I filled up with petrol and was told I would have to pay 54c to fill up my water containers at their tap. “No thank you!” As a matter of principle, I walked out, not willing to pay money for water out of the tap. What a joke.

In Canyon, the Walmart carpark was quite agreeable with no signage about parking regulations and a caravan off in the corner. These are the perfect characteristics that make me feel comfortable camping here. I found a nice secluded spot and made some tuna rice for dinner, hardly even needing my down jacket! I am really enjoying this new found warmth, it’s tantalising to think that I can drive just a few hundred miles and be in a totally different climate.