Monday, April 4…Wind Chimes (Beach Boys)

 This morning we verified that indeed we stayed at the Casey KOA on our way back from Arizona in 2020.  That year we woke up to snow on the ground…today it was almost 50^o with a hint of sunshine.  Thought briefly about keeping the shorts theme going but decided to go with jeans.  We’re heading back into the Mitten today and who knows what weather we’ll encounter 

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   I don’t know how the treasure trove of Roadside America oddities that is hidden in Casey, IL, escaped my notice    in 2020 but it certainly didn’t in 2022.  On our way out to Arizona I had wanted to stop to see the World’s Largest Wind Chime but Rapunzel and I were having communication issues…we missed the exit to Casey.  Life goes on and I forgot about it. 
   Last night coming into town I saw a highway sign for the World’s Largest Pitchfork.  Told Kim that I’d like to see it before we got on the road today.  When I checked the Roadside America app I was surprised to see maybe 15 markers scattered around this little town. And the cool thing is that the Wind Chime was one of them.  Cha-ching!!
   Found the wind chime right next to the Whitling Whimsy café where we ate breakfast along with a lot of local folks. But first we both pulled the rope to make the  wind chime sing…such a resonating sound. Kim even bought me a large wind chime to go with my other two at home.  Now to figure out how to hang it.
   According to local people we talked with, back in 2010 Jim Bolin had the idea to make the World’s Largest Wind Chimes outside the family diner.  And so the World’s Largest theme began.  Rocking chair, mailbox, wooden shoes, teeter-totter, barber’s pole, key and more are all located in this little town.  Not only do they have certified World’s Largest items but they also have what they call ‘Big Attractions’: Antlers, rocking horse, pencil, mousetrap, bird cage and more.  Bigthingssmalltown.com is their website. 
   I was told that the whole town gets involved…Jim Bolin might have the ideas but the businesses in town work together to make it happen.  And most of these items are located in or near a business so it benefits the businesses also. The mailbox is located next to a gift shop…go in to buy a postcard, climb

the steps into the mailbox where you can drop your mail in the slot which causes the flag on the outside to lift. Very cleverly done. And once I found that out I did go put some mail to the WonderKids in the slot so Kim could video the flag going up. The front of the mailbox is open but capable of being closed…Kim noticed the steel cable and winch set-up. The mailbox was being power washed this morning so I asked the guy if they ever close the mailbox.  Only in a strong northerly wind was the answer.  The same guy said it took about three years for the rocking chair to become a reality.
   I was told that in order to be considered for the World’s Largest (Guinness Book of Records) the scale of an item must be accurate and also it must operational. For instance, the yard stick had to be able to accurately measure so the numbers indicating inches are actually a foot apart...and maybe that’s also the reason the mailbox flag is operational.  I’m sure it was assumed that the wooden shoes are usable…Paul Bunyan might be the only one big enough to test them out.😎 There’s a sign on one of the shoes that states all money thrown in the shoes for ‘good luck’ is donated to the Casey

Food Bank…lots of bills and coins in there.  And while the rocking horse isn’t the world’s largest, it is the size of a Clydesdale horse and is fully functional.  Except riding it isn’t allowed for safety reasons.
   There were many people wandering around town this morning checking out all the attractions and it’s not even ‘in season’ yet.  Oh, and every item has an appropriate Bible verse marked on it. We delayed our departure a couple of hours by wandering around town looking, playing and purchasing.

   Kudos to Jim Bolin and Casey, IL, for making your little town unique!
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   Cruised into the Mitten at about 4:15 p.m….46^o and the sun shining.  Never been a real fan of the Pure Michigan slogan but I do like seeing the Welcome to Pure Michigan sign when we’re on the last leg of this trip.
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   The last thing to do before we cruised on home was to stop to meet the newest member of the family.

Juniper is already one month old; we’ve seen lots of pictures and videos but it’s time to meet her in person.   So we made a quick stop to see Ezra and Anna and get a chance to hold and snuggle the baby…then we were off again. 
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   Pulled into our driveway at about 10:30 p.m.  Another Arizona adventure has come to an end.
 

Sunday, April 3…Space Cowboy (Steve Miller Band)

    Up a little later today than yesterday but still got on the road about 9:30 a.m.  Weather was freakin’ awesome this morning.  Shorts again today.
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   Rapunzel took us on a new route from the Oklahoma City KOA to US 44…the Kickapoo Turnpike where the lanes are wide and the speed is 80 mph. Not that we were going that fast but the possibility existed. 

   It’s a toll road with no toll booth so I’m sure somewhere on down the road we’ll be getting a bill in the mail. I’d much rather pay the toll at the time than have the system take a picture of our license plate, look up our information     and send a bill.  Just my personal preference but it’s Oklahoma’s system not mine.

   Then it was onto I-44, which took us through Oklahoma and Missouri and right to the middle of the Mississippi River where I-55 took over.  I chose that route knowing that 44 was a toll road but it was the quickest route home and at this point in our travels I thought paying a few bucks was worth avoiding the extra minutes and miles.  My butt is sick of sitting.

   Well, two tolls at $12.25 each makes for a bit more than a few bucks but I still think it’s worth it on the way home.

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   Most of the diesel fuel prices we’ve been seeing have been under $5.00…it was mostly over that in Arizona.  Unleaded has been down in the $3.75 range in TX, OK and MO.  It was in the $4.50 range in Arizona.  So we are seeing slightly lower prices as we head home but for all I know it has started to drop in AZ also. 

   Yesterday we paid $4.89/gal in Carrizozo, AZ, which surprised me because it’s a little out of the way town.  In Amarillo, TX, the price was $4.79 and the pump maxed out and shut off before the truck was totally full.  Same in Hinton, OK, but the price was higher at $4.98.  Today prices were slightly kinder with Joplin, MO, taking the low spot at $4.69/gal and Stanton, MO, coming in at $4.79.  Back up to $4.99 in Montrose, IL.  Maybe will only need one more fill-up to get home.

   It’s crazy when your brain sees $4.69 and thinks, “Well, that’s not bad.”

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   We don’t make as many frivolous stops on the way home as we do on the way out.  When our thoughts turn toward home after a long time away it’s all about making good time and not so much about seeing the sights.  But sometimes the need to get out and stretch is greater than the need to get home 15 minutes earlier so I’ll turn to the Roadside America app to see what’s along the way.  Interesting, nearby, plenty of parking and free are my criteria.

Quarter scale model 

   Today we stopped in Marshfield, MO, birthplace of Edwin Hubble, to check out the quarter scale model of the Hubble Telescope. Of course, I know about the Hubble Telescope which sends amazing images from space to scientists here on earth but I didn’t know much about the man whose name it bears.  In fact, I thought he was involved in the designing of the telescope which is why it was named for him.  Not the case as I learned in my Google dive.

   Marshfield is very proud of its connection to Hubble, who was born in 1889 and spent his first 10 years there before the Hubble family moved to Chicago.  He died in California in 1953 at the age of 63, as a result of a stroke.

   On biography.com I picked up 7 facts about Edwin Hubble, the man who changed our universe forever (their words, not mine):

   *He revolutionized astronomy: In the 1920s, Hubble made history by looking through a 100-inchtelescope at Mount Wilson in Southern California. Training his gaze on the Andromeda Nebula, he saw stars similar to ones in our galaxy, only dimmer. One of those stars was a Cepheid variable, which astronomers could use to measure distances. The discovery of the Cepheid variable allowed Hubble to deduce that the Andromeda Nebula was not a nearby cluster of stars, but an entirely different galaxy. The very notion that there was more than one galaxy in the universe was revolutionary and earned Hubble the title as the greatest astronomer since Galileo.

   *He helped Albert Einstein: Discovering that our galaxy wasn’t alone was just the beginning for Hubble. He continued measuring distances and velocities in deep space, finding that the further apart galaxies are from each other, the faster they move away from one another. His findings, published in 1929, led to the widely accepted notion that the universe is expanding. Albert Einstein personally thanked Hubble for the support his findings gave to his theory of relativity.

   *He was a gifted athlete:  A gifted athlete, he stood out in basketball, football and baseball. He broke the state record in the high jump and ran track at the University of Chicago.

   *He was a high school basketball coach:  Although he didn’t discuss it much later in life, Hubble spent a year teaching physics, math, and Spanish at New Albany High School in Indiana. He also coached the school’s basketball team, leading a team of undefeated Bulldogs to the state tournament, where they came in third place. 

   *He reinvented himself:  Eager to climb up the social ladder, he adopted a British accent (like the ones he heard while studying at Oxford University), sported a pipe and cape, and padded his CV (claiming he had handled legal cases in Kentucky when he had not).

   *He fought in two world wars

   *He never won the Nobel Prize:  Despite his accomplishments, Hubble never won the Nobel Prize in physics, since astronomers were ruled ineligible for the award (that rule has since changed). He has received other accolades, however. Both an asteroid and a Moon crater bear his name. But his most famous honor is the Hubble telescope, which launched in 1990. 

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   Drove about 640 miles today…just over 500 to go.  Stopped for the night at a KOA in Casey, IL which we may or may not stayed at on our way home in 2020 with my mom on board.  I’ll know better in the morning if this is the same one.

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   Today’s 40 Days of Lent challenge was to call someone who I think might be lonely.  Well, I don’t think that the person I called is necessarily lonely…he’s just my favorite awkward teenage boy and I wanted to connect with him.  He was overshadowed by his siblings during my birthday call and God has been nudging me to give him a call just to let him know that he’s important to me.  Mission accomplished! J

Saturday, April 2…The Tipping Point (Tears for Fears)

    Up and out of the Alamogordo Wal-Mart parking lot by 8:30 a.m.  Of the 14 parked there last evening when we went inside about 6 were left when we woke up…and it looked like another van or two pulled in after us. We’ve stayed at rest areas surrounded by semis but haven’t ever considered staying at Wal-Mart.  And while it wouldn’t be my go-to camping option it worked for us last night.

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   We pulled into a gas station in Carrizozo, AZ, and were greeted by a sight beyond imagination.  A full size van had a wooden box on top which was stacked with probably 6 ft. of bicycles, box fans and possibly ice chests.  That’s 6 ft. higher than the van! And yet there was a semblance of order to the manner in which they were stacked. And adding to the logistical nightmare was the pile of bikes cascading down the back of the van…sort of like a bicycle ponytail. How did they get them up all there?  And what’s with the fans?

   The van was gone when I came out of the station.  Kim described it like this: “When that van took off the whole stack of bikes was swaying back and forth like it was trying to tip the van over.”     Then 2 miles down the road the van, which had headed north, was pulled in behind another vehicle going south.  My first thought: How in the world did that dude do a U-Turn without tipping over?  Kim wondered out loud if momentum finally won and the van tipped over in the ditch.  It was still upright on the side of the road but maybe it’s just a matter of time.   

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   Stopped at Cadillac Ranch again…by now Kim knows that when we’re driving through Texas on I-40

I’m going to ask to stop.  This time I was prepared…already had the spray paint from rock painting at the campground.  And this was the warmest it’s ever been when we’ve stopped despite the constant wind…temperature was in the mid-70’s.  We did our standard smiley face with KB² and this time there was enough room to add the date.  Took a selfie and headed back to the truck.

   In the past we’ve had to go a little store beyond the Cadillacs to buy spray paint.  However, there is now a vendor on site selling spray paint, along with Cadillac Ranch souvenirs and t-shirts.  There was also a food truck advertising Kettle Korn preparing to leave when we arrived.  Got a chance to talk with the lady for a minute and while she said she does a good business at this location she also mentioned other places that she frequents with her trailer. So this isn’t a permanent gig for her.  I would think the souvenir/spray paint truck would do a better business than a food truck.  People stop here to spray some paint not necessarily to snack but there is something about the power of suggestion with food.  

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   Entered into Central Time at the New Mexico/Texas state line…one hour behind Michigan now. 

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   We have a reservation at the Oklahoma City KOA where we’ve stayed a couple of times in the past 7 years.  By the time we get there it will have been a 600+ mile/12 hour run.  We stopped in Santa Rosa for lunch and then at Cadillac Ranch so it hasn’t been 12 hours straight but at this point my body doesn’t recognize that fact. 

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   The temperature was in the mid-60’s in the morning rising to as high as 77 in the afternoon.  Definitely still shirts and shorts weather.  That might be changing soon but enjoying it while I can.   

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    I’ve been seeing the graffiti tag line SKRYB in multiple places as we’ve traveled from Picacho and finally looked it up.  Apparently it was meaning as an acronym and in the tagging world but I also came across an Instagram page for That Solo Kid (@skryb_) who may be the person responsible for what I’ve been seeing. Or maybe it’s more than one person and they’re all using the same tagline.  Can’t imagine that would go over very well with someone who takes pride in his/her work but then again this is illegal and the artists are sort of underground.

   I searched online for the pronunciation of SKRYB and found that most people pronounce it ‘Scribe’ but one very confused kid posted a video about all the “Scary-B” tags he was seeing in Indiana.  This video got posted to @skryb and he doesn’t say yea or nay if it’s about his work just that he thinks it funny.  The name Scary B seems to have stuck to this one particular artist…or could it be artists?  Reading some of the comment I again wondered if there is more than one person using the tagline SKRYB especially since the pictures posted don’t all have the same quality of expertise about them.   

  I know the tagging world is shrouded in secrecy but where do graffiti artists get the money to flit all over the country spray painting their ‘names’ in hard to reach places? How do these people earn a living?  As much as I’d like an answer to these questions I won’t lose any sleep over it.  And it was an interesting way to pass the time on a very long cross country drive.  And I’m certainly gonna be on the lookout for more SKRYB graffiti.

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   Today’s 40 Days of Lent challenge was to write down three hopes for my future and tell them to a friend.  So this morning I jotted down three hopes and shared them with Kim, who is not only a friend but also the only person I’ve spent time with today.  Having just checked the challenge again, I see that I had misread the challenge as ‘hopes for the future’ not as ‘hopes for my future. The language nerd in me thinks there’s a difference in meaning so I re-did the exercise and shared again with Kim.