Canton to Amarillo - Day 4

Well, Suzanne set a record - she was up and we left at 6:45am (Central time). We left Canton on I-20 West to Dallas. Then the FUN started. The Dallas freeway system is like a plate of spaghetti, and during rush hour - yeah we hit it at around 8:15 - it is quite something! If it were not for the Garmin, we might still be there going around in circles.

Here is an example, (I may have forgotten some of it). We exited I-20 onto TX-557 Spur, then I-80 West, then I-30 West, then I-35E North and onto TX-183 West and finally onto TX 114 West. then it was US-287 North and I-44 East and back onto US-287 North, the road on which we finally settled for the next 250 miles to Amarillo. Some of the exits were to the left, some to the right - fellow travelers loved us as we tried to keep the bike and the car in touch with one another! Needless to say, Suzanne is becoming an accomplished driver (as I had intended).

Texas is a mix of flat (really flat - see photo), and rolling hills. There are trees to the East of Dallas, and scrub to the West and North. As you approach Amarillo, there is lots of sage brush and mesquite.

We were lucky with the weather - until we were about 50 miles South East of Vernon - then the black skies appeared and I once again donned the indomitable rain gear - and once again, the rain skirted us - didn't get a drop! We stopped in Vernon - which gives every impression of being an abandoned town - for lunch and a couple of photos for the ABCs of Touring (see the photo of me in the invincible rain gear!).

Lots of little towns between Dallas and Amarillo. Most with populations around 5 to 7 thousand.

All-in-all, a pleasant day. We arrived in Amarillo (440 miles) around 4:00pm (Central time). Tomorrow is an easy day - only about 300 miles, with an effort to see as much of the old Route 66 between Amarillo and Albuquerque as we can. Then it's off to a Mexican dinner with my cousin Susan.