Bells in Texas

Here are some pics of Jessica's apartment. It is nice. It is fully furnished and include many amenities. http://www.austinranch.com/ has 2,500 units and 6 swimming pools, 2 workout facilities, a business center with wireless internet, and is surrounded by lots of open countryside. It also has many pet areas that Murphy loves. He has already marked most of them as "his" territory. ;)

... So after we make it through the wasteland known as Kansas, we made our way to Ohhhhhk-lahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain. Where the waving wheat, can sure smell sweet when the wind comes right before the rain.... you get the picture. (I played the role of Curley my senior year of high school).

Oklahoma was not that grand. In fact OK City was quite a dump. We drove for a long time looking for a suitable place to find a clean restroom. We must have seen about 8 Conoco stations that were extremely dilapidated to the point of almost looking like a third-world country. But we perservered and made it through without catching any diseases.

When we finally made it to the Red River valley we grew very excited about finally making to the great state of Texas. It was only about an hour after we entered Texas that we finally arrived in the Big D. It was actually quite strange the way that the atmosphere changed once we crossed the border. It may have just been psychological, but it seemed bigger and more exciting. Of course, it doesn't take much to be bigger and exciting than Oklahoma. But at least in Oklahoma, we didn't almost get stuck on the Lost Highway of Kansas. ;)

When we finally arrived at the Austin Ranch located in The Colony (name of the suburb), we were ready to get out of the car. So was Murphy. In total, it took a little over 14 hours for the entire trip. And that was with a strong headwind, driving 55 mph for a while, and stopping.

It felt really good to get out and stretch. We were there. We found the building where Jessica's apartment was located and proceeded to unload.

Sunday night, April 13th, 2008. I have returned to the frozen tundra known as Minne-so-cold. Odd are that I will not have time to blog daily or as things happen because "things" are crazy right now.

On Friday, 4/11, The Fetching Mrs. Bell, Murphy the Wonder-dog, and I drove The Jeep down to the Big D. It was about a 14 hour trip. Pretty much a straight shot down I-35 from the Twin Cities to Dallas.

There were relatively few problems with the adventure. Of course, I would get to call it an adventure if there wasn't one or two issues that sprang up...

I was so prepared. I had the oil changed and the regular maintenance performed on The Jeep. We just got a set of 4 highway tread tires put on a week ago. I had precision packed The Jeep like it was the Tetris World Championships. We had plenty of Red Bull and beef jerky. We were set. My wife even printed off the directions from Google. (However I should have brought a map as you'll find out....)

The night before we left, it was sleeting and snowing. A real mess. It was warm though, so the ice was melting from the roads quickly. We wanted to leave at 04:30 hours, but as things go, we left the driveway at about 04:50 hours. Not too big of a deal.

The sleet gave way to rain by the time we made it south of Burnsville. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing from the south at about 30? miles and hour. And of course we are heading straight south. So the mileage, which is usually about 20mpg highway, was down to about 12-15? Of course we were loaded to the gills with shoes and handbags and dog toys. Basically, the essentials. ;)

We make good time nonetheless. We got down to Kansas City. Now, I would have normally just continued on I-35, but Google suggests that we take the Kansas Turnpike. Okay. I do not mind paying a few bucks to maybe save some time and avoid traffic, right?

Well, to make a much longer story short, the Krapsass Turdpike only has like 3 or 4 exits on it and it is like 200 miles long. And of course, there are no signs explaining this to drivers who are just passing through. If there was ONE sign saying "LAST CHANCE FOR GAS FOR 50 MILES," I missed it.

I came up to the Topeka exit. This was the first exit after KC that I noticed. I had a quarter tank left of fuel. I will go another 20-30 miles and fill up again. I thought.

After about 25 miles, my fuel light came on indicating that I only had 1/8 of a tank left. The Jeep has a 20 gallon tank and I was getting at best 15 miles to the gallon with the wind and weight? So that gives me roughly 37.5 miles left before I really need to start worrying.

All the while there have been no noticeable signs indicating when the next exit will appear. No billboards, no nothing. We came to this area called The Flint Hills. It is a grass desert. The tourism board says that it looks like this:


Except that it actually looks like this:


It is like a barren moonscape, not the pristine grassland that the prairie hugger want you to think it is.

Here is a nice picture of the majestic mud hole they call a lake:

If you look really hard, you can see the dead trees in the "lake."


So I was sure that Team Bell was going to be running out of gas. I had no idea when the next exit, let alone the next gas station would come. There were not even farm houses near the turnpike. There were some off in the distance every few miles, but I was not sure if I should hike back or go forward to the next one. I had gone like 30 miles and not a gas station in sight.


Here comes the part about the map. If I had a map, I could have at least had an idea of where I was. Instead, all I had was: "Continue on I-335 S/Kansas Turnpike - Toll road."

Everyone has seen those slasher films where the people break down in the middle of nowhere and end up dinner for the local cannibals (Texas Chainsaw, Wrong Turn, The Hills Have Eyes, etc.) or psychopathic Truck driver. This was not going to happen if I had any control over the situation left.


So I slowed down to 55 and turned off all the accessory power devices. We drove for 20 more miles praying that we would make it.


We finally came to Emporia and coasted into the pumps. We still couldn't get off the turnpike, but there was a McDonalds and a Phillips 66. Actually I had roughly 1 gallon left in my tank.



My wife and I thanked the Lord profusely and rejoiced that we did not run out of gas. I think Murphy was even excited.

After filling up the tank, I went into the store and bought two candy bars, one king size Twix and a king size Caramello. And a map...

On April 5th, Jessica's parents, Rick and Barb Carlson threw a going away party for Jess and me. It was a great party. Lots of our friends and family were able to make it, and it was nice to be able to see everybody one last time. The beer was flowing and the food was delicious. We even had a taco bar ;) mmmm... tacos.

Cowboy boots and hats were optional. Chaps and spurs were discouraged.

We only got a few pictures in after most people had already left. I guess we were too caught up in the fun to remember until it was too late.

I do not remember who was taking the photos, but they turned out a bit blurry. Must have been the beer?

From left to right: Me (looking like a 15 year-old cowboy), Jessica, and Jessica's brother, Phil

Left to right: Barb Carlson, me, Jess, Rick Carlson

L to R: Grandma Dorothy, me, Jess, and Grandpa Herb


The evening concluded with a rousing chorus of Happy Trails as Jess and I rode off into the sunset on our horses. Actually it didn't. And I am glad because I hadn't brought a jacket that night.

Happy trails to you...