June 20, 2007

June 20/2007

Hellen, You Spoil Us

Battling a thunderstorm and near death will wear out even the strongest man. Hellen handled the storm beautifully but us guys are only human we needed a break. We woke at 11:00 and for the first time no one was in a pool of sweat. A cool 65 degree morning greeted us following the stormy night, and we were ready to continue our journey.
Ian started the day driving and we did not need to go far before making our first stop of the day. We were driving into a small town called Hollis when we saw a billboard that could have stopped a stampeding herd of wildebeests (see Lion King, Mufassa’s death) It wasn’t cheap gas, a national park or another Winnebago that would be a perfect match for Hellen. It was an advertisement for, are you ready for this, all you can eat Kentucky Fried Chicken! (Okay, maybe not better than a counterpart for Hellen but still it was amazing) After an hour stop to get wireless internet and another hour to experience the Colonel in his true beauty we were ready to make up for lost time.
After a little while Ian was sick of driving, he had driven roughly half of the entire trip so far we decided to throw a new driver into the rotation. Dan drove us through Texas as a new adventure in a new state began to unfold. The weather was beautiful and so was the scenery. The hills of Texas seemed to roll on forever and a clear sky set us up for a picture perfect night.
We do not know if it was leaving Oklahoma (the state no bachelor should call home), entering Texas or if the Winnebago decided to start treating us a little better, but things were looking good for Texas. At about 10:30 we decided to throw myself (Micah) behind the wheel and try to make it the nearly 300 miles to Roswell, New Mexico (I have never seen Luke so enthusiastic about any one place for a long time)
After fighting to stay awake while driving down the barren highway sometimes going nearly 15 minutes without seeing another car we stopped at the Texas/New Mexico border to take a picture by the “Welcome to New Mexico” sign. After Aaron and Luke stirred out of bed we ran out to get the picture and make a quick rest-stop.
New Mexico is known for paranormal experiences and alien sightings. We had our first adventure in New Mexico as we were crossing the border. Dan and I climbed into the pilots and co-pilots seats respectively. Dan, being the navigator had to be wary of the road ahead and pointed out what appeared to be a silhouette staggering closer to us and the guys still using the restroom. As he walked closer we realized that there was no building around for miles and had no idea why he would be wandering down a unpopulated road at 2 in the morning. As soon as everybody piled in I stepped on the gas and went to the far left lane to avoid the stranger whom I believe can be accurately described as a serial murderer. As I swerved away from him he began o stagger across the road as if he wanted to climb in the cab and say hello to us. When I say hello in this case however I am trying to find the words that a serial murderer would say to his victim’s right before he ate their faces. As the headlights passed by him we could vaguely make out his unshaven face and the pits he had where his eyes should have been. A green baseball hat, white baggy shirt and dirty jeans completed what can be best described as a killers ensamble. The most damning evidence against him was the fact that he never once removed his hand from under his shirt. Even after he turned after us as we sped away.
With a new energy boost from our first ever paranormal experience and the jokes of him running us down as we went 55 miles/hour we were able to stay awake until we entered Roswell. As we drove through downtown at 4 in the morning our eyes lit up like a kids on Christmas morning when he sees the bounty of presents he accumulated. We got our first look of the shops in downtown Roswell as we readied ourselves for a new adventure in a new city.

From Hellens’ Boys, written by Micah “Cue” Kool