The Real Road Trip Begins. Riders On The Storm

Friday May 20th, and we headed out of the more populated areas, which was a relief. We were really on the road  now. No huge multi-layered freeways and traffic jams for  some time. Off into the Texas country side. Small towns here we come, and cowboys!!! Where are the cowboys???  (We hadn't  seen any yet, except an older chap in Plano who was dressed up like a real outlaw, with gun.)
We had  no commitments until May 26 ( a  hotel booking ). This was our first taste of REAL FREEDOM, something I would come to realise later on. True freedom. On the Road. That Wide Open Road.
And now our "Bible" for the trip started to become extremely useful - Rand McNally  USA Road Atlas 1993.  I bought this in a second hand shop at least 12 years ago, and I spent many hours pouring over  the pages taking in the smallest details and dreaming that one day I would use it . That day had come.

Bad photo!!

As big  as Texas. On and On..Southern Great  Plains

We had our only "accident" in the town of Denton. ( always take out the proper car insurance folks!!! We didn't have to worry  about this prang at all ). We had been stocking up on various items in the  local Walgreens store, then  an  old man ran straight into our car and took off. Hit and run!!! However it was also here we discovered Almond Joys, and became addicted very quickly.  

 Since we had arrived in Texas,  we had being hearing very serious weather warnings, including in  the area we had planned to head to. The sky darkened , suddenly  we were in the most incredible downpour. We could not see much in front of us and had to take it really slowly for a while. It seemed it would go on endlessly, but there was something rather of exciting about this!!

Storm in Denton County, Texas, May, in the area we were in. Not my photo, but this was what it was like, but MUCH  worse!!!

 Paranoid thoughts of tornadoes hit us both, here we were in an  area of Texas which is right bang-smack in  the famous " Tornado Alley".

No sooner had Cameron steered us safely through this almighty storm, than we were all of a  sudden in quiet, clear and calm weather again. Sadly this was not so for many many others, as this was part of the tornado that would devastate much of Missouri over  the next few days.