– Denton, Texas to Amarillo, Texas –

And so it begins. The first day of our epic drive to Alaska is here. Today, we’re taking a very short trip from Denton to Amarillo. I’m writing this before we leave for the day, but most days I plan to write about our day in the evening, once we’ve gotten to our hotel.

Today, Mark doesn’t get off of work until noon. I’ve been busy doing some last minute laundry and listening to the puppy whine while she worries that we’re going to leave her here all alone.

When Mark gets off, we’re going to eat some lunch, throw all of our stuff into the car, and hopefully meet my parents at their house between 1:00 and 1:30. That’s the general idea, anyway. From there, we will load up my parents stuff and Sabre and hit the road.

It isn’t a long drive to Amarillo, and the road between here and there is old hat for all of us. I can’t count the number of times I’ve driven through Amarillo. From here, it is a bit of a way station for almost anywhere to the west or northwest. The road between is dotted with cotton fields and Dairy Queens. As you get a little farther to the west, everything flattens out completely, and you can see for miles.

We don’t stay in Amarillo much. Usually we get to Amarillo about lunchtime, both heading home and on the way out. It doesn’t have many vegetarian places that aren’t chain restaurants, but one time Mark and I had some delightful hummus and vegan chili at a little hispter bar. I can’t see my parents wanting to grab dinner there, however.

Despite the short drive, we probably won’t get there very early, and we never intended to. This first day is really a day to position us well for the second day, so we can stop in Moab to visit Arches National Park with my parents. If I take any good pictures along the way, I’ll update this in the evening, so you can see a little of the drive.

– Trip Total : 339 miles –