Wednesday, January 7--Sunday, January 11

We departed northern Michigan in snow showers and temperatures of 7 degrees.  We had begun the first leg of a journey south that would take us halfway across the country to California and then halfway across the world to Argentina, Antarctica and Chile.  We had packed and repacked, loaded and reloaded, until we found the right combination of clothes for four climates, including technical gear for Antarctica and Patagonia.   

Murphy is along for the ride--at least as far as California--where she will stay with the boys for the almost four weeks while we are in South America.  We are hoping for an easier trip west for her, with medication prescribed by our vet.  Murphy has not always been a happy traveler.

From a first night stop in Holland, Michigan, we drove into St. Louis, where we would stop for two nights to see our friends, the Smiths.  We had a delightful dinner at their home, a visit to The Louisiana Purchase exhibit at the Missouri History Museum and a musical evening at a private home.  We greatly enjoyed all.  As we departed for Oklahoma City, we drove through Webster Groves and recalled many happy memories of the years when the boys were growing up surrounded by other young families and friends.

Having left the hardwood forests of the north, we now entered the great plains where native grasses and native Americans once dominated the land. From Oklahoma City, we drove to Amarillo where temperatures were in the 40's and the landscape spoke of the wadis and prairies characteristic of the Llano Estacado.   Soon we would climb into the foothills and the elevations of Santa Fe, New Mexico.