Pictures from JP Aerospace's DSS3/Oklahoma flight

Day 8: Monday, March 25, 2002

One week after the journey began, we started the trip home. The van and trailer were still in the hangar in Burns Flat. John Sr's car and my truck were packed for the trip. Beverly drove Norm and JP to the spaceport. They put their luggage in the van and started it up.

It was another sub-freezing morning like we had gotten used to. It remained freezing while we filled up our tanks in Elk City. (I had filled up my tank at Rudy's before we got to the hangar. But the trailer needs a bigger driveway.) One of the Elk City residents recognized the name on the side of the van, stopped and waved. We waved back.

It remained freezing through Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. It was just short of the New Mexico border that my thermometer finally read above freezing.

The previous day, Marvin KC9VF had given me a printout of the New Mexico mega-link Ham Radio repeater network. I read some of the frequencies to JP so he'd be prepared to switch over to them. But in the end, we stuck to our simplex car-to-car frequency as we pressed to cross the state that afternoon. We talking several times with concern about thunderheads building ahead of us. Fortunately, we missed them all.

We arrived in Gallup NM around 6PM. Norm and JP were exhausted since the van and trailer are harder to handle than the other vehicles. So we let them make the call that it was time to stop for the day. (Al and I had been hoping to reach Holbrook AZ, which is roughly at the half-way point in the drive.)

The time zones are in our favor going westbound. They reflect that we actually do get an extra hour of sunlight travelling all day with the Earth's rotation.

There was little doubt that we'd make it to California the next day. But Needles in southeastern California is still 9 hours from San Jose and 10 from Sacramento at the speed the van/trailer goes. Could we make it back in two long days instead of three? It would all depend on how we're feeling.

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(1488x992 537K) (500x333 25K) On the road home on Monday, as we entered New Mexico, thunderheads loomed ahead. The JPA van and trailer are ahead with JP and Norm. Al is driving my truck as I take this photo. Behind us, John Sr and Shirley are in their car.

(1488x992 414K) (500x333 19K) The thunderheads get bigger in this photo.

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(1488x992 412K) (500x333 17K) A thunderstorm ahead of us is over northern Albuquerque. I took this photo certain we'd have some storm photos coming within the hour. Fortunately, we missed them.

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(1488x992 537K) (500x333 25K)	On the road home on Monday, as we entered New Mexico, thunderheads loomed ahead. The JPA van and trailer are ahead with JP and Norm. Al is driving my truck as I take this photo. Behind us, John Sr and Shirley are in their car.
(1488x992 414K) (500x333 19K)	The thunderheads get bigger in this photo.
(1488x992 412K) (500x333 17K)	A thunderstorm ahead of us is over northern Albuquerque. I took this photo certain we'd have some storm photos coming within the hour. Fortunately, we missed them.