Day 3 of this journey had us driving east on the I-40 all day—from the New Mexico red desert, through the windblown high plains of the Texas panhandle, and into the green, grassy Oklahoma prairie.
That is to say, we would have remained on I-40 all day if it hadn’t been for traffic coming to a complete standstill around 3:15 PM near McClean, TX, not far from the Oklahoma border. The highway was blocked due to what must have been a bad accident up ahead, and when we finally started to move again, it was only to be turned off at the 273 ramp and diverted back towards Amarillo.
Naturally, I was not interested in returning to Amarillo. We were only an hour and a half from our OK destination! So I consulted my trusty Rand McNally Road Atlas, gifted to me in 2022 by my dear friends Anne and Bruce Aune prior to my first OBC sojourn, and found a detour. The detour is how I came to discover Hedley, Texas, population 275.
Being in Hedley, TX reminded me of Hadley, MA, both in terms of moniker and scenic farmland, but the tiny town of Hedley is a ghost town. A few empty storefronts gave way to miles and miles of open country road, prairie on either side, ranches dotted with cylindrical hay bales, cattle here and there, dirt roads branching off, blowing grass and lazy trees under a big blue sky. Peaceful.
The detour took an hour to complete, looping me back onto I-40 at Shamrock. How lucky is that?
In other lucky news, when I started the day at Route 66 Coffee and Boba in Edgewood, the morning baristas were happy to return to me the broken turquoise ring, when I asked if anyone had claimed it yet. (See yesterday’s post to read more about the ring.) I attached it to the top of my car charm, an added talisman of protection.
OBC 🙏🏼🌵🦉🌿
One Bold Crone 
I’m loving these posts and pics Lady D! Thank you it’s so fun to be on the road with ya!
Thank you for joining me, Sarah! 💜🌵🦉🤗
With the Lord and your trusty Rand-McNally Road Atlas you made it to Oklahoma!
Did you ever find out what Boba is? glad they gave you the good luck ring!
Still not sure what boba is. (I know I could Google it, but I’m stubbornly refusing.) I do have a clue: the coffee shop had an ice cream case, containing about a half dozen of those big tubs they scoop out of, like at Bart’s. Maybe it’s a kind of milkshake? 🤔