Today is the turning point. We turned north from our farthest southern point and now we are traveling in the direction of home.

But, this morning we spent several hours with Harry, a distant cousin, and three of his daughters and their husbands. They were all curious to hear Randy’s story of finding his father through good detective ancestry research. (Randy and Harry met over the internet doing ancestry research – and found they were distantly related!)  It was a fun morning.

One of Harry’s daughters brought homemade cinnamon rolls and we enjoyed their delicious freshness as we all laughed and shared and got to know each other. Harry, who will turn 85 in October, was delighted beyond words over our visit. We had met him about 12 years ago on a trip through Iowa. But in the intervening time, he and his lovely wife, Maddy, moved to Arizona to be closer to their children, and then last November Maddy died. So, Harry is close to his children, but he loved having visitors from the “North Country,” as he said.

We left Harry’s home about 12:30 and had to stop to fill up our little Prius before heading out on the road. We put 8.2 gallons in the tank – and that’s a lot, in case you’re wondering. We had driven 444 miles on that tank of gas. I tried to look up what the capacity of a Prius gas tank actually is, but it seems to all be conjecture. No one, however, seems to have filled up with more than 9 gallons. (Just a little trivia for you about traveling in a Prius!)

Now that Dixie was full, we decided we had better nourish ourselves before heading out through the desert again. (And, it was 100 degrees today!) So, we stopped at a Texas Roadhouse before leaving Gilbert, the suburb where Harry lives.

We first found a Texas Roadhouse a couple of years ago while traveling the south and now, whenever we can, we always make at least one stop at a Texas Roadhouse. They outshine Outback Steakhouse – well, I would venture that they actually put Outback to shame. Needless to say, we enjoyed our late lunch.

We are in Flagstaff again for the night and will go north to Page, AZ tomorrow. This has all been such an amazing, grace-filled trip. But, we are happy to be heading in the direction of home.