As any member of this wanderin' family can tell you, there are two ways to head to the Southwest from Omaha. The scenic route leads west to Ogalalla, drops diagonally to Colorado Springs, and then heads down I-25 more or less straight to Albuquerque. The other route heads to Kansas and then picks up the OLD highway US 54, cutting through the Panhandle, and at Tucumcari, west on I 40 (Old Route 66) to Albuquerque. Now, why would anyone take the second path, one might ask. Although it takes nearly the same amount of time to travel either route, the US 54 way is about 100 miles shorter in distance, a big savings on gas mileage on a Labor Day weekend. It also has more places to stop on the way BACK from Albuquerque to Omaha. Now, on the way there, we stayed in Dalhart, Texas, which we do not recommend unless absolutely necessary. The place where we ate dinner on Sunday night has been there at least since 1964, when I first saw it, and the salt shakers are probably the same ones. One should think twice about eating at a restaurant that has a sign beside the front door which says, "I sold my cow, so I don't need your bull." Needless to say, one should also order a steak very rare there, as medium rare is really well-done. On the way back today, though, we decided to stop at Pratt (not Meade), Kansas, where we have stayed a number of times before, the Evergreen Motel. We first stayed here in the RV, as they have spaces to plug in out in the back, and we just plain liked the people here. So now, here we are tonight in the original motel, probably built in the Fifties, judging from the tiled floor and walls in the bathroom, which are sparkling clean. No complaints from us! They have upgraded these nice rooms for the new era, complete with refrigerators, microwaves, and EVEN wireless internet! (They even have adjoining rooms for kids, K & T.) We are HERE! It is quite neat, clean, and so totally American owned and operated, we could not be more pleased! And, to top it off, the Pratt High School young lady who checked us in, when we asked where to get a good steak, recommended Woody's Bar and Grill in town, where the rib-eyes were cooked to a perfect medium rare, and the beer was ice-cold! What more could one ask for after a long drive? Add Pratt to your places to stop on US 54, and tell 'em the Happy Wanderers sent you!