Sunday, 09-DEC
We (or at least Bill) slept in a little. We got on the road about 10AM, heading North toward Alice Springs. It was about 440km (275 miles), so we filled up first. For all those who don’t like the price of gas back home…it was AUD$1.78/liter. That’s about $6.50/gallon!!! I filled up again in Alice Springs for a mere AUD$1.51/L. The terrain changed throughout the drive, from rolling red hills with taller trees and grass clumps that looked like (bad) hair plugs, to flat with smaller vegetation no larger then 3 feet. As you can see, they take Outback driving pretty seriously (no, that's not us with the two spare tires, or, uh, "tyres").
Arriving in Alice Springs, we started seeing less desert and more rock formation. Very interesting striations jutting up at an angle. It was a geologist's dream! (Ce, too bad Claude couldn't be here?) Alice Springs was hotter and dryer then Ayers Rock had been. We arrived in time to go to evening Mass (interesting homily on what it takes to be a community), do a bit of laundry, and have dinner. McDonald's (we manage to get one in virtually every country)!Tomorrow it’s off to Melbourne. It’s strange to think that our trip is over half way over!!
We (or at least Bill) slept in a little. We got on the road about 10AM, heading North toward Alice Springs. It was about 440km (275 miles), so we filled up first. For all those who don’t like the price of gas back home…it was AUD$1.78/liter. That’s about $6.50/gallon!!! I filled up again in Alice Springs for a mere AUD$1.51/L. The terrain changed throughout the drive, from rolling red hills with taller trees and grass clumps that looked like (bad) hair plugs, to flat with smaller vegetation no larger then 3 feet. As you can see, they take Outback driving pretty seriously (no, that's not us with the two spare tires, or, uh, "tyres").On the way, we stopped at a roadhouse (imagine truck stop) and to see some meteorite craters. Had about 15km each way on what they called an unpaved road. 
It really was very strange going down this dirt road and having traffic signs on the side. No one but us and the cows. We surmised that not a lot of people must drive that road, as the cows thought it significant enough to stop and watch us both coming and going. It was somewhere between funny and spooky when the same cow picked up his(?) head, and turned to watch us both ways! The craters were interesting …just imagining the energy required to make those deep divets in the earth was inspiring.
It really was very strange going down this dirt road and having traffic signs on the side. No one but us and the cows. We surmised that not a lot of people must drive that road, as the cows thought it significant enough to stop and watch us both coming and going. It was somewhere between funny and spooky when the same cow picked up his(?) head, and turned to watch us both ways! The craters were interesting …just imagining the energy required to make those deep divets in the earth was inspiring. Arriving in Alice Springs, we started seeing less desert and more rock formation. Very interesting striations jutting up at an angle. It was a geologist's dream! (Ce, too bad Claude couldn't be here?) Alice Springs was hotter and dryer then Ayers Rock had been. We arrived in time to go to evening Mass (interesting homily on what it takes to be a community), do a bit of laundry, and have dinner. McDonald's (we manage to get one in virtually every country)!Tomorrow it’s off to Melbourne. It’s strange to think that our trip is over half way over!!
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