It was another long day of driving, and we finally made it out of the Northern Territory and into the state of Queensland in the NE corner of Oz. This is the area of Australia I call the "dog's ear." Mount Isa can be seen in the NW corner of the state on the map above. A mining town, it's still in the outback and the local quarry gets blasted every 12 hours causing "Everything to shake" according to its residents. I suppose they get used to it after awhile. The summer of 2000 was a wet year, so it was a bit greener than how it shows in the photo below.
Jeff and I have tucked ourselves into a bit of luxury at the Mount Isa Outback Motor Inn after being on the road for so long. This is where I found a USA-themed restaurant and experienced the thrill of a sense of home. Hanging on the walls were license plates from all 50 states and my birth place, Washington, D.C. Viewing pictures on the Internet, I found that the license plates have been removed and there's a new theme, the Explorer Restaurant, but I will always remember the way it was.
Below is a picture my sister sent me the other day. It's a bat similar to the one I saw above my head while walking from the motel's restaurant to our room. With those giant bats flying in the sky I was glad to have a roof over my head that night. Giant frogs were outside our door, and bug-eating geckos were in our room. I'm okay with geckos. They're kinda cute.
