Mark Mourer
Mrs. Mann — Mandred’s mama — told him not to look at the sun. But that won’t stop me from doing so - in the rear view, in this instance - as we barrel into Merkel. Oh, wait … there goes Merkel.
Mark Mourer, known far and wide in these parts, was one of a bunch of Horned Frogs fans whose travel plans were disrupted by Southwest Airlines’ scheduling misadventure that has caused more than 13,000 flight cancellations on the carrier over the course of the last week.
It is likely that far more than 1 million passengers have been affected.
There was good news, though, on Thursday. Officials with the Dallas-based airline said the company expects normal operations to resume on Friday.
Mourer, whose flight was canceled on Tuesday, wasn’t taking any chances. Nothing was keeping him from seeing No. 3 TCU take on No. 2 Michigan in the College Football Playoffs national semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday night.
So, he loaded up the car and in the spirit of Clark Griswold, he took the driver’s side with wife Kelly in the passenger seat and daughters Reese and Haley in the back for the 15-hour, 1,035-mile trip to Glendale, Arizona.
"Among the members of Horned Frog Nation who are gassing up the family roadster to travel to Arizona, we can be assured of one thing during these trying, improvisational times: #MaxWouldGo," Mourer writes of his hashtag travel rally cry.
Mark Mourer
Need a Big Water Tower for That Big Spring
To hell with tellin’ them boys to win one for Dutch or what have you — tell all drivers to avoid Big Spring at all costs! Somewhere between Snyder and Mile Marker 175, our friends in charge of the interstate system have grooved the road. It’s a sound only a celibate monk could crave — you, the one that goes into the monastery tower to ring the bell? Imagine that bell ringing for 17 solid miles. Whatever. #MaxWouldGo
This is no vacation. It’s a quest. It’s a quest for … Horned Frogs triumph.
We’ll all be whistling “Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah” by Saturday night.
The Mourers took off at 5:15 this morning from their Aledo domicile, on runway Interstate 20 westbound, passed Midland in 4 ½ hours, and made it to El Paso around 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Mourer has graciously agreed to do a little travel diary for us, telling us the story of the trip to Arizona in pictures and his magic prose.
Such as ...
"Passed the first Allsup’s just before 7 a.m.," Mourer writes. "Was in Abilene, which has clearly spread its wings with the advent of a Hooters on I-20. How a town with a Baptist, a Methodist, and a Church of Christ college can staff Hooters baffles, but it’s worth a return trip to see. Less’n the chicken-fried steak at Mary’s don’t reel me in first.
"Back to the burrito I passed on: It will be mine, just likely once the sun comes up."
Here's betting there will be a few burritos not passed on.
Mourer reported that the family truckster pulled into El Paso for gas after "576.4 madcap miles."
"I've now clipped a tumbleweed, smelled 10,000 head of cattle, passed pistachio farms, and traversed the Rio Grande," he says of entering New Mexico. "As if being west of the Pecos wasn't enough."
Without further ado.
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Mark Mourer
Shoving off
On our way to see the Frogs play! About 14 minutes later than the 5:00 a.m. launch time. May have to skip an Allsup’s burrito. Or, maybe we make it up some other way that don’t involve no westward ho sacrilege! Two daughters already back to sleep, and one wife still not sure this is the best idea sitting quietly in the shotgun perch. #MaxWouldGo
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Mark Mourer
The Sun Even Comes up Aledo Orange
When you win a record 11 state football championships, you’re allowed to bask in your own glory. Evidence exists in the mirror showing Aledo somewhere back there in the Bearcat Orange. #MaxWouldGo
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Via Mark Mourer
Special Packages?
There we were, preparing and anticipating our launch for Phoenix when an airline whose name doesn’t deserve mention pulled a Wuhan on the travelers during the busiest time of the year. Outta left field, or — more to the point, Love Field — Wanna Get Away, Inc. threw a sucker punch that impacted thousands of holiday travelers, most notably a horde of Horned Frogs looking to see history in the 2022 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. One road warrior on their way to see TCU play noticed the convoy of UPS trucks east of Albuquerque. “Surely those aren’t the accommodations made for the TCU VIPs Southwest absolutely could not leave behind?” they wondered.
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Mark Mourer
Neither of Those Are White Flags
I pledge allegiance / To the HypnoToad, / And to the United States of America. / Out here in Tall City, / Where the wind blows, / One skyline, seemingly endless, / Where cattle and oil pumps abound. #MaxWouldGo
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Mark Mourer
Our near the West Texas Town of El Paso ...
... It’s Speed Limit 80 … but (wait for it) … Frogs by 90!
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Mark Mourer
Black Gold
Not long ago, when the shores lapped up on the beaches of the Llano Estacado, fish swam overhead. Look —there’s one now! Well, what’s left of him/her/them, being pumped outta the ground in the name of Sid Richardson.
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In the Beginning ...
Around this time in 1998, things were getting rolling for the Frogs. A 6-5 season and some crafty negotiations lead to an invite to the Sun Bowl and a stunning victory over blue-blood Southern California. Here, our man made a stop on the road to the Fiesta Bowl to relive where it all began. Plus, had a chance to say “Hola” to our friends south of the border.
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Mark Mourer
The Land of Enchantment
Good afternoon, New Mexico, home today to former Horned Frog staffer Jerry Kill. Hey, Coach Kill. Congrats on a great season. These Aggies were victors over Bowling Green in the Quick Lane Bowl.
