Flying Through the Plains

After their inspiring visit with a family of Hurricane Katrina survivors in Trinidad, Colorado, Oprah and Gayle stopped for the night at what they thought was just another typical motel on their way to the Colorado-Kansas border. What they found there was an eye-opening surprise.

Oprah says her room was so moldy that she had trouble breathing. Gayle says she could see the indentation in the sheets left by the person who was sleeping in her bed the night before. "This is what I learned on this road trip and this is good information," Oprah says. "Always go to the center of the bed, because most people sleep on one end or another. The center of the bed is the least slept-in and has fewer cooties."

Oprah was ready to abandon the motel entirely. "I would rather sleep on the ground with the rabbits and the coyotes than be in a grungy, moldy, stinky motel," she said. Against her wishes the Big Adventure team stayed the night.

In the morning, Oprah heard details much more shocking than a motel room's dubious cleanliness. On the previous day after the team checked in, Roosevelt, her makeup artist, had witnessed someone at a nearby bar refer to Oprah using shockingly racist and sexist terms. And Chris, Oprah's trainer, found two .22-caliber shotgun shells outside his room.

By morning, it was time to leave in a hurry.