We awoke somewhat refreshed this morning, grabbed some breakfast, and hit the road.
Our first stop was at the Cherokee Trading Post on I-40W. I couldn’t tell you if it was really Cherokee in nature, but it was a good place to stop and refresh ourselves…. and pick up some rubber snakes (souvenirs).
We continued across Oklahoma in the cold, cold weather, and found our way to Texas. On a lark, we decided to stop at a small picnic area off the interstate, and found our first and only roadrunner. Those little guys are very odd to look at, with an almost reptillian head. Those that claims birds are descended from dinosaurs could use this guy as the poster child for the claim!
Driving on, we stopped at a rest area that was focused on the uses of wind power for generating electricity. They had a large windmill that, despite the high winds, wasn’t really turning. Hmmm!
We referenced our Route 66 book, and discovered that there is a leaning water tower in Britten TX, which is visible from I-40W. It’s there, it’s leaning, and we drove on.
Our next stop was just a couple of miles down the road. This stop was for a giant cross, 150 feet tall, and visible for miles and miles. Not only was this giant testimony of faith here, but there were also life-sized bronze statues depicting the stations of the cross. And, if that weren’t enough, there was also a life-sized crucifiction scene, and empty tomb. How very appropriate to stumble across this on Easter! It was moving, and obviously quite a powerful statement of faith.
We were hungry, so we drove on to Amarillo, and stopped at The Big Texan Restaurant. Now, we’d been seeing signs for this place for hundreds of miles, with their claim being that if you could eat a 72-ounce steak (along with a potato and salad) inside 60 minutes, you’d get the meal for free — if not, it cost you about $55. Sure enough, when we walked in, someone was on the clock, trying to eat the meal. (BTW, this guy was bigger than me, and was only able to finish about half of it.) Our lesser meals were good, and we made our way through the gift shop. I noticed that there have been hundreds of people who have passed the challenge, with the latest ones scribbled on a board. There were all ages, and weights….. and one who completed the challenge in 35 minutes! I don’t see how you could possibly swallow that fast. Of course, this contestant rolled in at a cool 400 pounds, so I suspect he’s had some practice!
Just outside of Amarillo is another site the Route 66 book pointed us to: The Cadillac Ranch. This is a farmers field, with a path through it to ten old cadillacs, half buried in the ground, covered with graffiti. As they sit a good ways off the road, if you weren’t looking for it, you’d miss it. And, of course, since we’d been in rain for two days, the path was a total mess, with mud that acted like quicksand! Still, it was an impressive sight, and something fun to look at.
We continued off the interstate, heading toward Clovis NM as our stop for the night. What we discovered is that Clovis is a big railway town, and we “slept” to the sound of trains passing by all night. Not the best sleep in the world!