Oklahoma quickly faded into the rear view mirror and Texas loomed large in the windshield. The terrain became flatter and the horizon widened. We pulled into Shamrock, TX and one of the first sights we saw was a restored Art Deco styled Conoco station/cafe. It's current purpose is visitor center (pet friendly, by the way) and is very well done. Elvis Presley once ate there! Anyway, we bought a couple of bottles of water and a postcard that depicts their neon sign all lit up against a night sky, visited with the staff member for a few minutes and got on our way again.
There are many deserted buildings and homesteads out here. The homesteads in particular always make me wonder at the back story surrounding them. How did they come to be deserted? Did someone die without heirs, or did they simply move away because they couldn't make a living there? Obviously many of them have been deserted for years, as evidenced by the crumbling of the structures; this is not the kind of deterioration that happens overnight.
On a related note is all the cars, trucks, and equipment that is setting out in yards and fields. Judging by all the grown up weeds and vegetation and the rust accumulated on the steel, these have been there a long time. Evidently the culture here is to just retire these relics and hold onto them rather than sell or scrap them out. I imagine many a hot rodder has gone knocking on doors asking to buy that old car or truck...and since they are still sitting there, I assume the answer was no.
We knew the Cadillac Ranch was coming up in Amarillo, but we took a short detour off 66 to get gas and discovered a VW Ranch near Claude, TX. Just like the Caddys, the VWs are buried nose-first into the ground and have been spray painted numerous times by graffiti artists. It only made sense to stop and snap a couple of pics there since we already had plans to shoot the Caddys too. The big difference was ease of access and much smaller crowds. The road was lined with parked cars at the Cadillac Ranch, and the attraction was actually a couple of hundred yards off the road. Nevertheless there was a steady stream of visitors making their way back there to take photos and leave their own graffiti on the relics, in 100 degree heat no less! Even the ground was painted...evidently some people came with more spray paint than they needed. We made the walk too, but didn't stay long, and Buddy was one happy dog to get back into the air-conditioned car! He stood with his front paws on the console letting the A/C hit him full in the face. I had the fan on high and it was even blowing his ears back!
I was amazed at the number of windmills we saw as we went through the Panhandle of Texas. It's no exaggeration to say that there were well over a thousand! Mile after mile, there were rows upon rows of the giant structures, most turning and churning out clean electricity. At one spot, there was an array of the things all sitting idle, and I bet there were at least a hundred in that bunch. It boggles the mind sometimes.
We pushed on across Texas and made it to Tucumcari, NM last night. Had a great dinner (Mexican food of course) and retired to our room to rest up for today. The plan is to get to Santa Fe and spend a couple of days there. I have long wanted to go see Taos, NM and get a feel for the art that is supposed to be there and see if I can soak up some of that creativity by osmosis! I just discovered a brochure in our hotel lobby that touts Tucumcari as the mural city and it includes a map. Maybe before we get back on 66 we'll do a bit of exploring here. Anyway friends, that's all for today. Bye.
100 degrees? We have been luck to break 70.
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