The Adventure, part 2

Sorry it has taken me a few days to update about the trip. The second night didn't provide a good opportunity for blogging, and since we got back Saturday night, my primary focus has been trying to do all the schoolwork I didn't do over break. Since, you know, I took a random roadtrip around four states in three days.

So the first night, we drove to Springfield, CO, the quaint little mainstreet town, and checked into the Starlight Motel, owned and operated by a sweet older couple. (The woman didn't know how to work the credit card machine, but otherwise it was a nice stay.)



We didn't do much that first night, just went to eat at a little steakhouse called Trail's End. For me, it was awesome because I had a thick steak, fresh from local Colorado cattle. For Willie the vegetarian, perhaps not so awesome, though she says her grilled cheese sandwich was tasty. (She had to tell them to hold the bacon. They've never heard of vegetarians out here.)

The next morning we walked around the town for a while and ate breakfast at a fifties-themed diner called Chubby's before hitting the road and driving back into the Oklahoma panhandle. Seeing that part of the state gives me a new perspective on The Grapes of Wrath. We passed fields that had turned to sand, which drifted across the road with the wind. We passed over several rivers that were nothing but dry beds. We made a game of counting the tumbleweeds that blew across the road in front of us. Between Springfield and Amarillo, our second day's destination, we counted seventy-six.


We were in the panhandle for only a short period before crossing into New Mexico, which according to the sign is the Land of Enchantment, but to me looks more like the Land of Defaced Signs. At first, New Mexico looked a lot like western Oklahoma. But then we saw two large mountains rising solitary on the horizon and knew we were in a differnt place.



At the foot of those mountains, which are called Rabbit Ear Mountain, we stopped in another quaint little mainstreet town, Clayton, NM, pop. 2,524. We walked around the town for a while, met some friendly folk, and took lots of pictures.

After leaving Clayton, we crossed into Texas and once more into the central time zone. We started out the day in mountain time, then back to central when we crossed into Oklahoma, then back to mountain in New Mexico, and finally back to central in Texas. Gaining and losing hours so frequently left me feeling jetlagged.

At first, Texas looked a lot like Oklahoma and New Mexico, flat, barren, dry. Within a few hours, however, it took on a distinctively Texan look with rolling hills of scrub vegetation sparsely scattered, and stone canyons etching the countryside. Soon we spied skyscrapers miles away in the distance. (It never fails to amaze me how far you can see out here -- we could see the skyscrapers for a good twenty or thirty minutes before we came anywhere close to them.) We reached our day's destination, Amarillo, TX, pop. 173,627, in the late afternoon. We checked into a seedy motel near the interstate (always a good choice) and then went out to eat at El Tejavan, the hands-down best Mexican restaurant I've ever patronized. (Except maybe the ones in Mexico, but I was a kid and don't remember. ) The one meal there has made me crave their food every day since then. (My guess: They lace their salsa with heroin.)



After our meal, we drove up to the old Route 66 part of town and walked around taking pictures. Unfortunately, it was 8:00 p.m. CDT, and most of the little shops were closed, but it was nice to walk along that historic route especially since (Spoiler Warning!) we would be visiting Route 66 a lot the following day.

And, since we were in Texas, Willie and I decided to Cowboy Up. She bought this charming hat.



While I opted for the shirt and belt buckle.

Now we just need a pair of boots and a horse, and between us we'd make a cowboy.

More later on Day 3.