Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain...

Oklahoma City, OK

Lots of driving today, but some interesting spots. First place was Santa Rosa, NM, which contains a fragment of old Rte.66. As you probably know, Rte. 66 largely disappeared when I-40 was built, but it still contains some old 50s motels and abandoned 50s gas stations, some of which are now nostalgic gift shops.

We then headed east on I-40 and stopped in Tucumcari, NM, which also has some Rte. 66. We stopped at the Blue Swallow Motel, which advertises "refrigerated air." The place was charming and fixed up nicely. A couple of 50s cars in the front, and some of those old metal patio chairs painted bright colors. This place had garages for guests and they're now painted with scenes from "Easy Rider" and other Western scenes. We talked to the owners, who bought the place last year and fixed it up. They both lost their jobs in Michigan last year and bought the motel to try to make a fresh start. They seem to be doing well so far. They sell out every night.

After that we drove down the street to have a bite at Dell's, another old place that seems to be doing well. I had a hamburger that was so big I could hardly get it in my mouth.

Along I-40 in Amarillo, Texas, we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch, an unusual (to say the least) roadside attraction. In the 70s, a rich Texan, working in concert with some San Francisco hippie artists, planted 10 Cadillacs along the roadside. The noses are stuck in the ground in a straight row at an angle that's supposed to mimic one of the Pyramids. The site is open to the public and for years people have been taking parts and spray painting graffiti on the cars. There were a bunch of people doing that while we were there. They cover up other stuff and do their own thing. Tomorrow, others will come and do the same thing. The paint must be an inch thick, at least. The only disconcerting thing is that lots of people simply discard their empty cans on the ground. It's a mess.

The scenery has changed a lot since we left NM this morning. Lots of mesas and such when we headed out of NM, then endless expanses of range land in Texas. I expected Oklahoma to be the same, but it's not. It's become hilly and green where we are. Kind of nice after all that desert.

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Tomorrow we'll explore Oklahoma City a bit and then head for Little Rock, Arkansas.