STUPID COMPUTER

We were in Albuquerque, NM for a couple of days to visit with the kids and I had planned on doing some sight seeing.

We stayed at the Enchanted Trails RV Park just west of town. I really like this park. It’s very unique because the office was originally a trading post. Right on Rte 66 and they have these wonderful old cars and trailers parked as you pull into the park. This will be the place we stay when we come back when it’s warmer.

Took the kids to dinner and had a fun visit with them. Got home and turned on my computer. I have no idea what I did or what I clicked on that I shouldn’t have, but all of a sudden my security popped up to tell me I had six viruses – two critical. My security system could stop the viruses but it couldn’t get rid of them. So the next day we contacted Geeks Mobile and they spent about five hours trying to fix it remotely. They were able to get rid of five of the viruses but not the sixth one. Decided the only thing they could do was send out a technician the next day.

He got there about 9:45 and left about 12:30. What a mess. I was so frustrated and angry with myself. But he was able to fix it and also cleaned up my computer to make it run more efficiently. Did a really great job. One of those young computer whiz types.

But because of this fiasco, we didn’t get to do much sight seeing. Took the kids out to dinner again and then left the next morning for Roswell.

(Love these New Mexico over passes.)

TEXAS ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

On the road to Palo Duro Canyon we saw a couple of fun sights that I just had to add to the blog.

The train used to run through the canyon and I think it would really have been fun to ride it. Someone decided to save the train and it sits in their yard along with other odds and ends.

This long horn is part of the herd that actually lives in the canyon and belongs to the State of Texas.

This bull (definitely a bull) sat at the entrance to a ranch along the highway. I wonder if they offer stud service.

PALO DURO STATE PARK

The Grand Canyon of Texas

The Canyon is 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles wide, and has a maximum depth of more than 800 feet. Its elevation at the rim is 3,500 feet above sea level. It is often claimed that Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States.

Early Spanish Explorers are believed to have discovered the area and dubbed the canyon "Palo Duro" which is Spanish for "hard wood" in reference to the abundant mesquite and juniper trees.

People have lived in the canyon for approximately 12,000 years. Early settlers were nomadic tribes that hunted mammoth, giant bison, and other large game animals. Later, Apache Indians lived in the canyon, but were soon replaced by Comanche and Kiowa tribes who resided in the area until 1874.

At that time, Col. Ranald Mackenzie was sent into the area to transport the Native Americans to Oklahoma. Col. Mackenzie and the 4th Cavalry were able to capture more than 1,400 horses belonging to the tribe. After keeping some of the best horses for themselves, the remainder were taken to nearby Tule Canyon and destroyed. Cut off from their only means of transportation, the Native Americans soon surrendered.

Once again, I took a ton of pictures and trying to pick the few to put on the blog is so difficult. This canyon is beautiful and full of lots of colors.

CADLLIAC RANCH

Just down the road from our Amarillo, TX RV Park is a place every person should visit at least once in their life. And that would be Cadillac Ranch. I’ve heard about this Roadside Attraction for years and was really excited to see it.

Standing along Route 66 west of Amarillo, Texas, Cadillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of art-hippies imported from San Francisco. They called themselves The Ant Farm, and their silent partner was Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3.

He wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals, and the hippies came up with a tribute to the evolution of the Cadillac tail fin. Ten Caddies were driven into one of Stanley Marsh 3's fields, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt (supposedly at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza). They faced west in a line, from the 1949 Club Sedan to the 1963 Sedan de Ville, their tail fins held high for all to see on the empty Texas panhandle.

Decades have passed. The Cadillacs have now been in the ground as art longer than they were on the road as cars. They are stripped to their battered frames, splattered in day-glo paint, barely recognizable as automobiles. Yet Cadillac Ranch is more popular than ever. It's become a ritual site for those who travel The Mother Road.

Tourists are always welcome at Cadillac Ranch. If you bring spray paint, make sure to also bring a camera. Because whatever you create at Cadillac Ranch will probably only last a few hours before it's created over by someone else. I was able to convince Jim that the spray paint should stay in the truck so we didn’t destroy anyone else’s “work of art”.

AMARILLO BY MORNING

The Big Texan – Home of the 72 oz steak.

The restaurant was originally opened in 1960 on Route 66. In the mid-1960’s signs began cropping up along Route 66 inviting travelers to come in for a 72 oz steak dinner that was FREE if it could be eaten in one hour.

That’s 4 1/2 lbs of meat, people, 4 1/2 lbs!!!

In the early 1970’s, I-40 was built replacing Rte 66 as the major traffic lane. The owner built a new restaurant along I-40 and the giant cowboy out front was moved by helicopter from the old place to the new.

A young man sitting at our table took them up on their challenge but we didn’t stick around to see if he was able to eat it all in one hour. The meal consists of the 72 oz steak, three shrimp, one dinner roll, one baked potato, and one salad. If you don’t succeed in eating the meal in one hour it will cost you $72.00. Needless to say, Jim and I passed on this one.

However, our sirloins were marvelous and I would definitely eat there again. (I wasn’t real excited about all the Christmas decorations but they seem to be everywhere.)

POPS

Arcadia, OK - Meet POPS -- the newest, coolest landmark along Historic Route 66! It starts with a 66-foot soda pop bottle with a gas station, restaurant, shake shop, gift shop, convenience store and event venue.

The owner built "Bubbles," the world's largest soda bottle, which stands 66 feet tall if you count the straw sticking out of its neck. Inside the convenience store are nearly 600 ice cold sodas. Like root beer? POPS has over 60 varieties. Or cream soda? Over 40 flavors.

He also filled the windows of the mini-mart with thousands of soda bottles, representing hundreds of different brands. They are glued down to prevent accidents, which is definitely a good idea.

Jim had to stock up while we were there. He bought a six pack which cost us about $12 but it’s so much fun to have these really different flavors. His are all diet types. I don’t drink soda (except once in a great while) but I’ve had a sip of each one that he’s opened. Still don’t like soda but he’s enjoying himself. Cheers!

OKLAHOMA ROUTE 66

Chandler, OK – Jim and I drove up to Chandler to go through their Route 66 museum which is mostly an video show of sights that used to exist on Route 66. The museum is in the old armory and they also have a Hall of Fame for their veterans.

Phillips 66 gasoline began in 1917 as Phillips Petroleum Co. In 1927, the company’s gasoline was being tested on US Highway 66 in Oklahoma and when it turned out that the car was going 66 mph, the company decided to name the new fuel Phillips 66.

This building in Chandler was a cottage style “B” type Phillips 66 station built in the late 1920’s.

In the spring of 1898 William Harrison Odor, members of his family and his neighbors starting building a unique structure in the green countryside of Oklahoma. Little did they know at the time that the barn they were building would become a landmark on one of the most celebrated highways in America.

This was the beginning of what would become know as Arcadia’s Round Barn. When the barn was new the lower level was used to shelter cattle, mules and hay. The upper level or loft was used for barn dances and other social gatherings.