Tuesday, November 9, 2010

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.

IMG_7780 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.

IMG_7778 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.

IMG_7782 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”.

6 comments:

  1. I saw pictures of that a while back but we've never been there. Too bad you couldn't take a souvenir.

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  2. Hi..Just got back on the computer and catching up...you sure had a great time in Oklahoma! We stayed in Amarillo for a little over a week and really enjoyed it. There is a great museum on a college campus south of Amarillo...one of the best little museums we've seen. We are at Rainbow's End for a few days and then on toward Big Bend. turtle safely

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  3. Taking souveniers may be why they are stripped down to their frames. :)

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  4. When we headed back to TX from NM, we were going to go see this but then changed our plans...yet again. It looks so cool. Glad you got to see it. Also, I don't think I have eaten 72 oz. of steak in the last 10 years. Makes me sick just thinking about it. Enjoy!

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  5. I had never heard of Cadillac Ranch, but just added it to my list of places to check out. Thanks!

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  6. Boy you guys have been busy while we were buried in family gatherings! We are headed to Oklahoma City, I think, in December.

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Thanks for visiting today. I look forward to reading your comments. Have a beautiful day.