2geonomads

3 Amigos – Mick, Doug, and Fred. The Obese Ferret (aka David) must be on the camera!

A Grill along the Route – Not very busy!

Mick’s turn to drive and me to navigate.
Breakfast at Huddle House near to motel. Big American Breakfast for $3.99. M and D try the local grits which is,as Doug said, obviously an acquired taste.
Dreaded u-turn ( or a Jerry in honour of Jerry McLanahan, the author of our guide book whose quirky writing causes most of the u- turns ) within 5 minutes of our setting off.
National Route 66 Museum is an impressive complex covering all aspects of life on 66, rodeo life, farming and transport. A sort of Sovereign Hill with an American slant. All in all well worth the 2 hour visit and I get to practise my Italian with two ladies from Prato, near to Florence.

Coffee shop in Sayre offers excellent coffee but at $3.55 by far the most expensive so far on 66.
Beckham County Courthouse in town appeared briefly in Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath but a note to our esteemed author Jerry Mac – it is NOT on Route 66.

Texola is the last town before Texas and is virtually a ghost town. Short visit made memorable by Mick’s insistence on reversing what seemed like 10 kms to take a photo of the ramshackle Tumblewood Grill. In fact, we all decided that Mick drives better in reverse so it might become the norm for him in future.
Doug very unkindly commented that the town was very old and in dire need of repair, a bit like the navigator!
Doug receives a message from Ernie ,small parts of it in franglais, and mentions a whole host of French wines totally unknown to this group of obvious Philistines. However, we are pleased that Chris and Ernie are getting the French house shipshape so that we can all descend on them in the not-too-distant future.
Next stop is the U-Drop Inn at Shamrock. This is an Art Deco masterpiece which apparently looks spectacular from dusk onwards, not really very helpful as we arrive at noon.
Move on to McLean where the main feature is a 1920′ s Phillips Gas Station, the first of this brand in Texas.
Doug and Fred quick to point out that we missed the exit on Interstate 40 and had to perform a J-turn ( more complex than a U-turn and requiring a higher level of driving )
West of Alanreed the Texas landscape changes from the flat plains to the Caprock, an elevated plateau from which the rest of Texas slopes noticeably downward towards the southeast and the Gulf of Mexico.
At Groom we view from a distance and at speed, the 190 feet high Giant Cross, the highest in the Western Hemisphere, and the Leaning Water Tower. M and I were fascinated by these icons but Obergruppenfuhrer Field insisted that we drive straight on past them.
It’s payback time when we reach Conway. Doug had set his mind seeing the main feature of the town, the Bug Ranch. This is nothing more than a spoof on the Cadillac Range in Amarillo and consists of a number of VW Beetles buried nose-first in the earth. We couldn’t find either the town or the Bugs, much to D’s dismay, but we really did try!
Fred apparently falls asleep on the last stretch to Amarillo, obviously very comfortable with M’s driving and my navigation.
Arrive at Days Inn Amarillo after a few glitches with Karen ( sulking again ) and finish off another great day with an excellent dinner at Logan’s Steakhouse.
New Mexico next stop tomorrow.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.