Road Trip - Day 4

Road Trip - Day 4
Tucumcari, New Mexico to Tulsa Oklahoma!
On the road again, this time driving through three states. We left New Mexico behind shortly
after leaving Tucumcari. We pulled off the interstate at Glenrio, Texas a sad looking, deserted town on route 66. I took a picture of their abandoned motel sign. It was welcoming travelers to Texas and I think it says "First Motel in Texas" When the interstate by passed these communities they lost their only livelihood and the towns just died.







Our next stop was Adrian, Texas which is considered the midway point on route 66 between Los Angeles and Chicago.


Shortly before we reached Amarillo, Texas we came to Cadillac Ranch. How did these graffitti covered cadillacs end up buried in the dirt? The story says that a billionare Texas Rancher wanted to add something tacky and eye catching to the route 66 route. He bought several vintage cadillacs and buried them in his corn field. People visit and bring their spray paint and add to the artwork : )


Next came lunch. According to the locals the BEST place to eat in Amarillo is the "Texas Ranch Steak House" The whole place is decorated like an amusement park and photo opportunities abound. It was fun to hear our first Texas accents from the servers. The food was great. I had chicken fried steak with gravy, fried okra, and texas beans. Chris had beef brisket, ribs, and Texas Chili. I visited the route 66 gift shop and sat in the gigantic rocking chair for the perfect picture moment!


How about these giant Texas jelly beans!



As we traveled through Texas on the old route we came across some interesting sights. Like this 190 foot tall cross in Groom, Texas. It is suppose to be the tallest cross in the whole United States.
On the opposite side of the interstate from the cross is the leaning water tower of Britton. It is not a real water tower just a commercial ploy to get tourists to visit the now closed store, restaurant and gas station nearby. It looks like the tower stayed in better shape than the long gone business it advertised.
One last gem in Groom was this sign below. Someone was having fun with the movie Psycho, unfortunately there was no hotel abandoned or otherwise behind the sign : )



I had to take a picture of Shamrock, Texas. I love the name! It has an old Conoco gas station
from the 1920's that the town restored and now uses for their chamber of commerce building.
I can tell they are struggling to survive but have a lot of pride in their community.



We are now in Oklahoma and stopped for the night in Tulsa. Some of the terrain we covered on the old road is pictured below.




Stayed tuned for Day 5!