Amarillo to Albuquerque

After yesterday's marathon, today will be more like a 5k. I now know that I could never be an over the road trucker. I enjoy road trips but I need to take my time and wander off the interstate from time to time. That's what I did today.

The motel in Amarillo has two things going for it. It is cheap (by local interstate motel standards, anyway) and it has a good free breakfast. Apart from that, it's a dump...but by now I've stayed there often enough that it doesn't bother me. The only odd thing this time was that they gave me my room key (a card) and I got my stuff and went into the room and someone else was already there...surprise, surprise! The desk clerks were befuddled and the motel manager apologetic (she has a lot to be sorry for and has it down pat) and I got a different room. Dinner last night was at a local IHOP (Self...do not go there again!). I slept thirteen hours and felt great this morning. Had a good breakfast and filled up with gas (the car, not me) and I was on my way.

Ozymandias?  Uhhh, nope.

 I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert....

I decided to find the statue of the legs that sits in a field south of Amarillo along I-27 heading toward Lubbock. Percy Shelly wrote about a different pair of legs. This pair is by the same guy responsible for Cadillac Ranch - that line of 50's era Cadillacs half buried in the prairie west of Amarillo.   I managed to get lost and somehow missed the exit to I-27 and drove all the way to Bushland. As it happens, the road south out of Bushland connects to a road that goes close to the statue. I enjoy these back roads. This one was two-lane blacktop with a 75 mph speed limit and folks were driving faster than that. Since you can see a police car ten miles away I guess they don't worry about a ticket. The legs, once I found them, are about ten feet tall, more or less, and there is no body attached or laying on the ground nearby. The gate was locked so I couldn't get close to them but they look like they have been vandalized a little. I was a little underwhelmed.  I drove past Cadillac Ranch on the way out of town and there must have been close to 100 people stopped to see it. I didn't stop this time. 

Western Swing

I drove back to Bushland and then headed west on I-40. I'm marveling at how green everything is. They must have had a lot of rain. Even the few farm ponds are full of water and the little dried-up creeks aren't dried-up. I had High Plains Public Radio (NPR) on and listened to western swing music. Songs like "My horse likes accordion music", "There are places for girls like you" and "I can't dance 'cause I got ants in my pants". There was a thrilling rendition of "San Antonio Rose" by two sisters on the fiddle. Also lots of accordion music and some Tex-Mex "oompah" band music. I lost that station and switched to a Spanish language radio station. They played a few rousing tunes interspersed with Spanish State Farm Insurance commercials.

I crossed over the state line into New Mexico...they really make you feel welcome with the big sign over the highway. The welcome center was crammed with people. There are lots of folks on the road for family vacation...lots of Missouri cars and some from New York and Massachusetts.

At San Jon I got off the interstate and followed old Route 66. It is interesting to see the old relics sitting beside the road. At one place there is an old filling station with tourist cabins arranged in the back...all overgrown and tumbled down. The big porch-like canopy over the rusted gas pumps has collapsed into a pile of broken wood scraps. There are a few houses that date from the old Mother Road days...some of them might be among the oldest buildings in the county.

I got back on the interstate and pulled into Tucumcari. It looks a little better off than when I was here last. It might be due to the July 4th bunting and other decorations that were up. The Blue Swallow Motel was doing a bang-up business...I stayed there on an earlier trip. The Teepee Curio Shop was open for business.

US 54

NM 218

At Santa Rosa I took US-54 -- the same US-54 that goes through Jefferson City -- south out of town toward El Paso. I only went a few miles and then doubled back on a state highway but it was a pretty drive and I had it all to myself mostly. I think I passed three cars and there were none behind me or ahead.  There were few cows and some big ranches. The sky was getting a little cloudy and the temperature was in the low 80s so I had the car window open and you could smell the cedars and pinon  pines along the road. The road back to the interstate crossed through some rugged hills before dropping back down to the highway. It started raining a little around Clines Corners and it was a pouring rain a couple times as I went farther west on the interstate.

Soaring

I pulled off the highway at Moriarity and discovered the Southwestern Soaring Museum. I knew there was a glider airport there but I didn't know there was a museum. I was greeted by George and Anna...both quite elderly. George is the curator and Anna gives the tours. They ask for a $5.00 donation and I got my $5.00 worth. George is nearly deaf and won't wear his hearing aid but very talkative. He doesn't hear well enough to actually have a conversation but that doesn't stop him. Anna ushered me away from George and took me on a tour that lasted for most of an hour. We were accompanied by her very large German Shepherd named Justice. Justice is one of the best mannered dogs I've seen in a long time. Anna took me around, glider by glider, showing me all the details and various differences in the designs. She made sure I knew which builder was which and what the gliders were used for (racing, pleasure or military). She had me sit in one of the cockpits and took my picture. I was afraid we would need to call the fire department to get me out...getting in was easier than getting out. I turns out that Anna has never been up in a glider but she would like to go. She sure fooled me. She knows just about everything there is to know about the planes and the controls. For $95 a guy will take you up in a tandom glider. That's something on my "Bucket List" so now I know how to do that.

It had poured rain while I was in the museum and the highway was wet and traffic was heavier as I got close to Albuquerque. The descent into the city is steep and a little crazy on dry pavement but even more exciting in the rain. As always, the weather is a little different once you get through the mountains. It was cool and dry in Albuquerque. My motel (Suburban Extended Stay) was the same as always...even the same guy at the desk. I felt like asking if he missed my while I was gone.