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Hey Good Lookin'

While in Oklahoma City we stayed with a friend Anna who had moved down there last year. She took us out to a bar called Edna s. Owned by an ex-stripper who still gets up and dances whenever Great Balls of Fire is played Edna s is completely adorned with decorated dollar bills. It is known for its Lunchboxes which are shots of Amaretto and orange juice dropped in a glass of beer. They were surprisingly good and at the encouragement of the people who brought us there we help ourselves to three each. Aside from the single stall ladies room that had a partition instead of a door hiding the toilet we thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Edna s.

We went out to breakfast with Anna this morning so we got a late start. After seeing a billboard for it approximately every 500 feet we decided to stop at the Cherokee Trading Post off of I-40. Complete with everything from moccasins knives jewelry t-shirts collectibles and even some hot sauce it was a cute store. We bought ourselves some postcards and buffalo snack sticks and got back on the road.

A few miles down the road we saw signs for Red Rock Canyon State Park so we decided to stop. It was about 5 miles off the interstate and had no entrance fee. The entry road was very steep and winding but cut right through some beautiful red rock and took us right into the basin of the canyon. The walls of the canyon were absolutely beautiful. There were picnic areas and designated walls for rappelling and climbing. Poor Lola didn t really like the climb back out of the canyon but it was worth the stop.

In Clinton OK lies the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum where for a mere $3 you can walk through the different decades of the Mother Road. It was very interesting to learn about the differing uses for the route during the decades. Reading stories and history hearing music and viewing the countless memorabilia and pictures of Route 66 in its heyday was fascinating. We saw numerous signs advertising several different museums along the route but I believe this one was very complete and representative of Historic Route 66.

The last stop in Oklahoma was Texola. We had pulled of the interstate and gotten on the historic route to go into Texola. This portion of Route 66 was the late-model meaning that it was a four lane divided highway. The road was bumpy overgrown and definitely had seen better days. That did nothing to prepare us for Texola. Once a bustling town along Route 66 it has become a ghost town since it was bypassed by the interstate. It was completely desolate and could be easily missed if you blink your eyes. The one attraction was a sign that stated There s no other place like this place anywhere near this place so this must be the place. We were very intrigued by the abandoned buildings and discussed how great it would ve been to have seen them in their prime or even to know what they once were.

Overall we agreed that OK was a-ok but it was time to cross into Texas. We were both very excited about Texas and stopped at the Welcome to Texas sign on the side of the road to take pictures. It was starting to rain so we only stopped for a minute or two but we were amazed by the number of truck drivers honking their horn. Apparently they don t see girls stopped on the side of the road very often.

We pulled off onto the historic route again to drive through McLean TX. The best attraction in McLean is a restored Phillips 66 gas station which is tiny but cute. McLean also is the home of Devil s Rope Museum which is a museum dedicated to barbed wire. Unfortunately it wasn t open today so we were unable to stop. Like Texola McLean has also seen its better days. It s sad to think that these once lively cities are now practically desolate.

The next stop was to see a leaning water tower and the largest cross in the western hemisphere which are both outside of Groom TX. It was raining pretty steadily at this point and as we pulled over to see the water tower the wiper on the driver s side broke off. Lisa managed to attach it again using a hair tie but that rendered the wiper pretty much useless. After driving a few miles Ace Ventura style to be able to see out the passenger s side Lisa pulled over at a Love s Travel Shop and bought a new wiper blade. During this time we passed the large cross but I just snapped a picture from the car since it was raining pretty hard and we wanted to find a place with wiper blades. We made light of the situation by listening to Heywood Banks Wiper Blades which was fitting with its line I wish I had replaced my wiper blades.

Being that it was dinner time we stopped at the Big Texan Steak House in Amarillo TX for some quality Texas steak. This was by far the best decision of the day and we would recommend it to anyone passing through Amarillo. The steak house seats 450 people and offers a free 72 oz. steak to anyone who can finish it along with a salad baked potato roll and glass of water in an hour. People that are up to the challenge must sit on a stage in the center of the restaurant and the live feed is broadcast on the Big Texan website. No one tried while we were there but that did not make our experience any less amazing.

The atmosphere in the steak house was perfect. It almost seemed like we were stepping into an old saloon. All of the servers were decked out in full western gear including tight jeans and cowboy hats for the men and jean skirts and cowboy boots for the girls. There was even a group of three older men walking around playing instruments and taking requests for songs. When they stopped by our table and asked us what we wanted to hear I suggested some Hank Williams or Willie Nelson. The gentleman with the guitar looked at Lisa said I have the perfect song and started singing Hey Good Lookin by Hank Williams. They did an amazing job and we were sure to tip them for their efforts.

We each ordered a souvenir boot of beer and decided to split a 21-oz sirloin. The steak came with four sides and rolls and was very affordable at only $30.95. We each had a salad I had a baked potato and Lisa had macaroni and cheese. It was all very delicious and we couldn t even finish the meal because we were both so full. The desserts all looked scrumptious so we decided to get one to go and eat it later. We choose the carrot cake which was an extremely healthy choice with its 94 grams of fat according to the menu. The slice of cake was bigger than either of us imagined and will make an excellent breakfast tomorrow.

The last stop we had planned was one that we had been looking forward to all day. Just outside of Amarillo in the middle of a corn field is Cadillac Ranch. Consisting of several old Cadillacs stuck upright in the ground graffiti is strong encouraged. We had purchased spray paint in OKC so we started making our way out into the field. Because of the rain then entire area surrounding the cars was essentially a giant mud puddle. We quickly abandoned our shoes and went barefoot hoping not to fall. We painted a few different cars and took lots of pictures. It was a lot of fun and we were both glad that we didn t let the mud scare us away.

It was starting to get dark and we still had about a 100 mile drive to our stop for the night so after cleaning our feet off at a different Love s Travel Shop we hit the road again (fyi we love Love s!). While driving from Texas into New Mexico we went through an incredible storm. As first we just kept seeing lightning flashes in the distance. It was actually really pretty because it was completely dark outside and all of a sudden the sky would just light up. We quickly started cursing it though when it started pouring rain. It was very windy and the rain was coming down in sheets so we even pulled over for a little bit to wait out the storm.

We finally made it to the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari NM which is a cute authentic motel right off the historical route. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow including Tinkertown Petrified Forest and Wigwam Village which we re very excited about. Stay tuned for more.

God Bless Texas

Ida and Lisa