right on bro!

Yesterday was a straight shot east on I-40, starting from Albuquerque. It was mostly trucks on the road. There were a lot of Wal-Mart trucks out there. The highway was littered with billboards advertising Love’s travel stops, Stuckey’s travel stops, Tucumcari Tonite, fireworks, and putting on your seatbelt (”Stop driving without your seatbelt bucked or WE’LL STOP YOU.”).

I-40 runs parallel to the old Route 66, or at least what’s left of it. I stopped in Tucumcari, New Mexico, which bills itself as the “Heart of Route 66.” I guess it was once a vibrant place, filled with old-school roadside motels and restaurants, but a lot of them were closed up now, and the town felt depressing and desolate. I bought a PowerBall lottery ticket here - the jackpot is $83 million dollars.

Headed east again, into the Texas panhandle. The sky turned cloudy and gray. It’s flat as a pancake, and there’s not much else except grass, cows, and a couple of trees here and there. I flipped through radio stations - mostly Christian rock, religious talk, and country, with a couple of “today’s hits” type
stations, and NPR. I don’t even recognize the music on the hits stations.

I reach Amarillo, Texas. My first planned stop here was Cadillac Ranch. I had problems finding it - it’s not really a tourist trap, and there are no signs. But I finally drove along the frontage road until I found it (hint: it’s south of the highway and west of the Hope Road exit). Back in the ’70s, some artists jammed a bunch of old Cadillacs face down into the dirt in the middle of a field. I’m not sure what kind of statement they were trying to make, but whatever it is, I wasn’t feeling it. It looked like the thing to do was sneak onto the field and spraypaint the cars, but there were a bunch of cows in the field, and all were eyeing me warily. I got back in my car and left.

On the othe side of Amarillo was my second planned stop - the Big Texan Steak Ranch, home of the FREE 72-Ounce Steak. The Big Texan is virtually empty when I get there at four o’clock. It looks like a big ol’ Western saloon, with its wooden floors and walls. I did not order the 72 ounce steak, but I did order
an 18-ounce ribeye (ate about half of it). And goddamn if that wasn’t one of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten.

After I ate, I asked about the 72-ounce steak. There’s a whiteboard on the wall with this year’s winners. Since they opened in the 1960s, they said they’ve had about 50,000 attempts, with 8,000 people actually finishing the steak. When you order the 72 ounce steak, they put you on a special raised table in the
middle of the dining room so everybody can watch you. Some of the rules include “fat is optional” and “if you throw up, you lose.” This place would be perfect for Toby.

After dinner, I drove on. More flat earth, blah blah blah. I stopped in Oklahoma City and found out that most of the city’s hotels and motels were sold out, so it took me awhile to find a place to stay. I’m at the Regency Inn at I-40 and Meridian. The owner said they have wireless access in their lobby. I’m about
to go find out, and try to post this.

I’m finally feeling like I’m really on a long trip, and not just a 2-day jaunt to the Grand Canyon or something.

Music of the Day
The Spinanes, Manos

New photos are online. Also, I think that tonight’s stop will have wifi in the rooms so I’ll try to find a map and put it online.