All Apologies, Amarillo.

Given that we generally can’t correctly name the day of the week, it is not surprising that we forgot to include the town of Amarillo, TX in our last posting. Although we had already left TX for OK, heading west from OK City meant passing through Texas once more (in case you were in need of a Geography lesson).

While on Route 66, we saw a sign for the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere; oh yeah, we stopped. Not only is it a ridiculously huge cross, it is encompassed by a life-sized Stations of The Cross. There is also a depiction of the Last Supper, the Crucifiction and the Shroud of Turin. I called my grandmother on the spot.

We stopped in Amarillo, TX, which is the home of the second largest canyon in the US, Palo Duro. One nice thing about Palo Duro is that you can drive through to the bottom. We spent a couple of hours driving and walking about, enjoying the vistas; the campsites throughout the canyon are top-notch. This was our first real taste of the landscapes of the west, and we were appropriately impressed.

Our final stop was much anticipated. After visiting the local Wal-Mart for a few cans of spray paint, we headed to Cadillac Ranch. This guy, Stanley Marsh, buried ten Cadillacs nose first into the dirt. He allows anyone to come onto his property to view and paint the cars which appear to have been stripped of most of their parts. Jared conjured some of his skills from a time long ago and painted a little tribute to our journey which now serves as the banner for this blog.

And with that, we were on our way to New Mexico…for really reals this time. And, while we were glad that we did not meet with more snow, Jared and I agree that the Lone Star State isn’t our favorite place. It does, however, have two things that are missing from the rest of the states we have visited thus far. Firstly, the people in Texas are truly nice. We expected the South to have the friendliest folk, but Texans have put the citizens of every other state to shame when it comes to friendliness and kindness. Way to be! Also, Texas knows how to do a rest stop: open 24 hours, clean and well lit with covered picnic areas complete with grills in the shape of the state itself. Excellent.