Day 4: Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Amarillo! They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and I
believe them. Bigger and faster pretty
much sums up Texas. We had a great
day! We started the day with
Texas-shaped waffles at our hotel, and then we went to Cadillac Ranch. If you’ve never heard of this roadside
attraction, it’s a must-do. Ten old
Cadillacs representing the years 1949 – 1963 and featuring their tailfins were
planted in a cow pasture outside of Amarillo in 1974 as an art installation,
and they have been attracting tourists ever since. They were put into the ground, nose down and
at the same angle as the Great Pyramids, and people are encouraged to leave
their mark in the form of spray paint graffiti. We brought some with us, but
the ground was littered with half-used cans we used to supplement our art
work. The kids had the best time
painting their names, monster faces, and all sorts of polka dots all over the
cars. I doubt any of it will last very
long, but we left our mark and that’s all that matters.
After covering ourselves in red, blue, and neon green paint,
we headed out toward Canyon, TX. As we
drove through flat farm land studded with Texas Longhorn cattle, the ground
suddenly opened up in front of us as Palo Duro Canyon split the landscape. When
we finally got out at the visitor’s center, Max’s face lit up as he got his
first glimpse of an actual canyon. It
was a truly incredible sight. Palo Duro Canyon was a beautiful place carved out
by what appears to be this tiny little babbling brook. We drove down into the canyon and walked
along the sandy bottom. We saw cacti and
roadrunners. We found an old cowboy
dugout and saw how cowboys would have lived in the 1800s. Once we finally finished the Junior Ranger
program there, we headed to the visitor’s center to get our patches and then
headed to lunch.
We had lunch at The Big Texan Steak Ranch, a Rte. 66
icon. The food was really good, but I
think the boys were more excited about the cowboy hats their food was served
in. Real live cowboy hats! And Texas
Ranger pins from the gift shop to complete the effect! They were in heaven.
The weather had finally warmed up, we were in the desert,
and it was time to head to our next stop.
We piled in the car and watched as tumbleweeds literally rolled across
the highway as we sped toward New Mexico.
It probably sounds dumb, but I associate tumbleweeds with the Old West. I didn’t realize they were still a
thing. I’m not sure what I thought
happened to them, but the tumbleweeds surprised me. The kids get a huge kick out of them, too. We are probably like the people who come to
NY and marvel at snow.
Our last stop of the day was at The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa,
NM. The Blue Hole is a natural lake in
the middle of the desert. It’s actually
less of a lake and more of a sink hole that continuously refills itself with
fresh water. It is about 60 feet wide,
80 feet deep, and a constant 61 degrees. Visibility is all the way to the
bottom. Jack decided he wanted to go swimming, so he braved the cold while the
rest of us watched and waded. Mike
finally decided to take the plunge and jump from an overhanging rock. It was a fun stop, but we still had a long
way to go, so we piled back in the car and headed to our hotel in Socorro, NM.
Big day today, and a big day tomorrow!
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