Tucumcari Tonight

His perspective:

I felt like I was really getting away with something today.
Blatant criminal acts.
We carried more than 3oz. of liquids on board, no standby lists, no worries about how much carryon we could take and there was no security checkpoint to board the Toaster.
A very nice change. And we still got the forward cabin.

We started off on our “Tour de Americana” on highway 114 to 287 to I-40, joining 40 just east of the thriving metropolis of Amarillo. We had some light snow around Wichita Falls and a strong crosswind from the north all day long. The Toaster performed well. We joined the real route 66 for maybe a mile or so in Vega, TX, west of Amarillo. Took a couple of pix and back on 40.
Many of the small towns north of Decatur had their share of abandoned buildings, some looking like the Keller Rock Gym, which was a WPA program of the 1930s. Makes me wonder why and when these communities thrived. And what happened to cause the current decay.

There is a reason why some say that if God were to give the world an enema, Wichita Falls and surrounds would certainly be eligible. Really desolate.

Kudos to Apple. We lost DFW radio at Decatur and it’s been IPOD all the way.

A bit of personal nostalgia thanks to the IPOD. Carry On, by CSNY started playing. It reminded me of another trip down the Mother Road. That one was in 1970. My Dad was working at JFK at the time and ran into somebody who had a great deal on a ’69 Olds Toronado, with rare at the time, front wheel drive. The car was in NY, we lived in LA. He picked me up at JFK, we got in the car and headed west. The car broke down with carburetor problems in Tulsa but we made to LA in time for my brother Ken’s graduation from high school. Of course the car had an 8 track, so I brought CSNY, Buffalo Springfield and I think 3 Dog Night. Nice throwback this morning.

Her perspective:
Early this morning under a freezing fog advisory, with temperatures still in the 30’s and plenty of the 13” of snow still on the ground, we packed the Toaster and headed out for our road trip.
Tucumcari, New Mexico was the goal for today.
To amuse myself, I started listing license plates to see where the other cars were from.
Then because it seemed funny at the time, we thought we’d check off Buicks with Q-tips in them, Loves Rest Stops and of course the obligatory Dairy Queens. The Buick count was very disappointing. We only saw 2, and the Q-tip rate was a mere 50%. Maybe all the Buicks and Q-tips are already in Arizona.
As we planned this trip, we have joked that at any point we could park the Toaster at an airport and carry on by air. Frank & Jill checked in about 3 hours into the trip to ask if we’d given up yet. We passed the first airport shortly before 11:00 a.m. – Wichita Falls. It was alternately raining and snowing and we kept driving.
The snow continued off and on (not sticking). We estimated cross winds at about 35 mph.
We passed Jolly, Texas, an exit for highway 101 (Texas) and a Lake Arrowhead exit. Not quite the 101 and Arrowhead we were accustomed to.
The big city of Electra had a Sonic, a hospital a cemetery and more snow. I wonder if that is representative of the natural progression in Electra (No Nancy didn’t wonder that, but I did)
Still snowing when we stopped in Vernon for gas.
In Chillicothe, tumbleweeds blew across the road. Reminded me of growing up in California.
The vast open spaces and desolate looking land amazed me. So many stories out there.
In Childress we stopped at a DQ for lunch. (his perspective….we counted almost 26 teeth between the 2 people behind the counter).
Sign alongside the road ‘West Hill Community Church and John Deere Dealer’. One helluva combo.
Amarillo offered the next stop to park and fly (or flee)……..we kept driving.

Following directions in our ‘official’ Route 66 tour book, we stopped in Vega to see a restored Magnolia gas station, built in 1924. Vega took us to Adrian. The claim to fame for Adrian is that it is midpoint on Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. The must see Mid Point Café……closed on Sundays.

By late afternoon we found the Tucumcari Tonight signs. I did not know what to expect here but I’d say small town America sums it up.

We ended this Valentine’s Day with dinner at the (wait for it)………….Pow Wow Inn and Lizard Lounge!! It featured a special Valentine’s dinner for two. One of the choices, Chicken cordon bleu. And I will say I give them a lot of points for creativity. And it wasn’t bad. And it also wasn’t Chicken cordon bleu!

Tomorrow we think we will head Toasty toward Winslow, Arizona. Not sure if we will get that far. I do know we need to stop at the Tee Pee curio shop in Tucumcari before we leave town.

So my thoughts on our first day of driving –
So far, so good.
I’m not going to give up flying anytime soon but this is a really unique experience for us.
I wonder, as we drive through these small downs in what seems like the middle of nowhere……what do they do? How do they survive? How bad does the weather get in the summer, in the winter? Where do they shop? And so many abandoned buildings, houses, businesses. Where did the people all go? And were the businesses thriving to begin with?
When you sit in the car for 7 hours, it kinda makes you think………

Today’s question
Does the fact that the two of us are touring in the Toaster make us Pop Tarts? Discuss.

Today's pix can be found at :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14356799@N06/sets/72157623312425589/