On the Road Again

Interstate 40 West is an exceptionally unremarkable drive, so I haven’t minded burning a bit of daylight before getting back on the long and boring road. Yesterday, I spent an hour touring Oklahoma City. Downtown, I followed the signs to the Oklahoma City National Memorial, but the signs gave up too soon and in time, so  did I. I backtracked to Bricktown, home of the Oklahoma RedHawks, took a couple of pics, and headed back to the interstate.







Now, before we go on, you should meet my travel buddy, Frank Sinatrat, pictured here outside our first overnight stop: the Shawnee Super 8.

We stopped for this pic...

...but even ol’ white eyes couldn’t withstand the wind.

The next stop would be in Elk City, home of the National Route 66 Museum and Billy’s, a recommended Roadfood restaurant.

I found Billy’s first. Dubbed the “Best in the West”, the little roadside joint boasts onion-fried burgers and fresh cut fries. After Billy had put the goodies on the grill, he asked me where I was from, handed me a pin, and pointed to the maps on the wall: one of the US, one of the world. People had come from everywhere to visit his place. Mine was the second pin from Nashville.

Although I am on a lifelong quest for the perfect chili dog and Billy’s serves coneys, I ordered the famous onion burger and a side of tater tots. Soon after I began my meal, Billy dropped another basket on my table. “I just want you to try my fries.” Soon, other customers arrived and I shared my bounty with a toddler who was waiting for his own order of fries.

Then I made my way to the Route 66 museum.




Admission is cheap, which is fortunate because the museum is disappointing. It looked more like a cleverly arranged antique store than anything else. Having been to Bell Buckle, I was unimpressed.

A Corvette with a drive-in tray on the window caught my eye, but the museum – the size of an average 1 bedroom apartment – was little more than a detour to the gift shop.

From Elk City, I was racing the sunset to Amarillo, where I hoped to find the Cadillac Ranch. I’d say we tied; but Texas roads have an inconvenient you-can’t-get-there-from-here way about them. From 40-West, you’ll end up on Arnot Road going north. You need to go south. Which you can only do from 40-East. Looking for a way to cross the interstate as the sun settled behind the horizon, I put enough road behind me to save that detour for another trip.
I had, however, taken another detour on the way. Though I knew I'd be pushing it to Amarillo, when you pass a sign that reads “Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere!” you are obligated to stop. It really doesn't matter whether it's a cross or not -- it could be a spitball, I don't care -- if it’s the biggest anything in a whole HEMISPHERE, you stop. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. So, I stopped at the cross in Groom, Texas. By the Blessed Mary American Tex Mex Restaurant.

I’ve discovered a new phobia. I had no clue this was lurking in my psyche, but this thing scared me witless.



I did walk the Stations of the Cross beneath it (to give you an idea of scale, the stations are life-sized), but I did it quickly, irrationally afraid that the structure would at any moment fall and crush me. The twelfth station, where Jesus dies on the cross, is removed from the base by a distance I could not bring myself to traverse in the cross’ shadow.

The fear of large objects is called Megalaphobia, but I’ve never had a problem with skyscrapers. Then again, they don’t tend to stand alone in fields. For now, I’ll simply say I was utterly Crosstrophobic. I rushed to my car and sped out of the radius of the cross, then waited a few miles for my heart rate to stabilize. No sir, I didn't like it.

I’ve since learned, on the Roadside America website, that this is the second largest cross. Guess what I will NEVER be visiting…. And to think, I thought those windmill things were spooky!

After two days of driving through lands so flat and barren that I could actually envision dinosaurs as SMALL things, I drove into New Mexico. Just shy of Albuquerque, I could tell that I was missing some landscape in the dark. Mountain ranges and … and… TREES! Also knowing that the land ahead in Arizona and SoCal would be mostly desert, I decided to stop for the night and take a good look at New Mexico in the daylight.

Here’s a morning shot from my hotel window.



No Frank, I know. But somebody had to keep an eye on the car.

I’m going to kill some daylight today in the Albuquerque area. I might even stop in at Model Pharmacy for lunch. Then, as the sun goes down, I’ll be back on the road.

A few more thoughts and observations before I turn in my room key:

If you’re drinking coffee on the road, avoid Citgo. Shell coffee is generally good. TA Travel Centers have the best coffee and a nice selection of coffee condiments. If you prefer Equal to Sweet-N-Low, buy a box before you get in the car.

All hail VISA. Unless you carry a Phillips 66 card, forget all of the gas cards in your wallet throughout Oklahoma and Texas. I knew I’d returned to civilization in New Mexico when I saw the shining Exxon sign on the horizon.

Driving west has its advantages. Twice during the drive, you gain an hour. And if wake up on Central Time and return your room key on Mountain Time, you can feel like you’ve gained the same hour twice.