Austins Move Back to Utah

Jamie, Brian, Kali, Caleb and Emeline are finally moving back to Utah. I flew to Edmond (just north of Oklahoma City) to help them pack and to drive the Penske truck back. Of course, for me, driving across the country is a road trip no matter what vehicle I'm in. And it helps that I dragged the white Corolla (used to be mine, now Brian's) behind the truck, which was handy for side trips. 

Friday, loading day. Took all day. And they had to go find a little U-Haul trailer for the stuff that didn't fit in the truck. And they still left a grill and some wheat behind. 

One picture I don't have is of Moore, Oklahoma, where the F5 tornado hit on Monday and killed 24 people. I did drive through Moore, as it's just south of Oklahoma City. It was dark, but as I passed I could still see houses with plastic tarps on the roofs, which turned into partial houses, which turned into just rubble. Then partial houses and plastic tarps. Across the freeway was a large building, maybe the hospital, that looked like a bombed-out building in Beirut, Lebanon. 

My first stop out of Oklahoma city, not counting my stop at Pop's in Arcadia. 

Even though I didn't get to sleep until 3:15 a.m. in Amarillo, I got up before the sun to take sunrise pictures of Palo Duro Canyon, a "second Grand Canyon." What state park officials thought opening a place like this at 8 a.m. was a good idea? Oh well, the sky was overcast anyway. 

No offense to west Texas Panhandlers, but this canyon did not impress me. 

The loop around the park was closed at the end due to a rainstorm the night before. The road has six spots that flood regularly, and each has a post with the feet marked so drivers can see how deep the water is. 

One of the most interesting sights in Palo Duro Canyon. Well, most frequent sights. 

Also in Pal Duro Canyon. 

I think the reason Palo Duro Canyon is popular is because this is what the rest of Amarillo's surroundings look like for as far as you can see, to the curve at the edge of the earth. 

To be fair, Amarillo does have trees. 

I met up with Brian and Jamie at Cadillac Ranch just west of Amarillo on I-40. They then headed to Utah, and I went back to mill around Amarillo. 

Jamie is tagging one of the Cadillacs using one of the many mostly empty cans of paint lying around. 

Their initials are now branded here forever, or until the next person paints over them in a few minutes. 

For $49,000 you, too, can own a '57 Chevy motorcycle with the same LS2 V8 engine that powered the 2005-2007 Corvettes.  

I went back to Amarillo for a ribeye steak at the Big Texan Steakhouse. If you like medium rare, order medium. Luckily I did. 

And don't leave Texas before you stop at Braum's. 

Amarillo is one of the world's biggest producers of helium, which is a byproduct of natural gas refinement. This is a monument to helium, with a helium atom hanging from three long poles that make up this giant sundial. The Declaration of Independence is preserved in helium in Washington D.C.

Next stop, Tucumcari, New Mexico. 

This town is an interesting mix of Route 66 has beens and Route 66 restorations for the nostalgic people who remember riding on this road as kids on their way to a California vacation from Chicago, and people who wish they remembered but never actually made that trip. 

You can stay at the Pony Soldier Motel, but you'll have to spread your sleeping bag under the stars on the cement and tile floor. 

I don't see a vacancy sign. 

Returning to nature. 

The sign says, "No lifeguard on duty." That means you are looking at a swimming pool and changing rooms. 

I think this is the Hotel California. This bus checked out, but it could never leave. I wonder about the passengers. 

This is the motel I stayed in after my reservation at the Blue Swallow got goofed up. Oh well. The inside of this '50s motor hotel was nice enough, it cost half as much, and I didn't have to sit on a lawn chair in the parking lot with all the other guests at the Blue Swallow. 

Now we're talking restoration. 

Tucumcari has a bunch of murals on the sides of buildings, some depicting western scenes and others Route 66 memories. This mural was the best done, I thought. 

The Odeon Theater shows modern movies. Notice the burned-out building about four doors down. This scene is my metaphor for the city of Tucumcari, nostalgia revival from ruin. 

The Blue Swallow Motel, a must-see for anyone on the Route 66 pilgrimage. Stop to see the murals inside the garages (yes, the rooms each have a garage). 

On to Albuquerque the next day. 

If you want BBQ beef ribs I don't know anyplace else that serves them other than the County Line. The first County Line I ate at was with coworkers and later with Chieko in Austin, Texas. I've been to the one in Denver, which since closed, and the one in Oklahoma City, which has also closed. 

Across the street from the Albuquerque LDS Temple lives a family of prairie dogs. They scampered into their dens when I got out of the car and never showed their heads again. 

Taking the Sandia Peak Tram, one of the longest trams in the world at 2.7 miles. It climbs from 6,559 feet to the peak at 10,378 feet. Might I also mention that if you come up from the heat below and wait for sunset, and don't bring a jacket, you will get mild hypothermia. I know. 

A 50-passenger car ascending, or maybe descending. 

Observation deck. 

The temperature was comfortable when the sun was out, but when it started to set, this wind was more than chilling. 

I think this guy was advertising for natural-grown toupees. 

This guy is freezing. 

Overlooking Albuquerque and the Rio Grande Valley. 

The lights are coming on after sunset.

Next day. Fuel stop near Gallup, New Mexico. Some of these trucks look really nice. Others, not so much. The hood on one was held together with duct tape. And another Peter Built looked like it was coated with a can of flat black paint from Pep Boys. Reminded me of Spielberg's first movie, "Duel."

My impressions of Gallup: 1. Beautiful red bluffs in the background with oil refineries and casinos in the foreground. 

2. Downtown. 

3. A metal recycling plant is behind the Church's Chicken, where I ate lunch. 

Several of these formations sit in the desert outside Shiprock, New Mexico. They are the eroded throats of ancient volcanoes and are obviously very different from the plateaus that appear to be horizontal ocean or lake beds. Shiprock the town is named after one of these formations, which was called "Winged Rock" by the Navajos for the giant bird that brought them here from their ancient lands. 

A plateau very close to the volcano throat in the picture above. 

This is my impression of Shiprock the town, after having passed through here several times. 

Fry bread at Four Corners monument. If you haven't been here for a few years, the monument has been significantly improved from the falling-down wooden flee-market stands that used to surround the four corners.  

In four states at once. 

I stayed in Cortez, Colorado, this night and soaked in the Trimble Hot Springs in Durango until it closed at 9 p.m.  

Near Moab, looking east. 

Near Moab, looking down. 

No one with taste buds can pass through Green River without stopping at Ray's Tavern. Which is no longer a tavern. It says, "The Place for Everyone." And a sign inside says they can no longer serve wine or beer without a meal prepared by the restaurant. Anyway, mostly families, bikers and hikers eat here. One of the best cheeseburgers you'll ever savor. 

The Austin's new house.