Boston to Vegas Road Trip - Part 3

Day 5- Amarillo, Texas to Winslow, Arizona We were on the road at 0630 am, but it was pitch black. Amarillo is at the far western end of the Central Time Zone and sunrise didn't occur till close to 8 am. We did, however, have a chance to view a colossal full moon. Everything's bigger in Texas!

Paul suggested we stop at the Cadillac Ranch, an unusual road sculpture of 10 vintage caddies buried nose-down in a field by the highway. It was still dark as we approached the short trail leading to the sculpture, but with the help of flashlights, we appreciated what we could in an eerie sort of way, then traveled a little further down the road for a look a the Cadillac Ranch RV Park and the giant 2nd Amendment cowboy.

We crossed into New Mexico, Land of Enchantment, and the Rocky Mountain time zone and gained an hour. The terrain changed from flat plains to mesas and arroyos and rugged hills. Scrub, sage and prickly pear replaced the prairie grasses. We really like New Mexico. We've visited several times before, but this time it was just a drive-through. We did, however, take a pit stop in Tucumcari to take a look at the “rat-rods” on display.

We were traveling through Indian territory … Zuni, Hopi, Acoma, Apache and Navajo among others.

We passed up several enticing offers en route … “Buy 16 railroad ties, get 3 free” and “Buy 2 mortars, get one free” as well as petrified wood, snakeskins and genuine Indian moccasins for the whole family and, of course, an endless stream of casinos.

A stop in Santa Rosa, New Mexico at the Route 66 Auto Museum seemed to be a “must” for the guys. I enjoyed the Route 66 memorabilia, but the cars were definitely not of interest.

The railroad runs parallel to US 40 and long trains of graffiti'ed cars traveled with us for what seemed like never-ending miles.

We stopped at the 50s style WOW Diner in Milan, NM for a good old-fashioned diner lunch … patty melts and French dip for the guys... blah old salad for me … but a welcome change from the fast food chains, plus we love the whole local diner ambiance.

We were getting our “kicks on Route 66”, enjoying the Mother Road, but were pleased when we finally arrived in Winslow, Arizona. We had entered the Pacific time zone and picked up yet another hour. The clock said it was early, but our bones said it was time to quit for the day. We planned to “stand on the corner” … right after dinner. The Rodeway hotel was an old, tired, loser of a place, but we survived. We drove through town and past the corner quickly … too many tourists and the sun was in the wrong direction. We bought supplies for a room picnic and planned on some “standing on the corner” action in the morning.

Day 6 – Winslow, Arizona to Las Vegas

We were up early and being in the eastern part of the time zone, the sun was up with us. We were only too happy to depart our seedy hotel and head to downtown Winslow. Winslow is a small, western town … population about 10,000. It's does not smack of growth or industry and probably the “corner” which happens to be on Route 66 is its only tourist draw. We took turns posing on the corner while humming the Eagle's tune. We took a closer look at the “flat bed Ford” parked on the street nearby. We put a couple bucks in the donation box to help with the upkeep of the corner. There are a couple Route 66 shops on the opposite corners which were open for early business. We looked, but didn't buy.

The 6-block First Street Pathway meanders along the rail side and provided a good morning walk. There are Burma-Shave type jingles posted along the way and an interesting carved totem pole by Peter Toth. Mostly, it was a chance to stretch our legs before climbing back into the car for the remaining 300-mile drive to Vegas.

The “free breakfast” at our hotel consisted of watery coffee, packaged mini-muffins and donuts and bread for toasting. We passed on it and figured either Denny's or Mickey D's would suffice. Then we saw the Falcon Restaurant, aka El Falcon, and did a u-turn into their parking lot. This local place was friendly, served up good portions of adequate food and was reasonably priced. Their green chile, however, was nothing compared with Mary's homemade recipe.

We were back on the road, listening to tunes and thinking about our “to-do” list in Las Vegas. Believe it or not, it's a long, long list. Some things never change. We stopped in Flagstaff and Kingman, Route 66 hot-spots, for quick breaks and ended up in Las Vegas by mid-afternoon. Home at last!

Hmmm … exactly where is home these days?

Boston to Vegas Road Trip - Part 2

Day 4 – Conway, Arkansas to Amarillo, Texas We gassed up at $1.99/gallon (wow!) and were on the road before the sun was up. We were somewhat sad to leave Conway knowing that we'd miss the local Toad Suck Daze festival, but we really had to move on. We'd spent some time in Arkansas before. In fact, it was the last of  my “50 by 50” states back in 1999. Last time we passed through we enjoyed a stop at the Fort Smith National Historic Site, but this time, we whizzed through at 80 mph.

We were bound for Amarillo, Texas, but as we approached Oklahoma City, I asked the guys to consider a stop at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, memorializing the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City in 1995.

We stopped for a brief visit. It was an emotionally-charged, sobering hour … sad, terrifying, disturbing, heart-wrenching. The memorial site is located where the Murrah building once stood, its charred walls still partially intact. We gazed upon the Field of Empty Chairs … one for each of the 168 people lost in the blast. Etched on each chair is the name of a  person lost in the blast. The chairs are arranged in nine rows, each row signifying the floor in the Murrah Building on which the person died.

We walked back to our parked car asking ourselves how someone (Timothy McVeigh) could have planned and perpetrated such a violent attack. He had beefs with the government, but why take it out on innocent people? We had no answers.  The ride back to the highway was quiet and somber, but we all agreed the visit was important, if only to concretize the inhumanity of man to man right in our own backyard.

US40 between Oklahoma City and Amarillo is long and flat. We sped on across the flat, grassy plains at 80 mph. Wind farms and grain silos dot the prairie in great numbers, churning out power for the Sooner state.

We crossed into Texas and arrived in Amarillo, tired and road weary. Paul is a retired truck driver and was quite familiar with this route. He veered off the highway so I could get a quick photo of the Leaning tower of Britten. Love that Roadside Americana stuff!

He suggested dinner at The Big Texan. On request, they even sent a limo (of sorts) to pick us up at the hotel.The Big Texan is a touristy steak factory. David and Paul ordered 8oz sirloins. As a non-red meat eater, I found it hard to find anything suitable on the menu. The options were quite limited and most non-beef options were breaded and deep-fried. I finally settled on a grilled chicken sandwich (lose the bread) and a side salad. No complaints though. It was an enjoyable evening, watching the men devour their juicy red meat.

The Big Texan challenge is to eat a 72 oz steak with all the fixin's in one hour. If you eat it, it's free. If you don't, but are willing to eat it in front of the entire restaurant population, it costs $72. If you order it at your table, it's $200. The all-time record is a 120-lb woman, Molly Schuyler, who devoured not one, but two in 15 minutes. Why, pray tell, would anyone want to do this?

After dinner, we waddled through the Big Texan gift shop and took a look at the live diamond-back rattler they had on display. Paul practiced his sharp-shooting on zombies and then we collapsed in the Edith Ann big rocking chair for a rest. Big meals require adequate rest and digestion.

We moseyed on out to the front porch and a limo was waiting to deposit us back at our hotel. Enough excitement for one day. We're on the home stretch of the road trip. Las Vegas, here we come!

Boston to Vegas Road Trip - Part 1

Day 1 – Boston to Winchester, Virginia We were up at 0500 and Lin, bless her heart, was making coffee and omelets to speed us on our way. It was dark, cold and raw as we loaded the car and headed out. It was a lackluster travel day. We sped through Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and finally ended the day in Winchester, Virginia. I've got a head cold blossoming and slept through most of the journey. We had Chinese for dinner (hot and sour soup for me was perfect) and hit the sack early.

Day 2 – Winchester, VA to Knoxville, Tennessee

We weren't up quite as early. We decided we'd take advantage of the hotel's free hot breakfast. There was a bit of a tizzy when Paul couldn't find his car keys, but after a frantic search, David found them lost between the pages of a notebook and all was well. Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park wasn't far off our route, and I convinced the guys to take it. The foliage hadn't started turning yet and the views early in the morning weren't particularly good until we spotted a bear … and then two more.

Not far down the road, two young bucks were sparring.

Then the sun came out, the views were gorgeous and the side trip was all worthwhile.

We spent the night in Knoxville, Tennessee with a pleasant dinner at the K-Town Tavern next door to the hotel.

Day 3 – Knoxville, TN to Conway, Arkansas

Another overcast, gray morning with threats of rain in the forecast that never caught up with us other than a couple of splats on the windshield. This is really not my kind of road trip … too much driving and sitting and not enough side trips and attractions. Our goal, however, is to reach Las Vegas in time for Rebecca's (David & Paul's mom) 99th birthday and the clock's a'ticking.

Tennessee … the Volunteer State (War of 1812 reference), home of thoroughbred horses, moonshine and whiskey, the Nashville Sound, Davy Crockett, Ole Oprey, Elvis' Graceland and probably too much more to mention. What amazed me most was the foliage. It was “New England” beautiful. Looking at the riot of color along the highway, I would have never guessed I was in Tennessee.

Then we crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas … home to the World Duck Calling Championships, the home of WalMart and President Bill Clinton. The state also considers itself the quartz crystal capital and the spinach (yes, spinach) capital of the world. I also want to mention that it's a center for handcrafted dulcimers and archery bows. Wow! Who knew? We ended up in Conway, Arkansas for the night, just outside of Little Rock. In honor of WalMart, we bought all the ingredients for a room picnic (roaster chicken, shrimp, chips & salsa) and watched the Broncos lose a game to San Diego. Bah!!!

Tomorrow … on to Oklahoma and Texas.