In Tucumcari, New Mexico for a few days

Thursday p.m  

We are in Tucumcari, New Mexico tonight and will stay here until Monday morning. But we are going to change RV parks tomorrow. Today was a 200 mile drive and between yesterdays 300 and today Bill is tired. Glad we are going to stay put for a while. I’m tired and all I do is sit there and try to find something interesting to take a picture of.
Here is a picture of the billboard advertising a 72oz steak for free IF you can eat the whole thing. . A couple of years ago we met a guy who tried to eat it. He didn’t make it. Says the catch is they also give you rolls, a salad and vegetables which also have to be eaten. And they give you a bucket in case you need it. He said he needed it.

Leaving Shamrock, TX – where we spent last night – we again drove a mile or so on the old Route 66. I can't imagine driving all the way across country on this - with no air conditioning no less and a burlap water bag hanging on the front of your car.

Just as we were getting back on I-70 I saw this place. The pumps don’t look really old.

Scenery through Texas leaves a lot to be desired but at Groom, TX there are a couple of things to take pictures of. The leaning water tower and the BIG cross.

The "Leaning Tower of Texas" is a water tank that leans unsteadily to one side. One leg of the tower is actually shorter than the others. This was done to catch the tourist's eye and get them to stop in Groom. Bet there are a lot of pictures of it.

And there is the Groom Cross.

It is situated between Interstate 40 and old Route 66.  It was built in 1995 by Steve Thomas of Pampa, Texas. He was disgusted with the huge billboards advertising XXX pornography locations along I-40 wanted to make a public profession of faith along the Interstate. It is built on private property and is 190 feet tall. The Groom Cross is reported to be the biggest cross in the northern hemisphere.
Actually the cross in Effingham, Illinois that I posted about a few days ago is supposed to be 198 feet tall. Eight feet taller. The battle of the crosses! Also saw a pretty big on beside the I-35 in Oklahoma.
I love road construction – could they make it any narrower – either the divider or the rumble strips.

A piece of trivia – did you know there is a county in Texas named Deaf Smith? Wonder how it got its name. I love the Internet – “The county was named for Erastus "Deaf" Smith (1787–1837), a partially-deaf scout and soldier who served in the Texas Revolution. The pronunciation of "Deaf", like that of Smith himself, is "Deef". He was the first to reach the Alamo after its fall. Most people in Deaf Smith County, however, pronounce it "Deaf." Now that is something you didn’t know before.

Back to the roads. So far 98% of the roads have been great. Makes for an easier day.

Into New Mexico – now THIS is a state sign.

Saw this beside the road. That is a blade for one of the giant wind mills. Look at the size of it.

We got to Tucumcari, NM around 1:00 – another time zone change.

Checked into the KOA and got set up. All is working well. But it is HOT – well to me it is hot – Bill kept his sweat shirt on for quite awhile. Went out to drive around for a while – the car temp.

This town has 35 murals in it. This is just one of them.

Another one on an old closed gas station.

This is a great example of one of the original motels on Route 66 – it was built in 1939.

Just liked this building – lots of glass block used in this town.

Time passes on. And leaves it skeltons behind.

This is a small shop – need to go in there before we leave.

Another old motel sign.

We were just riding around town. Looking quickly at the sites. This is at an old motel site.

One of the murals. The man in the door is a painting. By clicking on the image it will get bigger.

Tee-Pee Curios trading post. It has been in operation for many years, and is a Route 66 icon

And a Mexican Restaurant.

Another piece of Internet trivia - Six Shooter Siding, as Tucumcari was once known became a full-fledged respectable town in 1901 when the railroad came through here.  In 1946 it had a population of 6,194 making it a major metropolis in the deserts of New Mexico. The population in July 2009 was only 5,247. How sad.

I have lots more pictures but will sign off for today. This park is really filling up now that dusk is here.



Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas in One Day

Wednesday p.m.

It is WARM!! We even have the door open! So nice – but it is a false feeling – as it will be down into the high 30s again tonight. Electric blanket time again.
Left the Kansas campground around 9:30 – had the heater on again to warm things up. Got back on the Turnpike for a few miles $1.65. It was a really nice road all the way and not that expensive. So far we’ve gone 1031 miles.
Into Oklahoma – They need a better sign. Almost missed this one.

 

Not much change in scenery. Lots of open land with few trees on it. At least until Oklahoma City the wind was at our back. Stopped at a Flying J to diesel up – and they didn’t have a restaurant -  We’re getting almost 8 mpg. Not too bad considering how loaded we are.
Through Oklahoma City the roads were pretty good. But the minute we got on the I-40 they were terrible – until about 30 miles west of the City. After that the I-40 was pretty good. Our original plan was to stop just west of Oklahoma City at a one of two KOAs As we approached the first one we decided we didn’t want to stop yet. So on to the 2^nd one – about half way there my memory got jogged – we stopped at it last year in Jennie and there was no one in the office – just a note “ find a place to park.” And we drove around it and didn’t find a place where we could pull through and put up the satellite. Lovely – maybe it got better over the year. Nope it didn’t – so drove through again this year and ended up leaving. In case you’re wondering it is the Elk City/Clinton KOA – don’t go there.  So one we went. Stopped at another campground in Elk City – again no one in office and again no spot with clear view of southern sky. Left it and stopped at a McDonalds for our delayed lunch. There was a big shopping center parking lot next to it so made for easy in and out.
On down the road…Into Texas…

We finally stopped [301 miles later] in Shamrock, TX – nice campground lots of space. Called West 40 RV Park.
To get to it we got to drive down about three miles on the old Route 66.  

 

Sure was a narrow road. Glad we didn't meet any one coming the other way.
Not much in the way of scenery to take pictures of. Or to talk about. Saw some cows, oil pumps, wind farms and cotton fields.
Just want to mention that Alfie is performing perfectly. Everything is working great and the ride is great and the living conditions are nice. So much room!

This is a box Bill made for me. In Jennie I had drawers under the table to hold pencils, calculators etc. But can’t put the drawers under the table in Alfie (it’s made different) so now I have a beautiful box.

It has gold pin striping on it and is lined so things don't rattle - love it.