Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Day 12 - Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Day 12

Amarillo, Texas to Albequerque, New Mexico

This was really the start of the vacation for the archeologist because at last we caught up with historic Route 66 in Amarillo. We followed it alternating from I-40 West to Route 66 west wherever we could find it.

Cadillac Ranch
This brought us to some famous Route 66 stops such as the Cadillac Ranch just west of Amarillo, an outdoor art piece by Stan Marsh where a line of old Cadillacs are submerged into the ground, an open, dusty field. People describe it as an Americana Stonehedge, and the angle the cars are leaning is said to be the same angle as the sides of the Great Pyramid.

Midpoint Cafe & the Motorcycle Club
We also stopped at the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas, which claims to be the midpoint of Route 66 between Chicago and LA. That was my most exciting stop of the entire trip, because there I met Bearnard B. Behr, motorcycle tour guide and fellow mascot! There I got a photo with his human, Gary, on their way cool Harley. Gary takes tourists all the way from Chicago to Santa Monica on motorcycles, showing them all the famous, infamous, and unknown highlights of The Mother Road (a.k.a. Route 66).

You can visit Bearnard's blog at: http://www.bears-to-travel.blogspot.com/ or www.myspace.com/bearnardbear. Be sure to tell Bearnard and Gary you heard about them from me!

Ghost Towns and Motel Signs
After that we meandered into New Mexico stopping at other Route 66 towns along I-40 and Rt. 66. Some places were little more than ghost towns, and one place Glenrio, TX, was totally a scary ghost lane of crumbling buildings.

It was a long day with the archeologist jumping in and out of the car to get her beloved cadaver signs. But I must admit a couple of them were quite impressive. However, she seems enamoured with all of them.

We stopped in Albequerque around 7PM. We have to be at the Grand Canyon by Friday, so tomorrow and the next day we should have a fairly easy drive.

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