road trip -- tulsa, oklahoma to santa fe, new mexico -- day 4

in the course of driving across the country, we noticed that every part of the country is distinct -- the landscapes for each region are unique and different. the east coast is a plethora of tall trees and rolling hills. and it's green. green green. (at least in the spring and summer.) but as we traveled west of the mississippi we started to watch the landscape change. in missouri, it was still green, we were driving through the ozarks after all, but the hills began to flatten. and then we started driving on day four, the day we drove across oklahoma and texas. and we saw a whole new landscape start to emerge. 

 

oklahoma and the texas panhandle are flat and covered in farm land. specifically farm land for grazing and raising cattle. as a result, we saw a lot of cattle during the course of our twelve hour drive across the two states. one of the farms we passed had more cattle on it than i've ever seen before in my life. and because i know nothing about cattle, i couldn't even begin to guess at how many cows there were. but it was a lot.

 

 this region is also known for it's tornados. in fact, a pretty deadly tornado had destroyed a couple of towns in oklahoma the week before we drove through, so we made sure to read up on what to do in case of a tornado as we drove through. (in case you're wondering, don't pull over under an underpass, it creates a wind tunnel. instead you should pull over, get out of the car, and get into the ditches that are so conveniently dug along the side of the highway.)

 

  

we didn't stop in texas for very long, because we were trying to hightail it to santa fe for the night, but we did take in some of the route 66 wonders along the way. like the leaning water tower and the giant cross in groom, texas, the midpoint of route 66 where i desperately had to pee, and for a quick dinner at the big texan in amarillo. since we were in a bit of a rush, we didn't get a chance to pull over to check out cadillac ranch just west of amarillo, texas. which is unfortunate, because i would have enjoyed checking out those ten cadillacs buried in the ground. they're supposed to be quite the sight. all we saw of this historic art piece, was what we viewed at 70 mph from I-40.

but we made it to new mexico before it was too dark and we couldn't get a good picture of the  welcome sign!

maybe the coolest thing that happened during this long day of driving was after we put the camera away for the night -- we drove through one of the craziest, most awesome lightening storms. we were never in any danger, in fact, we were barely even rained on, but the lightening was spectacular. it was like the god's were at war and throwing lightening bolts at one another. the flashes were constant but muted because most of the lightening never even hit the ground; it was all in the grey and angry clouds.   it's a bummer it was too dark for pictures because those photos would have been amazing.

that time i peed on the midpoint of route 66

adrian, texas is a small town less than 25 miles from the new mexican border, but it's an important piece of american history and a bit of tourist attraction because it's the midpoint of route 66. 1139 miles to chicago or 1139 miles to los angeles. 

 

 as we learned, adrian used to be a thriving town, back when route 66 was how people moved across the country, but as the interstates were built towns like adrian were bypassed and forgotten. but slowly, as route 66 becomes a monument to bygone days, adrian, and other towns like it, have started to get a little more traffic. which is nice to see, because when you drive through these small towns, it's evident the pride people have in living alongside the mother road.

for me though, adrian, texas will always be the place where i peed on the midpoint of route 66. 

the leaning water tower and a giant cross: groom, texas

we decided, like many other travelers along route 66, to stop in groom, texas for gas and a peek at their two tourist attractions: a leaning water tower and a giant cross.

the water tower, on the eastern edge of groom, is a gimmick; it was put there in the 1980s specifically to draw more people to groom. it was put in by a local business owner and was supposed to advertise his business, the leaning tower truck stop. it doesn't hold any water and it isn't held into place by any wires, but it does have two of it's legs dangling in mid-air a couple of feet above the ground.

groom's other claim to fame is the 190 foot cross on the southwestern part of town. you can see the cross from the highway, but it's also nice to see up close, if for no other reason than to stretch your legs. the giant cross is surrounded by smaller stations of the cross statues, a church, and a gift shop. but don't worry if you don't have the time to stop, you can see the cross from twenty miles away!

2013 -- week 21 -- road trip!

i feel like everyone's bucket list should include a long cross country road trip. ideally you would take your time, seeing all sorts of weird things, eat strange but local delicacies, and stop in a lot of states. so when csv was talking about how she needed to get her car from vermont to arizona after her graduation, i jumped at the chance to accompany her. not only would i finally get a chance to drive across the country but i would also get to go to some new states -- this was especially exciting since i haven't been to a lot of the midwestern states, and my goal in life is to go to all 50.  

we've been planning this trip for a couple of months. we've looked at maps, ordered aaa books, read books about the sights and eats along the road, and researched the things to see along route 66. and all of the planning really paid off -- we had an amazing time, saw nifty things, and ate awesome food. and since i bought a fancy new camera the pictures are super cool. which means the blog posts should be great; be looking for those in the coming weeks, including a guest post by csv about all of the food we ate along our trip.

some highlights from this trip include the four new states i went to (missouri, kansas, oklahoma, and new mexico), local food in oklahoma (fried onion burger, a coney, and calf fries), the changing landscape from one state to the next, and the grand canyon where we met up with rcg.

have you done a cross country road trip? where did you go? what did you see?

dallas farmers market

when we thought we were going 

to be moving to dallas

we started to look for things to do,

things to go visit and see,

places to eat and shop at.

i was worried that after 

having the benefit of 

the union square farmer's market 

for four years

and rcg having lived in

in mexico for two years

we would be forced to shop 

in whole foods 

or other specialty stores

where local goods were hard to find

or crazy expensive.

so i was very excited 

when, in the course of my research, 

i discovered that dallas had a farmer's market.

a huge farmer's market.

there are at least four large sheds 

with goods for sale:

a shed for local produce,

a shed for any and all produce,

a shed for specialty food,

and a shed for wholesale products.