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.

national route 66 museum: elk city, oklahoma

route 66 is the mother road. it's 2448 miles long, runs through 8 states and 3 time zones, and goes from chicago, illinois to santa monica, california. and it was our goal to drive on route 66 for at least part of our trip. it turns out this is quite a difficult goal because so much of route 66 has been replaced by interstates. but we did it; we drove on at least little bits and pieces of it in six of the eight states it passes through (we missed illinois and california).

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

since route 66 was such an integral part of our trip, we decided to stop in to see the national route 66 museum in elk city oklahoma. they have an amazing set up; there are four official buildings that document the people who lived, worked, and travelled along route 66, as well as many other store fronts and buildings that have exhibits as well. the museums had everything from vintage cars and route 66 memorabilia to old rodeo gear to exhibits on old farm equipment. it was a fairly comprehensive look at the glory of route 66 in its heyday, as well as it's decline with the construction of newer, larger highways. 

i especially enjoyed this old school house; it was set up just like the kids were out to recess. unfortunately, you couldn't go inside -- i would have loved to see what books were on the shelves, to sit in those old desks, and remember a time that was both easier and harder, and imagine what life might have been like, for the kids and the teachers.  

i love love love these types of windmills; they're what i think of when i think about farming. this one was one of many that the museum had displayed, but they're still all over the country. for me, these windmills are so stoic and regal -- they preside over the crops, help to water them, and tell the farmer where the wind is coming from; they're invaluable and beautiful.

in the last building, a huge barn dedicated to farm equipment and the agriculture of route 66, an older gentleman was manning the front desk, and he asked all of his visitors to put a pin in his map -- the yellow one on the T in washington is mine. it was awesome to see that people from all over the world have come to elk city, oklahoma to learn more about the abandoned, but not forgotten, mother road, route 66. 

road trip -- louisville, kentucky to tulsa, oklahoma -- day 3

 

funny story -- we were so bummed about our failed "welcome to kentucky" sign that the next morning we drove across the indiana state line, turned around and drove back into kentucky. but isn't this sign so much better than the last one? totally worth it.

 

we took a pit stop for lunch in new harmony, indiana, and were pleasantly surprised by how cute of a town it was/is.

  

 

i mean, who even knew towns like this existed? how awesome.

  

 

we felt it was obligatory to hit some of the route 66 stops along the drive. when the guide book said that we could see a replica of stonehenge somewhere in missouri, we decided to stop (plus we needed gas). but this was not quite what we had in mind. still, you can't blame us for trying!

another route 66 must was driving through kansas. we could have driven on the main highway and bypassed kansas altogether, but we decided to take the long route. because neither of us had been to kansas! and now we have. success. 

 

ps. we might have done the same turn around at the state line to get a good "welcome to kansas" sign. it's very important to have good signs.