Amarillo, Texas, 06152011

We stopped at Cadillac Ranch, a point of interest Dan found on the Internet.

On the other side of the fence:

Standing along Route 66 west of Amarillo, Cadillac Ranch was built by a group of art-hippies imported from San Francisco. They called themselved the Ant Farm, and their silent partner was Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh III. He wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals, and the hippies came up with a tribute to the evolution of the Cadillac tail fin. Ten Caddies were driven into one of Stanley's fields, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt (supposedly at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza). They face west in a line, from the 1949 Club Sedan to the 1963 Sedan De Ville, their tail fins held high for all to see on the empty Texas Panhandle. The public is invited to spray paint these monuments.

The wind was howling and the temp. was in the 90's with not much change expected for the night. The rates at the Amarillo KOA were about the same as the Americas Best motel, so we opted for the motel. It was in the process of being renovated and the room had fresh paint, new carpeting, new matress & bedding, new bath linens, but the same old furniture and curtains. It was a non-smoking room, but the drapes reeked of tobaco smoke. At least the bed was nice so we could get some sleep.

We had dinner at the Big Texan restaurant, renowned for it's offer of a free dinner of: 72 oz steak, three breadded shrimp, baked potato, salad, and a dinner roll, IF you can eat it all within 60 minutes. There were 2 takers on Wed. evening, both young men. We didn't stay to see if either of them accomplished this fete, and we have no idea what one is charged for the meal if one cannot finish it all in the alloted time. However, our meal was delicious and enough to take with us for another meal. The TV program Man vs Food did an episode here.

The restaurant was an amazing place and we would have marvelous photos . . . if we had remembered the camera!!! Remember the mantra?