August 12th, 2021 … Summer of Fun continues! Day 16 Route 66 Caravan – Amarillo, TX

Today, we left Elk Creek RV Park in Elk City Oklahoma to head to Oasis RV Resort in Amarillo Texas. As we left Elk City, we noticed the unique hardware they have to display their road signs! There was an Elk statue as we got off the exit from I-40, but I could not get a clear picture of it and there was not one as we entered the Interstate.

It is sad that much of historic Route 66 is now on Interstate 40, because there is no one to maintain the portions of Route 66 that may run parallel with it.

We crossed into Texas, without much fanfare! There is the “welcome to Texas” sign and the encouragement to drive friendly!

         

Near Pampa Texas, there were rows and rows of wind turbines. There were even a few cranes working on one. Just how big is a wind turbine? Each wind turbine is 262 feet high. The tower has a diameter of 14 feet. The blades of the wind turbines are 120 feet long so that the total height from the ground to the tip of the blade is more than 380 feet, approximately the height of a 30-story building. If the wind turbine is that tall, imagine how tall the cranes must be!

Groom Texas is “world famous” for two things. The first being a water tower that looks like it will topple over at any minute. Do you want “the rest of the story?” The water tower was bought at an auction and was going to be used as the town's actual water tower. However, it never met code. So instead of wasting it, Ralph Britten decided that anyone can have a water tower, but his was going to lean. He placed the water tower near the family truck stop and restaurant. Although the restaurant and truck stop burned down, you can still see the water tower!

The second thing that Groom is “famous” for is the giant Cross! Officially named "The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ." It rises 19 stories up from the Texas Panhandle, a landscape as flat as unleavened bread and as empty as Jesus's Tomb. The Mother Road's legacy of rope-'em-in salesmanship wasn't lost on the Texas millionaire who bankrolled the Cross. It's more than just a 2.5-million-pound steel hallelujah! It's also a heaven-scraping billboard, luring travelers to other Christian shrines arrayed within its long shadow. According to the Cross's promotional literature, it was inspired by another giant (but smaller) cross in Ballinger, Texas, and in turn inspired an even more gigantic cross in Effingham, Illinois. The land surrounding the Cross was donated by a different Texas millionaire than the one who built it; this second millionaire built the leaning water tower that's the only other attraction in town. These sound to us like time-tested enticements straight out of vintage Route 66 tourism brochures. But the nowhere is it written that the road to salvation can't include a little sightseeing on the way.

In Conway Texas, you pass the Peace Garden, which is located on the north I-40 frontage road. Texas definitely is the land of intriguing Route 66 roadside oddities!  Touring the Texas panhandle section of Route 66 will take all day, especially if a traveler stops to check out every strange roadside oddity along the way.  In a way this weirdness is a blessing because without good old Route 66, a drive through the flat featureless prairies of the Texas panhandle would absolutely bore travelers to death! Ever since Route 66 was bypassed by a modern Interstate Highway, most of the businesses and local lifestyles along this historic road have disappeared into the past. Fortunately because the Route 66 culture was once a strong trend, the heartbeat of the Mother Road never died. This old road has survived the Great Depression, several wars, multiple economic recessions and gas price hikes through the years.

The Slug Bug Ranch and the Cadillac Ranch have become world famous during the last two decades, but there is one other roadside outdoor art attraction that is even a bit more obscure. Just east of Amarillo in Panhandle, Texas is where an old original stretch of Route 66 can be found and this is the home of the Stoner Patriot Peace Garden of All Faiths! It is a true interpretive site that conveys a common message to all who pass through the gates. Not much information can be found when researching this roadside attraction on the internet, but that is how it should be, as far as obscure works of art are concerned. The name of the artist is Richard Daniel Baker and the theme of his artwork will be self-explanatory after setting eyes on this place. Interfaith themes of peace and tranquility rising over war torn destruction emanate from this art exhibit that is spread over several acres in a vast prairie field. The steel signage at the Stoner Patriot Peace Garden of All Faiths melds biblical scriptures, famous quotes and cannabis culture symbols into a message of everlasting peace. Light and shadow come into play, because the silhouettes of the signage allow sunlight to beam through the cut-out lettering onto the grassy ground. This free form artwork exhibit is interactive as well, because this is another Route 66 Texas site where visitors can use spray paint to add some colors of their own choice.

We arrived at Oasis RV Park in Amarillo and were greeted by our trusty dawn patrol! Our dawn patrol is a couple of rigs that volunteer to leave earlier than the rest of us and arrive at the next campground to help facilitate our arrival. To the wagonmaster and tail ender, they are invaluable!

After we were set up, we ventured out to see Cadillac Ranch, which is only a few miles from this campground! Cadillac Ranch is a strange and unique art installation that catches the attention of literally every person driving through the area. It’s not an actual ranch with livestock and cowboys … it’s 10 Cadillac cars, sticking up out of the earth facing downward, covered in paint and stickers. It's a 1974 art piece in plain sight. What makes it so unique is you're welcome to add your own layer of paint to the piece. In the past, you had to bring your own paint, now they have a concession trailer on site that sells spray paint and souvenirs!

          

They crazy and sad part of this outdoor art display, is people are going beyond painting the Cadillac’s. They are painting the farmers sorghum, the frontage road, the dumpsters, the dirt and the trash cans. Yet, they can’t throw their used paint cans, caps and other trash in the barrels provided … grrrrrr that makes me mad!

Charlie and I took a side road back to the campground and found this unique rescue for exotic and domestic animals. There was no name on the place, but plenty of signs warning you to stay in your car. But I was still able to get a few good pictures! Looks like many of the different species of animals get along well! See the baby zebra? We learned later that it is only a few weeks old!

It has been another great day filled with fun and adventure, like only Yankee RV Tours can provide.

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