Fear not bloggers. I’m perfectly safe. The reason for no blog updates for a while is the lack of internet connection at the Big Texan in Amarillo and the Plaza Real in Santa Fe.
Day 6, we moved from a wet and sodden Oklahoma into a hot and sunny Texas. Yee-Haw!
Incidentally, the 'little shower' they had in Oklahoma turned out to be the heaviest ever amount of rainfall in one 24 hour period. 59 of 77 states faced a state of emergency. And we rode through it!! Bit of a trend here, July 2009, UK Harley tour, wettest July week on record!
Anyway, we set out from Weatherford about our usual time, having had breakfast at the little diner across the street. The service in there can only be described as slow. One Mrs Overall like waitress (for those that know Victoria Wood’s Acorn Antiques) serving to about 40 people. It wasn’t that spectacular when it finally did arrive but it filled a gap though.
On leaving, we took a short ride down to another one of the Route 66 museums. These tend to be small affairs running off donations or modest entrance fees. It’s not that big but the route through it takes you through the decades, with music of the era to accompany you. The final room shows a short film giving some of the history, how the road built up and people made their livings from it, to ultimately showing how it declined and fell into disuse and disrepair after the Interstate highways were built. Quite poignant.
From there we headed on west and made a second museum stop at the National R66 Museum. This one we weren’t going in though, the sole purpose being to get some photos of a 30 foot US66 shield. It’s twinned with an old town museum, so there are lots of old buildings that have been preserved.
As we continued to head west, in gloriously sunny conditions, Gary took us to a piece of old road that is disused but unlike some other sections, is not fenced off. Here you can experience the thrills of riding with no helmet and jacket and the sounds from the exhausts, wind blowing through your hair (!!) and t-shirt flapping in the breeze. An excellent feeling.
Still in Oklahoma we continued on to a little town called Erick for our lunch stop. This is the most bizarre stop you will ever make in your life anywhere. I cannot begin to describe this fully but will have a go.
The place is called the Sandhills Curiosity Shop (google it). It proudly boasts as being the “Redneck capitol of the world”. It’s a ramshackle looking old building covered in signs and pictures, etc, from a bygone age. As you pull up and get off the bike, you are greeted by Harley (real name or not I don’t know) a man in a stars and stripes dungarees, with the hair and beard straight out of ZZ Top. He grabs you enthusiastically, hugs you and makes some comment about you, not necessarily flattering (he called two US women hookers) before heading off to the next victim! Following closely behind carrying a welcome sign, is Annabelle, a similarly clad woman, with similar long grey hair. She also hugs you and welcomes you just as vigorously but spares the witty/rude comments. Your first clear thought at this point is, “What the !&£$”. Your second, third, fourth, etc, are exactly the same. This is weird shit. Either these people are on drugs or you are!!
After the hugs are over we were taken on a tour of the property. A dilapidated house out back hosts all kinds of memorabilia, antiques, etc. Some may even say junk. Having had the tour, you are then led to the building on the street, where there is bread, meat, cheese, crisps and canned drinks for you to help yourself and make yourself. Harley then gathers everyone round and asks them what made them want to travel the mother road. There is witty or rude banter once more. Then Harley and Annabelle proceed to sing and dance the Route 66 song. Get your kicks, etc, etc. Having had that little performance everyone has to join in and shake a tambourine and sing along to a second rendition. By this time you have just about got used to the crazy old goat. The finale to all this is a group photo outside the front of the ‘shop’, Harley at this point is atop the porch roof. Then it’s more hugs, etc, before we make our departure. Truly, truly surreal.
From Erick we continued our journey down the Mother Road to the U Drop Inn. This is an art deco building that was once a popular café on the road. It has been restored but is currently being used to house a photo collection. It’s unclear if it will ever be a café again.
We then made our way into Amarillo and the Big Texan Hotel. This is a whole complex. Not only does it have rooms but it also boasts a horse hotel. If you’re driving across country with a horsebox, then whilst you slip into a big comfy bed, your horse gets its own little penn for the night. Finally there is the Steak House. The home of the free 72oz steak. Free, only if you can eat this monster piece of meat, 3 prawns, jacket potato, a roll and salad, in 60 minutes. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend staying here. The rooms weren't that great or well equipped and there was no internet. The meal prices in the steakhouse also seemed a bit pricey, though there were no shortage of punters, it was heaving. The steak house itself also boasts a gift shop, complete with caged rattle snake and a fairground style shooting gallery. Why these people who have such free access to firearms need to go and shoot clowns and hillbillies whilst out for a meal is beyond me.
We ate what was once again a massive meal, though still not justifying the cost in my eyes and enjoyed the show as four brave souls attempted the 72oz challenge. All failed miserably and subsequently had to cough up the $72 it costs.
Tomorrow we shall be heading out of Texas into New Mexico, our 6th state. On the way we shall pass the mid-point of the journey, 1139 miles and also do some time travelling as we cross the dateline and gain an hour.
Come back soon to see how we got on, on the way to Santa Fe.
Neill
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