Dear Family & Friends,
Today we covered some ground! First thing we did in Clinton, OK. was get some breakfast and headed over to the Route 66 Museum. A nostalgic museum with lots of history, fun times and places, and many things I grew up with.. Again making me feel old….
From there we got on our bikes and within an hour we were in the panhandle of Texas. As soon as you enter Texas you notice a difference in the landscape. More arid and flat. I think many state and country boarders are a function of geography. Another difference was a road sign promoting a local restaurant that offers a 72oz. steak!! Now that is Texas size and then some!
There is not a lot to see in the panhandle region so we rode most of the day. We did stop for lunch and has a terrific Texas style BBQ brisket sandwich. They do know how to BBQ! From there we headed off on a back road to avoid the freeway. Once we were in the middle of no where Brian noticed he was out of gas so headed back to somewhere and topped up. From there it was getting late so we decided to take the freeway the rest of the day. Only about an hour by freeway, the other route would have been 2+ hours.
As we crossed the state a few things I noticed.
-The ranches are HUGE. Reminded me of North Fork from the Dallas TV show.
-There is a LOT of cattle here!
-We passed a feed lot that seemed to go for ever completely full of cattle. The smell almost knocked me off my bike.
-Surprising for an oil producing state there are a LOT of wind powered electric generators here. They must be good.
-You don’t want to be a “Liberal” in northern Texas. See photo below
-The people we talked to were very friendly and had a great Texas accent.
-People here are hard working. There simply are no easy jobs and no welfare. I met a young women when we stopped for coffee. She was working two jobs to put herself through college with a Health Care Administration degree. That is impressive!
By late afternoon we passed into New Mexico and picked up an hour as we crossed into a new time zone.
Tonight we are staying in Tacumara, NM on the old route 66. Kind of sad the town is only a couple miles long but it is falling apart from one end to the other. Every hotel we looked at needed repairs. Many business are gone and those that are here look like they are barely making it. Tourism on Route 66 isn’t what it used to be.
Tomorrow we are riding up into the mountains to Taos, NM, a quaint artist town with a very old town square all made of adobe and full of locally made jewelry and arts and crafts. From there we go down the mountain through the Turquoise Belt back to Santa Fe. I am hoping I can find something special for Bonnie for supporting me in my wild trips.
We should be in New Mexico for at least a few days exploring the mountains and national forests here. It is a beautiful state.
Jason
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