The Big Cross

We have arrived in Oklahoma and are spending the night in a funky little motel that looks as though it may have been a high school or something at one time or another. There is a big open courtyard in the middle that the inner loop of rooms looks out on and part of that is composed of an indoor pool. Children are running around with basketballs and the air is pierced from time to time with squeals of delight. Or maybe it’s pain. I don’t know but I hope they stop before I decide to retire for the evening.

We got on the road a little late today. The time change caught up with old Bob and we decided to just push forward as best we could. We had no set goal and we didn’t even bother to call ahead and book a motel room. We have become so “devil may care” in our old age. As we pulled out of Texas I slipped some Lyle Lovett on to guide us in our Texas departure.

The day was sunny and warm but we did have some concerns about rain. The Weather Channel had said the previous evening that there was a possibility of some moisture moving into the area we planned to travel through. Moisture from the gulf conjured images of Katrina. Fortunately we saw no moisture. However, we did get to experience some of that famous wind that they sang about in the Broadway musical named after the state.

We passed through Amarillo after about a half an hour and I smiled as I spotted the Big Texan Steak House. It was just a little over three years ago that I passed this way in the opposite direction with my daughter on our way to Oregon. We were fortunate enough to spend the night in cow town and enjoy a wonderful meal at said steak house. That story has been repeated often and if you have not heard it you will have to wait until you see me face to face. A good story can always use a bit of a push here and there to improve it, if you know what I mean, but this one is just way too easy and needs no exaggeration at all in order to entertain. I will only say that my daughter did not shrink from the challenge. Ask her about it or catch me at the right time and I will be glad to share.

The view from the gift shop

Located just thirty miles east of Amarillo in the small town of Groom, TX is one of the largest, if not the largest, cross in North America. It can be seen from miles around when traveling west on I-40, as my daughter and I discovered three years ago, but when driving east it doesn’t become visible until you are much closer.

We stopped sometime shortly after noon as I wanted my wife to see this interesting place. One other reason we stopped was because when I was here earlier the gift shop was closed.

The cross itself, which is enormous, is surrounded by statues representing the twelve Stations of the Cross of Christ. Located off to the side of the cross is a walk way that leads to a hill with other statures depicting the Crucifixion. No matter what your religious beliefs are, you would do well to stop and have a gander if you are in the neighborhood. I will say this; the gift shop did not offer any ball caps or t-shirts (which represents about 40% of my wardrobe). The items seemed somewhat upscale and looked as though they would fit into the décor of a well to do rich spinster aunt. Not that I have any such relative.

After our brief visit we got back on I-40 and continued our eastward journey. The wife put her feet up (her foot is doing very well, thank you) and dozed while I let Mr. Lovett continue to croon me out of Texas.

The Cherokee Trading Post and Restaurant

A couple of hundred miles later, just east of Clinton, OK , we stopped at the Cherokee Trading Post and Restaurant to dine. I am certainly glad we did. The seating was very comfortable and the menu said breakfast all day. A wide variety of foods were offered including buffalo burgers and steaks and an interesting item advertised on the table top called Calf Fries. The sign advertised all you could eat with salad bar and more for 12.99. I checked with the waitress and was correct in my assumption as to what Calf Fries were.

Calf Fries

I had a hearty breakfast on my mind when I stopped but I wasn’t sure what the little woman wanted. To my surprise she passed on the Calf Fries and ordered a barbecue sandwich. I never cease to be surprised at the choices she makes. After 27 years there are still some surprises in this relationship.

A delicious Coconut Meringue Pie

Our meals were great and when I learned that they made their own pies I had to try some. We split a coconut meringue pie that was just about perfect. The meringue could not have been better. The coconut on top was toasted to perfection and the pudding tasted as though they had really made it from scratch. Even the crust was very flaky, although I did think the sides were just a little thick. With coffee it was all a man could ask for and I was glad my wife agreed to share it with me because it was huge.

Buffalo Head on the Wall

All in all this was as close to a perfect day as a person could ask for. We are relaxing in our clean room and with a good night’s sleep hope to be back on the road and on into Arkansas in the morning. We are tired of traveling but our spirits are high and as long as we can move safely and have fun what more can we ask for.

The two hour time loss made it difficult to go to sleep last night and even harder to get going this morning. We are trying to take things a little bit easier today. We are trying not to rush too much.

Vega, TX seems like a sleepy little town. I really don’t know how big it is.

I just googled it.

Every time I find myself saying things like I really don’t know something, I try to stop and look it up. We do have the power if we are connected to the internet. No more excuses. The population in 2000 was just under 1000 people. I think I was right.

Most of the resident’s racial background here, according to Google, is white. I have seen people, including the young folks I talked to in the saloon last night, who had Hispanic characteristics. The people who are running this motel seem to be of Indian background. That is to say from the country of India. I am basing that on the smell of curry in the hallways and the little children of dark complexion who are running around behind the front desk.

It is hard to not make judgments about a person’s ethnicity. The darker skin and the accents in a person’s voice give us clues as to their country of origin or family background. At the same time we should be careful not to categorize these good people we meet too hastily.

In the saloon last night I heard my first racial joke about our new president. I know I have been rather isolated from that sort of thing by living in Seattle where one does not encounter that as much. It made me wince and brought me back to the reality of the world. People can be so cruel to anyone or thing that is not like them. We are so afraid of what is different from us.

Statue in New Mexico

We journeyed across the state of New Mexico today flying like the wind that tried to push our van off the highway at times and staggering like a man (or woman) with a bum leg at others. There was quite a bit of slowdown due to major work being done on I-40 in New Mexico.

Our motel stay of last evening was the worst we have encountered so far, but it was also the least expensive. The room smelled of smoke that someone had tried to discreetly cover up with some sort of foul antiseptic. If it hadn’t been so cheap or perhaps if we had not been so darn tired, we probably would have tried to find another. In any event, we lived through it and decided that we needed to try to make some better time today and get at least 500 miles in. In addition to trying to travel more miles, we also were going to lose two hours of our day because of time zone changes. Arizona is in Mountain Time but when we moved into it out of Pacific Time we did not change since they do not observe Daylight Saving Time. New Mexico however does and since we were planning on crossing New Mexico and staying in Texas we knew we would lose another hour since they are in the Central Time Zone. Very confusing. Note that Arizona by not observing Daylight Saving Time once again acts as an example of how each state operates in its own manner.

But there were worse things in store for us.

As my wife stepped off the curb after checking us out of the motel, she slipped and fell down on the cement pavement. I rushed out of the car to help her to her feet but she had banged her ankle quite badly. After seeing her to the car and wondering if we should go to an emergency room or at least try to see a doctor she sent me for some ice. Then we drove across the street to a grocery store and I bought an ace bandage for her ankle.

She spent the day with her feet on the dash, which she happens to like, with an ice pack on it. She also happens to like sleeping, so she did that for a large portion of the day while I listened to some great jazz music. We stopped only when we had to and pushed on across the state.

After arriving at our motel in Vega, TX I got her some fresh ice (she says it does not hurt), a cool drink and then proceeded to the local eatery. The guy at the front desk told me it was good and the name of the place was The Boot Hill Saloon and Grill.

Boot Hill Saloon

I entered at the saloon and took a seat at the bar. A couple of young guys sitting there proceeded to tell me about dry counties in Texas and that I was in one. The long and the short of it was that I had to buy a temporary membership in order to order a beer. I did not find that a problem and then asked for a menu.

I told one of the young guys that since I would probably not be in Texas again for some time that I thought I would get some of the Texas barbecue on the menu. He smiled and shook his head saying, “I really won’t call that stuff Texas barbecue.”

After thanking him for his honesty, I ordered some sliders and finished my beer. So much for authentic Texas food.

P.S. My wife is sitting comfortably and appears to be doing alright with her ankle. I hope she is telling me the truth.

P.P.S. Today I heard some Charles Mingus, Art Pepper, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington and Stan Getz. Except for my wife falling and hurting herself it was a pretty good day. We drove 515 miles. Please check out what my wife has to say about today at http://www.managemypractice.com/road-trip/

A fixer-upper in New Mexico