We loaded the car.. yes, the Subaru.. and headed off for New Mexico. Texas has so many little farm towns along our route. Many from the dust bowl era and many still torn apart from past tornadoes. kind of sad..  It’s very interesting to see all the oil wells along the way too. They are everywhere, dotting the landscape like big metal bugs.. I think they look like a big praying mantis or mosquitoes..

The terrain changes fast on this stretch. Hilly to flat to hills again.. then into bluffs and red dirt.

As we travel, it’s interesting how Emi has been so quiet.. I try to get her to talk, but still most of what I get are non-descript grunts or mumbles. She has a couple of books and seems to either be really into the book, bored or just plain doesn’t want to be bothered… probably all the above.

We stopped in Amarillo for lunch at the famous Big Texan steakhouse we’ve seen on numerous food channel shows.. you know the one that gives you a free meal if you can eat the 72 oz steak and sides in 60 minutes or less..

Big Texan Steak ranch

Big Texas Steak ranch.. the Holy Grail of steak eating. No.. I didn’t try it. I don’t like steak THAT much.. but a cool place to visit.

The billboard in their parking lot says it all…. love this picture..

God Bless Texas..

Just outside of Amarillo there are a bunch of Cadillacs buried in a field… so, of course we had to stop. These have been there since the 70’s… I’ve seen this in a ton of movies.. now i can actually see it..

Cadillac Ranch

Cow Shit...

These little guys were everywhere… almost stepped in this perfectly shaped little turd… love cow shit! The smell always takes me back to Northern Utah… I breathe deep… I also could smell silage and skunks today. Flashback!!!

This was my manure flashback..... farm in Cache Valley

Back on the road we head for New Mexico.. crossing the state line from Texas was uneventful…. but sad..

Texas/New Mexico state line

We were hit with a strong head wind all day. The miles per gallon,  or MGP in the Subaru were as low as 10 most of the day. This morning we see that a huge storm hit Colorado and dropped a couple of feet.. that would explain the wind here. I keep hearing this funky noise in the car.. a strange squeak or rattle. “Come little Subaru… you can make it” The car has about 115,000 miles on it.. but it’s a Subaru.. and since we’ve crossed into New Mexico, we’ve seen a ton of other Subaru’s too. We are getting closer to “our people”… Yes, Subaru drivers…

In Albuquerque now, headed for Moab. I expect we’ll take a ton of pictures and try to get Emi to talk. Or at least grunt in our direction. I know she’s enjoying the ride, she keeps taking pictures of everything we see. She’s actually a pretty good photographer. Hmm.. probably gets it from me.. hidden talent I guess. we plan to maybe try one of those Chili Verde Burgers everyone has told us about.. not sure about that yet. BUT we are planning to go to Mesa Verde to see the cliff dwellers on the way to Moab.. I love Moab (see previous blog).

Gotta go hit the shower and start the next leg of our adventure… oh and get the free breakfast here at the La Quinta..

Almost forgot.. I saw my breath two days in a row now.. that never happens in south Texas. Yes I know, “you’re not in Texas anymore..”

Off to Moab!!!!! Love that place..