Oct. 5, 2010

I left Amarillo this morning around 9:00 for my drive across the panhandle of Texas and through Oklahoma.  The sky was cloudless and the spaces vast ... the fields were quite large and the landscape flat.  From Amarillo to around Groom, TX, land use was mostly agricultural.  I saw fields of corn, sorghum, and hay, and there were very tall silos ... placed near rail lines, I would assume.  The soil looked incredibly rich ... very dark ... black.  You could tell water was an issue, however, as there were many windmills for pumping water on individual properties and many fields were irrigated.

West Texas Field with Windmill

Groom, TX (about 60 miles east of Amarillo) seems to have several landmarks.  The first I came to was the largest cross in the U.S.!  Steve Thomas, owner of the engineering firm that built the cross, and the "man with the conceptual plan," built it to thank God for His Blessings.  The cross is supposed to be visible for 20 miles and, since it's right on I-40, seen by about 10 million travelers.  It is big ... like everything in Texas!

Largest U.S. Cross

Also, near Groom, I noticed a leaning water tower.  Every town needs a leaning something or other, and why not a leaning water tower.  Piza has a leaning tower so why shouldn't Groom, TX?  I don't know if it's in use, but it's fun ... if they aren't marketing it, they should.

Leaning Tower of Groom

Very near the water tower were the following roadsigns.  Actually, Rte. 66 runs right next to the interstate, and later I drove on it for about a mile or so.  Notice the water tower on top of the sign behind the road markers ... I guess they are marketing their Leaning Tower of Groom!

All signs lead to Groom!

After Groom, the land started to change.  It became rolling with canyons interspersed, and because of the change in the geography, the industry changed too.  Here cattle ranching took over once again; cattle are able to graze anywhere!  Also, a few more trees were growing in this part of the state.

I'd seen so many signs for Rte. 66 that I finally had to take a break and see what this was all about.  Fortunately, I chose a perfect town in which to take the break.  Shamrock is a small town with a lot of Irish history near the eastern border of Texas.  I decided to stop there for gas, lunch, and perhaps a little info. on Rte. 66.  I stopped first at an historical landmark, the U Drop Inn.  This little gas station/cafe was built in 1936, six years after U.S. 66 (Chicago to LA) and U.S. 83 (Canada to Mexico) were completed there.  At that time, the U Drop Inn was the hottest spot on 66 between Oklahoma City and Amarillo.   In Shamrock there was another renovated gas station and there are many 1930's style stations around town.

U Drop Inn on T
Rtes. 66 and 83 

Gas Station at 2nd and Madden Streets, off of U.S. 83

When I stopped at the U Drop Inn, I found a little park behind the building dedicated to a famous Shamrock country/western DJ.  I'd never heard of him, but he seems to have made an impression on a lot of famous folks.  Check out the pictures on the sign I photographed.

Now you might think this is enough fame for one small town, but no!  They have the largest water tower in the state of Texas!  It was designed and built in 1915 by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company for $6,500.  It's all steel and holds 75,000 gallons of water.

Largest Water Tower in Texas!

 After all of this fun, I just had to drive on Rte. 66 for a short distance.  Yesterday I'd had enough of 55 mph driving so I only drove it for a couple of miles.  It resembles county roads ... rather narrow and no shoulder at all.  In LA we met a Canadian couple who'd driven the entire length of the road ... it took them 12 days, but they had a wonderful time ... met great people, they said.  In my photo, I tried to show how it runs along the interstate, which is to the left.

U.S. 66

Once I got back on the interstate, I didn't really stop again.  I drove and drove and drove across Oklahoma.  What I can tell you is that Oklahoma starts on the west side as rather flat, vast farm land.  In some ways it reminded me of NW Ohio and NE Indiana, but you would want to spread everything out a bit in OH and IN in order to get a sense of OK ... widen the medians in the highways, widen the berms, make the fields a little bigger, take away some trees, etc.  The middle of the state has more texture; it rolls and undulates.  The eastern part of the state is quite wooded and has lakes and the Canadian and Arkansas Rivers.  The soil in Oklahoma is red, much like Virginia soil.  There are Cheyenne/Arapaho, Citizen Potawatomi, Kickapoo, and Seminole Indian Nations.  I don't quite understand how that works, but I think they have a good bit of independence from the state.  I am staying in Sallisaw, a small town on the east side of OK, because I noticed a sign about the Trail of Tears, which I would like to explore in the morning.  

Red Soil in the Distance

Wide Expanse of Oklahoma