G.W. Builds

If you've ever traveled I-40 through New Mexico, then you know that Tucumcari, NM is basically a few exits in a row boasting 1300 hotel rooms. I think that's the only thing the town has. Tucumcari is where I'm staying tonight (wednesday).

There's 2 things that Jan and I never miss when we come through Amarillo Texas. The BIG TEXAN Steakhouse (which I did miss on this trip) and the Cadillac Ranch. The first time we saw the Cadillac Ranch was in June of 1987 on our first trip across the country. We'd heard about it, but there's no sign or anything to mark it. I just saw it from the window.

The Ranch is simply 10 old Cadillacs set into the dirt - front first - up to their dashboards. They're sitting about 300 feet off the frontage road to I-40 (which is old route 66 through here). There's no sign, there's no one around or anything. They're in a farmer's field and it's all plowed around them.

Each time we come through, they look different. They're painted by local high schoolers and passersby. Here's a few photos.

Sunrising in my rearview mirror in Louisiana this morning. Long day of driving . On the road at 5:30 am and off the road at 8pm

I've stopped in Jackson Mississipi for the night. I was going to go further, but I had Jan do some calling ahead to arrange a room for me and ther were none available for over 100 miles due to hurricane evacuations. I stopped to get some gas and checked all the hotels on the exit and found one with a vacancy. Not as far as I wanted to go today, but I think if I didn't take this room, I'd be sleeping in the car tonight (without room to do so).

Photo is of love bugs that I had to stop constantly and clean off the windshield today

This one will mean something to my family. While in Mississipi, I saw this diner and had to take a photo. It's my grandmother's name (not her real name - but the name the whole family calls her)

I left this morning (tuesday the 27th of September) and headed up I-95 until I got to I-10 and then headed west. Just before I got to the 231 turnoff - where I was to head north into Alabama - I saw this billboard. It's from the restaurant that Jan worked at on the Outer Banks. This is for their Panama City Store (where we almost moved in 2003/2004.