Dust Bowl Half Marathon Series trip : Texas in my rear-view mirror

Happy to be home from my trip to "Tornado Alley"... the races were fun, if harder than they should have been (ummm, guess that's because I haven't been running???). And I saw some beautifully bleak sights ... land, lots of land, under sunny skies above, and all that.

The last day of the trip w0as an "insurance" day -- I didn't want to risk missing a flight from Amarillo because the drive from Kansas took longer than expected. Hence the swing east to Shamrock (via Clinton, OK...).

Got up on the "late" side, not leaving the hotel till 8:30 or so, then making my way west to Amarillo via historic Route 66 and its modern-day rival, I-40. Apparently some 90% of Texas's stretch of historic 66 is still drivable today ... it seems like most of the time it's a frontage road with some pretty terrifying right-of-way and "yield" set-ups. But every so often, there's an I-40 Business Loop that runs through a town that is clearly the old alignment of Route 66.

This amazingly adorable little Phillips 66 gas station, built in the 1920s, is in the town of McLean, TX.

A little farther along, near Groom, is this leaning water tower, built to attract visitors. Still works.

Then on to Conway, where there is a nicely restored stretch of old 66 where you can zoom along with a 75 MPH speed limit. (Terrifying on a narrow road!)

But before you leave Conway, you must visit the VW Bug Ranch ... a little homage to the Cadillac Ranch on the west side of Amarillo.

Loved this old dear most of all ... he was around the other side of the graffiti-covered house.

that's no bug...

Sorta nice to have this place by myself... and yet, sorta creepy.

#slugbug

A few times I was driving on historic 66 when there would suddenly be a sign that said "dead end - no outlet" or "pavement ends". Now, why this sign wasn't posted by, I dunno, a place where I could turn off the road, I'm not sure. Let's just say I have now perfected my 3-point turns on narrow country lanes.

Then on to Amarillo ... through it, really, because I was headed to Cadillac Ranch.

It was a little weird to find -- at least, the GPS directions were a little hard to follow. But there it was, in a field next to a frontage road. It was also VERY, VERY BUSY, as a bus of Italian tourists had arrived, every person carrying a can or two of spray paint. Whee.

 I had considered stopping somewhere to pick up paint ... but then decided that I would wait to do it until Wil and I could both be there. So I just walked around the cars, watching the people painting and trying to avoid picking up overspray in the brisk wind.

lots of layers of paint

It's nice that the cars are in a field -- you don't get power lines or billboards or anything in the view. And, if you time your shot right, you can also get some photos without people...

Cadillac Ranch, 2016

I then decided I would drive to the stretch of historic 66 in Amarillo, the idea being I would get out, stretch my legs a little, find a bite to eat. But I wasn't super interested by what was on offer ... and, despite driving up and down the "busy" stretch 2 times in each direction, I decided I didn't need to stop. 

And then, while pulled over and looking for somewhere to eat, I discovered that Amarillo is home to a Torchy's Tacos. Well worth the 20-minute drive across town, I promise you. 

Fried Avocado and a Mr. Pink

Then... what to do? It was time, of course, to visit the Big Texan Steak Ranch...

It goes without saying that I didn't care to attempt the free* 72-ounce steak dinner (*if eaten in under one hour). But I did have a little wander around the complex.

There is, of course, the Big Texan himself, moved from his original place on Route 66 to the new location on Interstate 40.

howdy, partner

And this massive steer, which is apparently towed on a trailer in parades and such. Giddy Up.

lots of bull

Inside there's a big restaurant, a gift shop (of course!), a weird "shootin' gallery" (you know, with targets that trigger a piano player and such), a bar, and an area that looked to be closed but would have been a nice place to have a beer. Heck, maybe if it wasn't 1:30 on a Saturday afternoon it might have even been open. Big signs over the bar said "rated one of the top 10 places to drink a beer" by Draft Magazine. Really? Huh. It was okay.... They do brew their own beer, however, so I decided to have the Pecan Porter. Pretty tasty... but I'm no beer connoisseur...

I poked around outside as well ... they have a cute motel on site that's been painted to look like a western town, and a cute Texas-shaped pool. ("Swim across Texas!"). Noted that the pool was closed ... which made me extra happy I had stayed in Shamrock rather than pressing on to Amarillo!

Then, well, there was nothing else in the world that I wanted to do, other than just go home. So I filled up the gas tank, drove to the airport, dropped off the car and just went through security. Not much to do in tiny Amarillo airport (7 gates!), but I sat in the one shop/restaurant/bar and killed the two hours before my flight left.

A plane change in DFW, then an uneventful flight to Seattle, then home...

This was, overall, a successful 2-state trip. Heck, I even had some time in Texas and visited some classic Route 66 locations. But the key was picking up two big states: Oklahoma and Kansas. It would have been much more fun with Wil joining me (he had his own adventures seeing Smashing Pumpkins and Bruce Springsteen), but happy to have gone on this mini-trip.

Dust Bowl Half Marathon Series : Guymon, Oklahoma ...

Good morning, Guymon!!! The winds seem to have died down .. so is it a nice morning?

Oh. 28 degrees? Brrr. That's pretty cold. Wish I had thought to bring gloves. Or at least an extra pair of socks to put on my hands... Let's just say that I lost the feeling in my fingertips while I was waiting for the start.
Despite my seeking out the start the previous day, I was still a little lost and managed to drive all the way aroud the park and back in before I got parked. I'm the best. We had to park on the opposite side of the lake, then walk the half mile round to the start area. I picked up my bib, my "starter medal", and my funky shirt (pink and blue tie-dye!) and then just tried to keep warm.
It was still quite dark as we waited ... but I was really looking forward to this pretty little course:

A few minutes before the start, Clint climbed his ladder to give the course talk... today's course was 7 laps for half marathoners. I love it when the laps are longer and the reps are fewer...

The course was a giant C, running a narrow path 9/10ths of the way around the lake, reaching a turnaround, then going back. Why, hello there BLACK CONE!!!

Look how pretty this course is?

A couple of challenges ... it was c-c-c-cold... and at some point the wind picked up. I had decided to run/walk 4 of the 7 laps, then reduce my running. By lap 6, I was basically just walking -- hoping to save my legs a bit. But it was SO COLD that I got super chilled, and had to put on my Nanopuff again for the last lap!

Also ... and I know this will sound HORRIBLE... but. There was a racer who had a recumbent bike chair ... because the course was so narrow, he was just running loops clockwise around the lake -- he'd never be able to make the turnaround. All good. But the problem was, he was going really fast -- like, BIKE fast. And the course was narrow, and he was passing people without havingn room to do so. As in, passing people so that the oncoming runners had to jump off the path to avoid being hit. Not cool. But I don't know how it could have been avoided, other than maybe all of use running loops, and him going the opposite direction? Sorry if that sounds really, really mean, but ...

And at the end of the day ... rubber bands, man.

Hurried back to the hotel for a quick shower, then headed out ... to KANSAS!

Stopped in Liberal, Kansas, to visit the Land of Oz ... but discovered, at 12;03, that the land of Oz is closed for lunch from noon - 1. So I gave it a miss.

ButI did fill up on gas at a Sinclair station, and discovered this charmingly dressed dino...

Since the next town was so close by, I decided to make a wide swing to the east to pass through Dodge City, where I didn't linger... I mean, I GOT THE HELL OUT OF DODGE!
But then I went to what I really wanted to see, some off the best-preserved ruts from the Santa Fe Trail...

Okay, it took a lot of imagination, but I do think I can sorta see them? Well, maybe...

Then some fast driving on 2-lane highways to arrive in Ulysses, Kansas, my stop for the evening.

One very nice thing -- the Grand County Historic Adobe Museum hosted a reception forr us at the museum ... which was, truly, one of the nicest small museums I've ever seen. Really nicely curated displays, and an interesting collection of artifacts.

Really pretty diorama...

... and a nicely restored Pegasus neon...

Already feeling a little sad that Wil and I aren't both here and doing the entire series ... but also kinda happy to only have one more race left!!!

Virtual Running Blog Hop -- this month's topic is "first race of the year" ... this isn't my first race, but it's my first new state of the year, so I think it's still relevant.