Route 66-Day Four

Day Four began as a day to drive, we needed to make good time on this day and decided to drive on into the night and break up our camping with a hotel stay. We left the crazy casino and headed towards Texas. In my Route 66 map series it pinpointed a place called Texola, Oklahoma that was right on the Texas and Oklahoma state line. It said that it was a certified ghost town. Now I was expecting to see buildings made up to look spooky and all of that jazz, but oh no, this truly was a certified creep you out and chill you to the bone ghost town. Upon further investigation I discovered that Texola,OK has a total population of 36, that's right kids 36 people! The town had been both located in Texas and Oklahoma before they finally just let Oklahoma have it. It's history goes back to the early 1900's and it has had several names including Texokla and Texoma. It wasn't always such a small town, the 1930 census  recorded the population peak at 581. Now what exactly made everyone tuck tail and run out of this place you may ask. Well I just don't have the answer to that, but it certainly was the one question that I had in my mind the entire time we were there. Sure there is absolutely nothing to do there. Most of the roads are dirt and the hot summer winds give little relief for relaxation.  Still though, I am from what I thought was a small town in Northeast Tennessee with even smaller and smaller towns surrounding it but the population numbers are far higher than that of Texola. There is a certain pride about your communities back home, land passed down from generation to generation and so on and so forth. It isn't just something you would up and abandon. As you drive through the streets of this town you will see that nearly every single house, gas station and bar have been completely abandoned. All but a few where you can see the residents poking their heads out the window without making eye contact to see what Route 66 travelers came through that day to see the eerie fallen town. I would have gotten out of the car and explored more but Andy wasn't too comfortable with that idea and I can't say that I blame him. It is perfectly fine and responsible to be weary of the unknown. We found the Texola Cemetery as well, it was hidden down a lonely forgotten road and on either side all you could see was flat dry land for miles and miles. Hundreds of bales of hay lined the way and we weren't sure what we were going to find once we got there. This prodding into a dead town day trip was spooky enough to send chills up my spine, I am not so sure I would be as brave there come night fall. I mean honestly something just wasn't right there. Below you will find several pictures of the dead houses and you will note that something has been happening to them postmortem.

 

Following our creep out fest in Texola we headed onward through Texas. I had always heard of the Cadillac Ranch so to be able to see it in person was quite a treat. I am never one for abstract art but this piece is timeless and has so much history and back ground you would be a complete idiot to not be able to appreciate it . The Cadillac Ranch is located in Amarillo, Texas right off of Route 66. It was created in 1974 by a group of artists who called themselves "Ant Farm". It was relocated from it's original spot in 1997 just 2 miles west in a cow pasture, although I did not see any cows. This unique piece of art  features 10 Cadillacs  nose down buried in the ground up to their windshields. It is said to represent the birth and death of the old Cadillacs and was made as homage to Route 66. As you walk through an unlocked gate that has layers and layers of spray paint, you can see the cars out in the middle of nothing just dirt. Once you get closer you see the surrounding ground is littered with markers and spray cans. It is actually encouraged for you to come and make your mark on this cool place. Had I known that I may have made mine, but at least I had Harvey with me, because he definitely made his.

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There is a point along the road there in Oklahoma and Texas where there is absolutely nothing. I am from North East Tennessee as I have said and I have grown up my entire life surrounded by mountains. To be out in the middle of the desert like that with absolutely nothing can be unnerving. The sky had never looked so intensely big before to me, in fact I was happy to be inside of the truck with the dogs, weighed down with some sort of gravity. There were times I felt like if I had stepped out of the safety of our vehicle I would have simple been sucked up into the nothingness of the biggest sky I have ever seen and it was quite overwhelming at points. Along side the road were the oddest shades of green mixed in with all of the harsh browns. It was as if someone had lightly airbrushed grass and purple patches of flowers out in the dry dead nothingness.  The Sandia Mountains greeted me with open arms, and boy oh boy were they a sight for sore eyes! The Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque, New Mexico are this deep brownish red color that are rimmed with dark green plants. Sandia translated in Spanish quite simply means watermelon. The mountains do look like a slightly less juicy piece of that delectable fruit, but it is unclear if that is how they got their name. It is also believed that when the Spaniards met The Pueblos there that they mistook their squash that they were growing for watermelon. As we cruised through the beauty of New Mexico, and it is beautiful, nightfall was waiting to welcome us to our hotel room. After three nights of camping and grilling  Andy and I went back to the simple pleasures in life and took long hot showers, ordered a pizza and then immediately passed out into a deep sleep. Thanks for reading and keep a look out for Day 5 and our drive through New Mexico and on to The Grand Canyon. Til we meet again, friends.