We pulled out of the driveway at 1 pm straight up. We pulled into the motel in Amarillo a few minutes after 6. It was an uneventful but enjoyable drive up US 287. I suppose many people would find it boring, but I have always liked that road. It is a nice divided highway with relatively little traffic. It parallels the rail line most of the way. It is an extraordinarily busy line with mostly coal cars pouring in from the north...maybe from Wyoming?? Wherever it is from, I presume it is on its way to be converted to electrical energy to power the state's air-conditioning needs.
We also saw our fair share of oil wells, cattle, and cotton fields...quintessential Texas. Speaking of Texicana, we are a mile from the Big Texan, the restaurant where you can have a free 72 ounce steak...as long as you eat it within the prescribed time limit (1 hour, I think). There is even a white limousine from our hotel (with longhorns on the front!) that will take us to and from the restaurant. We passed on the limousine. We decided to pass also on the restaurant when we saw the long line out the door. I ate there 10 years ago when my Leadership Texas class was in Amarillo. It is ok, but once is enough.
We had stopped for gas in Wichita Falls on the drive up and it felt wonderfulwhen I got out of the car! It was 100 deg, but dry...what a relief from the unbearable humidity at home. However, the humidity caught up with us and we had rain as we approached Amarillo. It is now pleasant and in the 70's. I will take it!
I am now sitting in the room looking out the window. I can see plumes of steam rising in the distance. I was wondering if that might be the Pantex plant, the United States' only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility. We stay in all the posh places!! Actually it is far in the distance across the flat expanse of the "staked plains", so I really don't know what it is.
Lots of flatness today. We will move to a 3D world tomorrow!
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