12.13.2008

I saw miles and miles of Texas

If the Cincinnati band, 500 Miles to Memphis wanted to change their name, I might suggest 1500 Miles to Albuquerque. It's harder to spell, but also true. Today was all about getting some miles done. Tippy and I did 700 of them. I drove and he slept as is our agreement. How's Tippy today? Let's check:


See, he looks much better. He's getting to be an old hand at this.

As I was leaving Oklahoma I saw my first signs of T. Boone Pickens in the form of a bunch of giant windmills. They were oddly beautiful. Now we just need about five billion more of those things to make us energy independent.


My first stop of the day came after four hours of driving. All across I-40 the interstate is littered with signs advertising a free 72 ounce steak. The tiny writing you can't see as you blow by at 80 miles an hour is that it's only free if you eat it all (along with the sides) and you only have an hour. That's the rule that took Tippy out of the running.

Where does this beefy miracle exist? It's at Amarillo's own Big Texan Steak Ranch. I made sure to stop there for lunch for my own (much smaller) steak and to soak up the pure cheesiness of the place. Let's look at some photos:



It's just as crazy on the inside, too, with the obligatory animal heads mounted around the dining room. Alas, no one was going for the 72 ounce challenge so I had to content myself with just my meal and my very friendly server. It wasn't the best steak ever, but you don't really come here for the food. It's all about the big Texas spectacle. Look how they decorated for the holidays:

The rest of the day was just a bunch of driving through some very brown and very flat land. I suddenly remebered why I named the brown hamster I had as a kid, Texas. My only impression of the state as a child was of a vast expanse of browness, just as it looked today.


So after hours and hours of driving we made it south of Albuquerque to the wonderfully named Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (if you want to know how they got the name, read this). That leaves just a few more hours of driving tomorrow to get to Tucson. It's been a fun trip, but I'm ready to put my feet up for a couple days.

3 comments:

J-Will said...

Wherever I see the windmills (south of Buffalo, on the shore of Lake Huron in Canada) I am always struck by their beauty. Some people think they besmirch the landscape, however. But you can plant crops on the land all around the windmills, but at a coal plant you've basically fouled the land for decades. So I think a break in the scenic view is worth the tradeoff.

The Big Texan is open for breakfast!!!! That makes it even more awesome!!

Anonymous said...

Dude, awesome! You found the Big Texan! (Of course, it is admittedly hard to miss.) The 72-ounce offer is the stuff of legend. You probably know that not only have not very many ever achieved that free steak, but that exactly one guy is said to have eaten two of 'em - yes, that would be 9 pounds of cow in one sitting. Yee-haw.

Cheers,
Bruce H.

Carrie G said...

I seriously just saw that place on the Travel Channel (which seems to be all about food these days, but food you have to travel to get to)!