Ed and Cori: Amarillo, Palo Duro, Route 66

Hiking and biking and deserts and canyons and mountains and lakes! After spending a fun-filled (and bike-filled!) week in Oklahoma (OK!) on Lake Murray, we made our way up to our good ol' friend-road - Route 66! Trucked on through to Amarillo, stopping at all sorts of abandoned buildings, kitschy diners, and wonderful icons of Americana. We got to spend a whole week in Amarillo, and were even able to rent a car. Which means a lot of random local adventures (it's exciting to have a vehicle that gets more than ~10 miles per gallon). Got to check out a lot of nifty local dives and diners, many of which were on 66. We also returned to Palo Duro Canyon for some sweet desert hiking (didn't do much hiking last time we were here in the teardrop. Mostly on account of rattlesnakes.). And, of course, we had to make at least a couple of trips to Cadillac Ranch! All in all, a very successful and welcoming trip to the loveable Amarillo. On Sunday, after Easter Sunday service at the 'Cowboy Church', and one last stop at Cadillac Ranch, we trekked onwards into the West. We now find ourselves in the iconic Route 66 city of Tucumcari, NM - camped out in the shadow (or lack thereof) of Mount Tucumcari, for the next few days. I do enjoy the desert landscapes, but I'm already starting to miss trees. REAL trees, that is. As always, much love from the road. -E

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Big Cave

This is from 2010, the first time we visited Palo Duro Canyon SP in our home built teardrop camper. We've been retracing some of our journey from 2010, and revisiting stops along rt 66. Check out "The Blog That Cori never finished" to see some of what we saw.

This was a neat trail that goes over an ancient avalanche, up to the rim of the canyon. Very hot and steep!

Pretty Rock Garden

We ate and drank a lot this week! One of our stops was at The GoldenLight Cantina and Cafe. It is one of the oldest restaurants continuously operating in the same location anywhere on old Rt. 66. Get the Frito Pie.

"What is that, a Johnny Cash song?" ...or Acts 2:20

More "Dynamite Museum"

This picture is from 2010. The sign, wall, and rail have all been painted over. But there are a lot of other signs around and even outside of the city. It's always exciting when you spot one.

I roped Ed into a photoshoot at Cadillac Ranch. Too much fun here, as usual! Here's a comparison between 2010 on the left, and 2014 on the right. I think we might even be on the same car.