Road Trip Day 4: Oklahoma City - Los Alamos, NM

This was probably the most exhausting day of the road trip.  We started out in Oklahoma City.  The main thing to see here was the federal building, the site of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995.  Our GPS took us to the rebuilt federal building, where we were eyed suspiciously by the security guard until we realized that the memorial was across the street.

A reflecting pool sits between two large archways, one inscribed with the time 9:01 and the other 9:03, the minutes flanking the 9:02 blast.  Empty chairs, with their heights corresponding to the ages of those killed, border the pool. 19 of them are small, representing the children who attended a day care at the federal building.  A wall of ceramic tiles painted by Oklahoma City children pays homage to the peace that was disturbed 19 years ago. 

After leaving this poignant display we got back on the road.  We crossed the border into Texas , the land where everything is bigger, including the speed limit.  Shortly thereafter we stopped at the next Route 66 attraction in Groom Texas – the supposed largest cross in the world. (As later research would find, it is not in fact the world’s largest cross though it may have been at one point.) At 190 feet tall, it could be seen from 20 miles away.  We thought it was one of the most ridiculous things we had ever seen, likely built by some crazy Texan trying to prove his state’s superiority. However upon our arrival, we found that at the foot of this obelisk was a religious shrine, adorned with beautiful statues of the Stations of the Cross, the Last Supper, and the Crucifixion.  A

religious gift shop sold Divine Mercy medals, rosaries, and books on Pope Francis, indicating 

that this was monument was Catholic.  I didn’t know whether to be proud or ashamed.  Walking around the grounds, I would be moved by a particular statue or grotto, only to burst into a fit of giggles at the ridiculous structure luring in unsuspecting travellers.  But hey, whatever works.  

Once we reached Amarillo, Texas, we took a detour to the Palo Duro Canyon. We hiked for 3 miles, halfway down a short hiking trail in order to get a good view of the canyon.  I also saw my first tumbleweed.

 

After all this travelling and hiking, we had worked up an appetite worthy of a Texan, and we knew exactly where to go.  We had seen dozens of signs along Route 66 for the Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo, home of the 72 oz steak, free if you eat it and all its fixings (roll, salad, and shrimp cocktail) in a hour.  This fine establishment was recently featured on the popular TV Show, Man vs. Food.  Just a few weeks prior to our arrival, the record for this feat was broken by Molly Schuyler, (who also recently won the Philadelphia Wing Bowl). She finished her steak in 4 minutes and 58 seconds, and proceeded to eat a second in 9:59. 

The challenge area

Even with my appetite, I didn’t dare try to do the full challenge.  I ordered the 1/4 version of the challenge, an 18 oz steak with fixings, which took me well over an hour to eat.  The meal was delicious, and definitely worth the experience.

Our stomachs full, we got back on the road.  We almost missed our next attraction, the Cadillac Ranch.  Someone buried ten Cadillacs face down in the dirt, for the sake of art.  Graffiti on these structures is actually encouraged.  We did not leave our mark on this structure, and in fact kept our distance to stay out of the puddle of mud surrounding the cars.

Storm clouds were on the horizon as we left the ranch. After a little ways of driving we hit a very severe patch of rain and a bit of hail.  It didn’t last more than 10 minutes, but was a bit perturbing.  The skies started to clear as we neared the New Mexcio border.  My phone proceeded to give me a Tornado Warning alert, advising us to take shelter immediately, which did not calm my nerves.  However, with the skies clear ahead we proceeded into New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, where there was an abundance of clear weather. A look at Doppler radar showed us that we were in fact very lucky, to have passed through a small break in an otherwise massive storm hitting Texas. 

The worst of the storm

 

Clear New Mexican skies

About an hour past the border, we stopped in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, site of Blue Hole, a clear, natural pool that remains at a constant temperature of 64 degrees Fahrenheit.  It is a great body of water to dive into apparently, which Chris and Jeff confirmed while I took pictures of the attraction at sunset.

After my friends dried off, we got back in the car for the last 2.5 hours of our journey to Los Alamos. It was here that I realized I was starting to feel a bit homesick since we had crossed the New Mexico border, arriving in the state that would be my home for the next two months.  We drove for miles along a deserted highway with no lights and very sparse traffic, which would have unnerved me had I been alone.  Eventually, we turned off on another highway, past Santa Fe, through what seemed to be an Indian reservation, and along a cliff that surely would be beautiful in the daylight.  Around 11 pm (now Mountain Time) we arrived at my apartment in Los Alamos.