When I last left off, my road trip buddies and I had just arrived in Clinton Oklahoma, and we slept for a few hours. Well waking up here I realized something I was not prepared for. Its cold out west!! I think I packed more for the warm weather I was expecting but the wind sweeping down these plains was brisk! We got up and on the road in no time and were soon to be hitting Texas!! I did make sure in our googling of things to make sure that we were not anywhere near where the Texas Chainsaw Massacre occurred cause that is just not something I even wanted to mess with. We were very North of where it went down-whew! Driving along, we started talking about all the songs and movie references we could come up with, and just as we were about to drive into Amarillo, in the morning…we played the George Strait song and sang along, even making a little video.
I really have always wanted to visit Texas, for some reason it just seems like a cool place to be, and all the country and cowboy hats would make me happy. While looking around on the Yelp app, we found something rad to see called Cadillac Ranch. Its a tourist attraction that consists of a huge field, with old Cadillac’s half buried in the ground. They were originally whole cars with regular paint jobs and over the years some of their parts have been removed, and people have spray painted all over them. There is a sign about it being illegal but I’m not really sure of the guidelines there! We had decided it would be a fun thing to check out and expected to see some signs when we were getting closer..but there was not. So I’m driving along and say that I will go ahead and get off at the next exit so we can turn around, when Road Trip Buddy says…Susan you’re in a truck just flip it around in the median..to which I replied-Is that illegal??? We laughed pretty hard as I turned that big ol’ Nissan truck around and got back on track for some Cadillacs!
It was a really cool place to see, and even though there was a ton of mud and water from some recent rain in the area, we were able to get close enough to grab some great pictures. There were some people with spray paint and they were “decorating” the cars and the ground.. I had to ask again..is this illegal?? We stayed and walked around long enough to take it in, but had to get on the road to get some miles in for the day. That was all of Texas really. There was lots of flat land and nothing to see. Lots of wind turbines and water towers, and lots of sing alongs. Next we made it into New Mexico, and while it looked very similar on the highway, when we stopped for some food..we could tell we were not in Texas anymore.
We pulled over for what were supposed to be the best and most authentic tacos that Albuquerque had to offer. First of all, we had to pool together our Spanish skills to even order our food, second of all I think we may have been in a not so savory part of town, but third of all those were some really awesome tacos! They also had cokes in a glass bottle and I thought that was neat, as well as a really fun shopping/seating/gathering area. While stopped for a little while, I talked to Handy Fellow, and he told me I should try to get a picture of an old Mexican in New Mexico! That was too hilarious to turn down, I was totally that person taking a picture of a random stranger from the truck. We headed out, and even had a little Google session to figure out what the Albuquerque connection was to Bugs Bunny, and determined that we did not in fact make a wrong turn. Also to be noted, Albuquerque is supposedly the place where the show Sons of Anarchy was originated, and there is mention of the charter in the show, even though it ended up being based out of California. As two big fans of the show, we were pretty excited and I joked that we might find one of the characters out there in the desert.
As we headed out of New Mexico and into Arizona we saw some of the most spectacular sunset scenes out there. The mountains and the rocks really make for some beautiful pictures. Whats funny is that I don’t have that much recollection of the rest of Arizona past that. I do know that this was a totally in the dark state after that, and we did finish our portion of the famous Route 66. Also, we drove through some really creepy areas that we came to find out were more Native American reserves. There is something to be said for the fact that there are hardly any exits on the stretch of road we were on, and when we did come to one, there was nothing there. No where to pee, no where to grab an energy drink, it was all a ghost town. So we pushed on, and very soon, Road Trip Buddy had to do the unthinkable. Pee outside. I was not armed with my sheewee, and I don’t even know HOW I failed to bring it on a cross-country drive, but I digress. So I pulled over, on the highway, even though there were signs warning us of bears, and she popped a squat. This was her first time ever having to do this, and I think maybe her last as well!! What makes this a little more funny is the fact that in less than ten minutes we were at a gas station where I was able to pee in a bathroom without the threat of being a bear snack! We filled up on gas and red bulls, got our obligatory shot glass and moved it along! We were in the home stretch and starting to get really exciting.
We pulled into the hotel in Boulder City Nevada with a renewed sense of pride in finishing all these miles. We made it to the Hoover Dam!! I couldn’t remember, but was later told that it was a Jeopardy game that my Daddy had once had the answer Hoover Dam for, and I was shouting it with the same enthusiasm as he did. Our hotel was really nice, and we were ready to unwind and have a celebratory adult beverage and sleep for 5 hours before getting the day started.
Out there on the road, on the highways that seemed to not end, I began to realize; even though Road Trip Buddy and I had been friends before this, we weren’t really all that close. Now we had been together for an adventure of a life time. We spent hours talking and laughing , we learned new things about each other and also learned a ton of things about the states that we traveled together. We didn’t bicker or snap at each other one time, and handled the driving and responsibilities of the trip with grace. Even though it was only two days, those two days were life altering, and we will have this bond now for the rest of our lives. Up next is the final piece of the saga.. after all, I had to get back to Florida sometime right?
Diaries of Suzy Doozer 
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