Mom and Rebecca blamed me, because if we weren't going to Amarillo we would have gone to the west of Texas, and into New Mexico, where it would probably be a lot hotter. I was pretty much the only reason we were going to go to Amarillo, to see Cadillac Ranch that a lifeguard in Virgina at Camp Beth Page Campground had said he visited with his Mom, that it was really cool. I wanted to see this Wacky West Wonder, but I hoped it wouldn't be as bad as a Witch, or maybe there's a War going on. Too much? Yeah, I thought so. I'm funning out of funny material....
But before going to Amarillo to see the Cadillacs, there was something needing to pay attention to. Mom and Dad rode off in the jeep when Rebecca and I were still asleep, and they went to get the sunrise on the top of the Buffalo Lake thing. They remembered that there was a National Park called Palo Duro Canyon, informally known as the "Texas Grand Canyon" that was in the area. So, we got in the jeep, got on great clothing that made us really warm inside, and went out. I was very glad now that we were in what I had been waiting for at our entire trip at Texas, cowboy country, shrub, open plains, oil, desert. We had gotten industrial and boats and barges at San Jacinto, Skyscrapers and buildings in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas, and now we were here! I was so glad. Also, I had started reading a book that Rebecca was still reading at the same time, called Smells Like Dog. Rebecca had been reading it since June and really liked the book, saying it was about an adventurer who finds a dog left behind by his late uncle, and that she wanted me to read it. I did, and the weird thing was I was reading it while she was finishing it, if that makes sense. But I read a little bit of it, as we came up to the canyon.
We went through a gatehouse, where the people told us that there were hunters hunting deer here, as we talked to the man. He told us to try to be careful. I was a little scared when I heard him say that. There were deer to the right of us on a patch of grass. We went around and parked at the back of another small grey brick building, and we went in.(it was the restroom.) We were in a small threshold, and went our separate ways. I was the last out, and read a sign that said that the building was made by the CCC as a storm shelter. I then left and we got in the car, going down into the canyon. It was beautiful. All of the red hard rock, with the brown mixture, and the shrub lowering over a blue sky. I loved all the different colors, and we came down after a long time of driving around, and saw some more deer. There was a house with barbed wire fence saying to not come this way and not going down the private entrance to the National Park building. When we got down to that, we parked at the tiny parking lot and went in, seeing it locked. It was beneath a dirt staircase, the entrance from the owners of the other place. It wasn't nice for them to not allow us to go down that way...mean people. Oh well. But we took some pictures. Then... I saw it.
Two women, Latino short ladies, who were talking about stuff in a different language. I guessed they worked there. I later took their picture in front of the stone wall that overlooked a great spot in the canyon. Rebecca and I later took pictures there too. It was a splendid view, really. All of the shrub and dirts down there, reflecting off of the rock. I loved it. It was really cool. We left back to the R.V. park, leaving in like an hour and a half, without any water besides like 25%. We put our stuff inside, the electric and sewer, and drove a while to Amarillo, Texas. I blogged about a real country rodeo in Mississippi, amazingly behind. It was bad. And still is. But the only bad part about the drive was holding in an urge to pee, drinking water and not being able to go to the restroom, and not washing my hands after touching the trashcan or picking something off the ground. That doesn't seem too bad, until, you break it down and see what you are doing and all the germs your spreading. Especially when your a clean freak like me, and always washes their hands, in shock about this sudden barrier made of the world of water and soap. But then we came to Oasis R.V. Park, around the pretty okay town of Amarillo. The start of Cadillac Ranch had begun.
There was a fairly big sized office that we went in, with a counter to the right and to the front, and a store with some things, to the left. Kind of congested. In the front left was a shelf of books I spotted, and among them were some science textbooks, from a college, which is kind of weird. They gave us the site for the thing, and everything like that, as we came on the asphalt outside. They had also mentioned a few restaurants in the area we could do. There was a black cat on the porch to the place, that I looked at. Did this mean our time at Cadillac Ranch wasn't going to be good? Was something bad going to happen? The wind blew harshly, and I think it was the coldest place on the second half of our trip so far...at that time. Man, I hoped it would not be as windy and crispy as it was today when we were looking at the Cadillacs. Then, I saw it. It was a beige small R.V. sticking out of the ground, right in front of me, that I hadn't seen earlier for some reason that Dad was talking about that the people who made the R.V. park did that! Wow, it was crazy, all the concrete around it and just saying Oasis R.V. Park. But, this was only the tip of the iceberg, the cream of the crop, the lace to the shoe, whatever. Tomorrow or today we would see the Cadillacs!
We parked the R.V., and I needed to go to the restroom: #2, so I walked over, in all the wind blowing me this way and that and the sand puffing up in my eyes, my vision blinded for the moment, seeing virtually nothing, or if I could having it blinded out by gravel and dust. I put the hoodie on and felt my way in this storm of a lifetime. Later I would be in an even worse one, in a lot of blogs from now. I went into a silent public restroom, all white and damp, and then came back out, and helped them set up in this cold. BURRR. Mom said that she saw the Cadillacs and that they were only like ten of them, jokingly stating that it probably wouldn't be worth it. Would it be worth it?
All we did that night was look around the little town of Amarillo, that had some chain restaurants and some farms, stuff like that. Passing by a dirt field, we saw a metal cylinder fence and a sign saying it was LEGAL to Graffiti the place. Then I saw all the painted cars up, sticking out of the ground, my first look at the famous Cadillac Ranch. We passed by and parked at a log house looking place, with a cow in front, a steakhouse or something of the sort. Really good food there, and a good waiter, blonde and skinny and nice though. His name was JP, which stood for something I don't remember.John Parker? Joe Patrick? Oh well, something you readers don't NEED to know to succeed in life. But anyway, it was a good meal, with the steak and the ribeyes we had, and then after that we went home and spent time indoors, afraid of the wind. We actually took showers, and I guess that wasn't a stupid idea, but we would have to do it again in the morning. Oh well. Well, there was no cable so we didn't know of the storm approaching us on the 'morrow. And wouldn't that be something. The next day would bring everything from painted cars, red eared children, gangsters who paint Cadillacs, good breakfasts, R.V. repairs, and ALIENS!!!! THIS IS A BLOG POST YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS!
Goodbye for now.
Does good luck happen if you see a white cat?,
Andrew.
No comments:
Post a Comment