Day 5: Texas Forever

I know we already visited Texas (see our original post about Texas) on our first road trip (we miss you Petry!) but it’s just too large of a state to hit only once. This time we came from the west into Amarillo, TX to spend a day in the land where you go big or go home.

We grabbed a quick breakfast at the Hyatt Place in Santa Fe and got on the road. We used our trusty Roadside Attractions app to figure out where to stop and ended up in Tecumcari, NM at the Route 66 sign and a historic stretch of the highway. We took some pictures and ate lunch at the Cornerstone Deli before continuing our journey.

Our drive into Amarillo consisted of lots of cows and the Wildorado Wind Farm, a 25-mile stretch of wind turbines. Although Texas is known for oil, western Texas has made a big push for wind energy and it shows in huge wind farms around Amarillo.

Picture from north of Amarillo that sums up western Texas:

Right before Amarillo we stopped at another roadside attraction: Cadillac Ranch. After walking through a field we took some pictures of some Cadillacs and also discovered that Amarillo now also houses a Tractor Ranch and a VW Ranch (we stuck with the original). 

Then we checked into the friendliest KOA ever (read my review on Yelp- Amarillo KOA). Not only did they welcome us, they escorted us to our tent site, made sure we knew all the amenities, and offered a free shuttle ride to The Big Texan. 

Although we did not partake in the shuttle ride, we did decide to visit the Big Texan for dinner (more on that later).

We have kept up a lot of our Roadtrip traditions including seeing a ghost tour, going on a factory tour (you’ll see which one later), and listening to Ken’s state mixes (thanks Ken!). We also managed to catch Independence Day on tv July 4. Well, maybe you guys don’t know this but Independence Day: Resurgence came out so we had to see it. 

Below is my review of the movie (not the opinion of all road trippers):

Don’t go see Independence Day: Resurgence with any expectations. It is not straight-to-DVD bad but it does have a lot of major plot holes. Basically, they tried to keep all the things that we loved about the first movie while setting up a sequel with a new cast of characters that we’re supposed to be invested in. Susan Surandon summed it up perfectly: 

“When I read the script, I couldn’t understand what was going on. I just couldn’t understand it. Seriously. A lot of the people from the original one were not going to be doing it, and I read it and I just thought, ‘No. I can’t. I just can’t’.” 

However, I was thoroughly entertained because the special effects were decent and Liam Hemsworth was in it. Also, I kept picturing what it looked like on set and couldn’t stop giggling (I imagined lots of screaming in front of green screens and Jeff Goldblum stopping direction to add his take to what he thought the shot should look like). We basically only paid half-price for a ticket so while keeping all that in mind, I think it was worth it. 

Back to Amarillo, TX… After our movie we made our way to the Big Texan. I’ll let the pictures show the story:

Although we were sure we could have eaten the 72 oz steak if we had tried (it’s free if you eat it within an hour) we all had our 8 oz steaks (smallest steak on the menu) and rolled back into the KOA for a night under the stars (and next to the airport as we discovered throughout the night).

-TechTalkin’ and Walkin’

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