I started my day driving back to Tucumcari, the town looks a bit different in the day without all the neon lit up. The town has several museums that were unfortunately closed on Mondays. So I made my way towards the Texas border.
As you cross into Texas, New Mexico sends you off with a large ” Thank You For Visiting” sign across the interstate. Once on the Texas side you immediately exit back onto Route 66. I decided to backtrack as my navigation showed there was some abandoned hotels back towards New Mexico on the old highway. The bones of the “The First/Last Stop in Texas” motel is just off the road. The pavement has been reclaimed by nature at this point. [It appears the hotel closed sometime in the 70s]. The walls of the back building are covered in travelers’ spray paint. I found it interesting the front and side street-facing walls of the building were clean white, even though the back buildings and inside walls were covered in spray paint. [It appears as of 2018, the building used to still have its roof, and the sign was broken; now fixed. It would seem this building does get maintained somewhat, as the white paint on the outside does cover up old graffiti. Clean up appears to have happened in 2023.]
I made my way through the buildings with my camcorder, as the loud buzz of locusts boomed out from the trees. It gave a creepy vibe even though the entire building was open, no roof or windows. Only walls and a front and side door remain. I took as many interesting photos of the various wall graffiti on the walls and through the various panes of windows that once stood.
Just into Texas in Adrian, a couple of little buildings welcome you to the midpoint of Route 66. I am now as close to Chicago as I was to Los Angeles, only 1139 miles to go. Like most things, it seems shops are closed Sunday/Monday, but a little shop, Dream Maker Station, was still open, with an old service pump and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle positioned out front. I wanted to get a midpoint postcard before I left, and luckily the Post Office was also just next door. A white line stretches across the road with a sign and a Texas-painted windmill across the street from the cafe, marking the point where you stand directly at the 1139-mile mark. Midpoint 66 signs spray-painted on the road. The street, not very busy, allows for you to take a photo in the middle of the street.
I make it to Amarillo and the Cadillac Ranch in the early afternoon. I was able to tag my Route 66 shield (That I had worked on, at the PNW Bus) and my FatmaN name on one of the cars buried in the field. I found the second car, gave me the best surface area on the roof of the old Cadillac. [Years of paint have been built up on the cars, dripping and overhanging. I’m pretty sure the “rock” in front of the car was just purely paint, thousands of layers deep]. Tomorrow, my tagging will probably be painted over by another visitor, but at least on 8/31/2026 for a moment, I put my mark. I left my spray cans behind for others to use if they choose to. There was a couple there who were kind enough to grab a picture of me in front of my “art”.
Since it was early enough, I did make it to Shamrock, Tx near the Oklahoma border. The big Texas sun was setting to the west as I pulled into down, down the main street, turning the sky a beautiful bright orange. I grabbed some dinner at the only place in town open that late, called Rusty’s. Since tomorrow I will be making my way to Oklahoma City and saying goodbye to Texas as I’ve cut across the panhandle for the quickest route out. It does not appear I’ll be getting any Texas BBQ while I’m here. I did have a Lone Star beer, because when in Rome, or something.
Additional Photos from the Stoner Patriot Peace Garden that I stumbled upon along Route 66. I really liked this place, I forgot to write about it in the journal, but it deserved a mention here.
