Amarillo: The read Windy City

What we thought was wind yesterday was a mild breeze in comparison to what we had today driving from Oklahoma City to Amarillo. A stiff head wind across the wide open prairie battled us all day along I-40.

A huge, beautiful cross just outside Amarillo

When we left Oklahoma City it was a balmy 56 degrees with a high temperature today of 72 as we approached Amarillo.

At one stop just inside Texas the wind was so strong I literally had to stand against Joan’s passenger door so that it wouldn’t blow off its hinges as she was getting in and out of the car. When I say literally, I mean literally.

My father chimed in with this comment today:  “Ah yes, good ol' Amarillo, the garden spot where I took basic training in the summer of 1943.  (Amarillo is) the only place on the face of the earth were you can stand up to your knees in mud and get dust in your eyes; the only thing to stop the wind is a barbed wire fence.  Give my regards to Amarillo.”

A leaning water tower only the picture doesn't show it

Despite the wind we arrived in Amarillo about 2 p.m.  and headed straight to Strater’s Acres RV storage lot and found our Laredo in good order and all maintenance done as required. The folks at Strater’s are very nice and the cost was extremely reasonable.

To save some time tomorrow when we hook up and head to Abilene, Texas we unloaded the trailer stuff from the Tahoe and put it away in the trailer.

Following that, we headed to our hotel – Baymont Inn and Suites in Amarillo – and put our feet up for a little while. The desk clerk – Zach – was very friendly and gave us a suggestion for a local Mexican restaurant for dinner.

Double rainbow in Amarillo

On the way to the hotel, Joan spotted a double rainbow and did her best to digitally capture it. She really gets upset when I try to take photos and drive at the same time. Someday I’d like to try and take a photo, drink my water and talk on the phone while cruising on the highway. I’m just kidding.

Before that, I took the Tahoe to a local car wash and scrubbed all the Michigan slop off the car.

After that I returned to our room and picked up my bride and we headed to Jorge’s Tacos Garcia’s where we had a really good and filling meal of Fajitas.

Jorge's Tacos Garcia - we highly recommend it.

Back at the hotel room we settled in for an evening of hockey as the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues are on TV here. (Why they aren’t showing the Red Wings versus Buffalo instead of Dallas is beyond me).

Two fun things we noticed today: A large RV unit had a painted graphic on the back that said: “Roughing it smoothly.”

Another one was an Oklahoma traffic sign that pointed out that “Damaged Guard Rail Ahead.” And, yes, there was a damaged guard rail, but why you would take the time to put up the sign and not fix the guard rail left me scratching my head.

Mileage out: 4227

Time out: 9:55 a.m.

Mileage in: 4489

Time in: 1:55 p.m.