Back in Texas

I spent several hours driving in the rain today and made it to the panhandle of Texas. I can't lie and say that I don't feel some apprehension about being back in Texas, since my beaching incident back in March. But I wanted to stop in Amarillo with the intention of visiting the Palo Duro Canyon State Park. It was the weekend, and the park had no more RV sites, but fortunately there was a private site right next door. However the rains came down in a solid wall with tornado warnings and hail. Gulp. I am so not ready for the tornado experience. So there was no hiking or venturing into the canyon this afternoon, and the hard rains continued on until Monday. I will have to come back someday, and visit this canyon in better weather. So, I decided to pay a visit to the RV Museum in the town of Amarillo, and I'm so glad that I did. There were several very well restored vintage RVs, and a lot of them from the 1970's. I got a kick out of the garish floral and plaid patterns of that decade, as it brought back memories of my younger years. They also had the RV that was used in the Robin Williams movie: "RV" using a 1948 bus. And they had the very first Airstream from the 1930's, as well as Winnebago's. Before purchasing the Sylver Gypsy, I seriously considered a Bambi Airstream, as I love the brand and I think it is about as adorable as it gets. It was really a tough decision, however I'm really glad I made the right choice for me. Maybe if I take well enough care of the Sylver Gypsy, she too will be in a museum someday!

I headed down the road to Cadillac Ranch. An outdoor installation of Cadillacs, half buried in the ground in the middle of a farmer's field. Since 1974 the Cadillacs have been spray-painted, and graffitied and are under a constant state of change, always making them current, with dates and images. Participants also spray paint the ground, and I actually found a few rocks that had quite the colorful patina. The rains have continued, and I wore my crocs in the mud, and like quicksand I got sucked in. So it was quite the chuckle as I walked along barefoot. Fortunately, it wasn't terribly cold, and I was able to clean up well enough to resume my travels. I loved the pooling around the Cadillacs, as it made for quite a striking and contrasting composition. I continued my drive for a few more hours, and made it to Cabela's in Albuquerque New Mexico.

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