Three days to cross Texas and get to Memphis. Elvis awaits!
We left Carlsbad and drove through the land of the dead oil wells for most of the morning. Very few wells were pumping. In some places, you could see them to the horizon. The towns we went through looked deserted for the most part. Later in the drive, we started hitting the ones that were operating.
Lubbock
We got to the RV Park to discover they had a hot tub! The scenery on the drive into the area left me underwhelmed, as did the stuff I read about Lubbock. So I passed in favor of sitting in the hot tub that afternoon and left early the following day.
The second day’s drive started in the grasslands. A lot of water, and everything was green as usual. Eventually, I got into some very pretty hills with smaller mesas and buttes off in the distance.
The were a lot of large cattle ranches with cool names. That leads into Wichita Falls through several large wind farms. I love driving through these monsters!
I discovered you can see a map of all installations in the US. On average, a single turbine can power about 1000 homes. Blades are about 100 feet long.
I listened to Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls on the way in. It was the number-one Jazz LP in 1981. I love It’s For You – the perfect nostalgia song.
They were so young, and their music was so fresh. I started listening to them in the late 1970s. Now, Pat is my age, has three kids still in school, and tours all the time. Probably the most successful jazz guitarist ever. Lyle died early several years ago after stepping back from music to become an IT consultant. And here I am 40+ years later – finally there ๐.
Wichita Falls
It turns out the original falls that the city was named after were destroyed in a flood in the early 1800s. It wasn’t until the 1980s that another one was built. They pump river water out to make it work.
I have to say I was a little disappointed when I saw it. Like the fountain in your backyard – only bigger ๐คฃ. It looks like a giant chocolate fountain to me ๐คฉ. Slightly more brown than my toxic waste spill in New Mexico ๐คฎ.
The Chamber of Commerce must be proud – you can see it from the fucking freeway. So Falls Wichita Falls – indeed!
Back on the road. Lots of cattle ranches. Lots of trucks too. I got the impression there are a lot of second homes for the urban folks here. Primarily it was just grazing farmland. They have a lot of pull-outs with picnic tables which make for nice places to stop.
Texarkana
This is one end of a train line established in 1874 originating in St Louis. It has twin cities in Texas and Arkansas. We are just barely on the Texas side.
The state line runs right down the middle of the fucking freeway here. There is a sign somewhere. It’s rated a 4-star tourist attraction on Google!
I’ll pass again and get an early start. It will be good to get out of Texas again. Bad vibes all around for the most part, although I didn’t see too much of the Fuck Biden stuff on this leg of the trip.
So here we go!
I’m going to Graceland
Paul Simon ~ Graceland
For reasons I cannot explain
There’s some part of me wants to see
Graceland
And I may be obliged to defend
Every love, every ending
Or maybe there’s no obligations now
Maybe I’ve a reason to believe
We all will be received
In Graceland
๐๐ถ
