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| CADILLAC RANCH |
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| I LEFT MY MARK |
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| MIRACLE STAIRCASE? |
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| NICE CAR - OR IS IT A ROCKETSHIP? |
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| PUEBLO POW-WOW |
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| NICE TOGS |
We continued our journey through Texas by first paying a visit to Cadillac Ranch just west of Amarillo. This shrine to America's open road was produced by San Francisco artists in 1974 and comprises 10 upended Chevrolets spray-painted with graffiti. Anyone is allowed to spray more graffiti on the cars, so I did.
We saw large herds of cattle, the source of the famous beefsteaks we enjoyed the previous night, and the biggest array of windmills for generating power that I have ever seen. This part of Texas is referred to as the panhandle because of the thin strip of Oklahoma State above which makes the latter look like a cooking pan.
We saw large herds of cattle, the source of the famous beefsteaks we enjoyed the previous night, and the biggest array of windmills for generating power that I have ever seen. This part of Texas is referred to as the panhandle because of the thin strip of Oklahoma State above which makes the latter look like a cooking pan.
As we continued our way west towards Santa Fe, the cornfields and the plains populated with nodding donkeys (oil pumps) gave way to hills and rocky outcrops of golden sandstone. The road ran parallel to the Amtrak line for a considerable part of its length and we saw goods trains comprising a string of 3 locomotives pulling over 100 carriages. Just before leaving Texas for New Mexico we stopped at Adrian, regarded as the half-way point in Route 66. The place looked very run down.
We had a picnic lunch by the Blue Hole artesian well near Santa Rosa, New Mexico. It is 81 ft deep and 60 ft wide - big enough to swim in, as many people were. Indeed, it is a popular place to come scuba diving.
Santa Fe is not a city that you can see from a distance as the buildings are low, of adobe construction and painted brown to blend in with the environment. Our arrival here was like landing in another country. The Pueblo Indian residents are distinctive with their short stocky statures and black hair and dark skins. The city had a clean, comfortable, safe feel about it, perhaps helped by having a population of only 69,000. We were left to our own devices for a few hours and I visited the Loretto Chapel to see the 'miracle' spiral staircase which apparently remains in place even though there are no nails holding it up.
There also happened to be a car show in the City so I was able to watch the entrants drive around the central plaza in classic Chevrolets, Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles as well as more modern Audis, Maseratis and Ferraris.
We were staying in Santa Fe for a second night, so our tour leader, Damien, drove us to Taos for the day to see a Pueblo Indian pow-wow being held on reservation land. The Indian costumes were wonderfully elaborate and colourful, and I really enjoyed watching their tribal dances to the accompaniment of warbling and screeching and the loud beating of drums. They made a big thing of honouring their warriors, most of them these days having served with the US military. When I wanted to take photographs of them I was advised that my camera might steal their spirits, but if I gave them $10 it would be OK.
When it began to rain in the afternoon, I began to wonder what sort of dance they were doing!
