Texas

We're in the midst of the great roadtrip of 2010, and today we spent several hours in Texas. Warren was especially excited about the rest stop they built since his last visit. It had restrooms, a museum, vending machines, free coffee, a playground, grills shaped like Texas, and the biggest grasshopper we ever saw. (Seriously, it was the size of a toad. You know what they say about everything in Texas....)

While trying to capture the grasshopper, Warren realized he was being attacked by mating walking sticks.


We joked about stopping at the Big Texan for the "free" 72oz sirloin, but instead we opted to get something fast and cheap at Taco Bueno. (More on that later.) Then we finally had an excuse to stop at the Cadillac Ranch. We'd spied it from the road several times, but today was the first time that the monkeys were old enough to really enjoy it, and more importantly, the first time we weren't actually on a schedule.

From the interstate it just looks like a row of Cadillacs buried in the ground.


As we got closer, there were a couple of clues that there was more to this...



Yes, it seemed that the real attraction was spray painting the Cadillacs. As we got even closer, a family of four (that came prepared) offered us each a half-used can of spray paint. It was basically the most exciting thing that had ever happened to the monkeys. (The sign above is saying it's illegal beyond the fence--behind it on the private property it is encouraged!)



Jiro soon lost interest in spray painting in favor of climbing.


Satchel was nice enough to take a break from painting to snap a picture of me and Warren. (We don't usually pose this way so our hands look a little, uh, funny.)


We probably could have stayed all day, but a storm was a'comin'.


I suggested to Satchel that the Cadillac Ranch would be a fun place for a Rock-n-Romp, but he told me it would be really hard for all of his friends to get there.


Of course, now that we've stopped and seen what the fuss is all about, we'll surely have to stop every time we pass through Amarillo! (Of course, I'll be hard-pressed not to come with a trash bag. Seeing all the cans laying around and the plastic bags flying in the wind made me cringe.)