Tag Archives: Interstate 40

local news

Cadillac Ranch keeps drawing ’em off the highway

cadillac ranch

Maybe you’ve seen these cars as you’ve sped along Interstate 40 through Amarillo.

If you haven’t taken time to stop your vehicle, walk a few hundred yards south of the freeway and spray-paint some graffiti on one or more of the vehicles, perhaps you haven’t quite lived a full-enough life.

Ralph Duke, a local photographer, snapped this recent picture of the Cadillac Ranch, the renowned creation of one of Amarillo’s more, um, colorful characters.

Stanley Marsh 3 and his merry band of artists stuck these cars into the ground about 40 years ago. They’ve become one of Texas’s premier roadside attractions. The Caddies are so ingrained into Amarillo’s identity, they are noted on the official state highway map, the map with the picture of the governor and his wife. You’ll see their location marked with a red dot with the words “Stanley Marsh’s Cadillac Ranch.”

One of my sons lives in Allen with his family. Whenever he comes for a visit, a quick trip to Cadillac Ranch is a must-see for him. He swears that Stanley Marsh communicated with space aliens using underground transmitters wired to the cars.

Marsh got into some legal trouble a few years ago. Some young men accused him of sexual abuse. Marsh died a couple of years ago and some residents actually began clamoring for the Caddies to be removed from their location just west of the Amarillo city limits to protest the allegations that were leveled against Marsh.

Fiddlesticks! They should stay.

Whenever I drive by them, I think of a time I had taken an out-of-town visitor to see the cars. A big tour bus pulled up and out of it poured about three dozen or so tourists. I started chatting one of them up. He was from Australia, as were the rest of his bus mates. They were traveling from coast to coast and stopped in Amarillo to gawk at Cadillac Ranch.

The young Aussie was dumbfounded. “Who in the world does this? Who sticks cars in the ground like this?” I gave him the 30-second elevator speech that it was done by someone with a lot of time on his hands … and a lot of money in his bank account.

Then I said, “Welcome to America.”

He and I both laughed.

The Cadillacs have been painted in rainbow colors to honor the victims of the Orlando, Fla., slaughter. They’ll be “decorated” again with graffiti, if they haven’t been already.

Whatever. They provide a reminder to those just passing through of theĀ brand of weirdness that canĀ make people smile.

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First big RV trip: a rousing success

This is the latest in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on impending retirement.

We can declare our first-ever multi-state, multi-day trip in our recreational vehicle to be a success.

And a rousing one at that.

We shoved off from Amarillo the morning of March 21 and arrived back home just yesterday. Our travel took us to Mesa, Ariz., where we met up with my sister and brother-in-law, who had driven their RV from just north of Vancouver, Wash.

We had a serious blast with them, enjoying the sunshine, a bit of fellowship with fellow RV owners encamped at the park in Mesa and visiting with our aunt and uncle, who live about an hour’s drive south of the Phoenix area.

Except for a couple of mechanical issues we’re going to resolve with the folks who sold us our fifth wheel, our trip began and ended well for us.

But we did learn a valuable lesson while towing our 28-foot RV: Do not venture somewhere until you know for certain whether you can be comfortable getting there — and then coming back out.

We pulled out of the RV park Friday morning to start our trip home, but then we decided to take a gander at an attraction called Tortilla Flats, about 25 miles or so northeast of Mesa along an Arizona state highway. We looked at our map and assumed we could keep on going toĀ a more significant highway once we finished visiting the attraction, which was billed as a replica of a ghost town.

You know what they say about assuming … yes?

Tortilla Flats sits along a very narrow road, with plenty of curves, switchbacks and, I should add, some seemingly harrowing areas. We hauled our fifth wheel through and along all of it en route to Tortilla Flats. For a bit of the trip in there, the road was bordered on side by rocky cliffs and the other side by, well, a serious drop-off into a bright blue lake full of boaters and kayakers.

I had a nightmare scenario of getting the fifth wheel too close to the edge and being pulled into the drink backward by the plummeting RV.

We got thereĀ just fine, but then learned that getting out would present a bit of a challenge. The paved road became an unpaved road once we got past Tortilla Flats. We were advised by a young restaurant waitress that we should just go back the way we came in.

Well, OK. But to get turned around, we had to take the RV up a dirt hill, onto a parking area and get it pointed in the right direction for the return trip back to Apache Junction. It required us to back the thing up.

We sized up our turning area and decided we could get the truck and the RV lined up to back up in a straight line enough to get it turned toward the right direction.

So … we did.

And out we came. Back to Apache Junction, back to the main highway and off toward Payson, Holbrook and then on to Gallup. N.M., for a night’s stay.

We breezed home along Interstate 40 the next day.

All is good. Our fifth wheel has been cleaned of the bugs that splattered it on the way to Mesa.

Once we get the mechanical issues resolved, we’ll be ready to ride.

 

legal news, local news

Drug-bust stories becoming … um, boring

“Police grab drugs in ‘traffic stop.'”

You hear and read these headlines all the time. I almost always chuckle when I see these stories. Why? Because the traffic stop, such as it is, usually is something of a ruse. The police pull motorists overĀ expecting to find contraband hidden away.

http://www.newschannel10.com/story/28575346/dps-finds-15-pounds-of-marijuana-on-i-40

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers have gotten really good at this.

The Interstate 40 corridor across the Texas Panhandle usually is among the most lucrative for DPS traffic troopers of any district within the state police network.

How do these troopers do it? As I understand it, they “profile” motorists as they blaze their way along I-40. If the motorist or a passenger looks suspicious when they pass a DPS trooper, the officer will give chase. Then they just might find something in the trunk of the car, or stuffed under the seats, or duct-taped to the undercarriage a “controlled substance” of some sort.

The War on Drugs, which has produced mixed results — and that’s the best thing I can say about it — has made law enforcement officers quite proficient at intercepting drugs on our major highway corridors.

Have these “traffic stops” done anything to curb the manufacture, sale, distribution and use/abuse of these drugs? Not one bit.

However, I continue to marvel at how good the police have gotten at this endeavor.

To be sure — as any cop on the beat will tell you —Ā none of these “traffic stops” ever can be called “routine.”

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Hoping the Caddies stand forever

Amarillo seems to be known around the country — if not the world — for two things:

That big ol’ 72-ounce steak that one can eat for free at the Big Texan Steak Ranch … and Cadillac Ranch.

And that brings to mind the thought I’m sure is on the minds of a lot of people in the wake of Stanley Marsh 3’s death: What’s going to happen to the Cadillacs?

All the headlines I’ve seen from across Texas and the nation have referred to the death of the “creator of Cadillac Ranch.” Yep, you have to link Marsh with the 10 Caddies stuck nose down in that pasture about three miles west of the Amarillo city limits on the south side of Interstate 40.

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/texas/article/Stanley-Marsh-3-creator-of-Cadillac-Ranch-dies-5559319.php

It’s become a tourist stop for those passing through the Texas Panhandle.

On one visit to the Ranch — where I was taking yet another out-of-town visitor — I ran into a huge tour bus full of tourists from Australia and New Zealand; they were en route from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. They had to stop and see the Caddies. Two young men and I were talking and they couldn’t believe the sight of the cars stuck in the ground, all covered with spray-painted graffiti.

“Who does this kind of thing?” one of them asked. I mentioned Stanley’s name, told them Marsh called it “art,” and then said, “Welcome to America.” We had a big laugh.

So, what will happen to the Caddies? I’m not privy to any knowledge about that, but my sincere hope — perhaps it’s a hunch — is that the Marsh family is going to take great care of it in memory of Stanley.

Stanley Marsh 3 engenders widely varied reactions from people whenever his name comes up. Some of that reaction isn’t entirely favorable.

However, he did create a unique roadside attraction for Amarillo to enjoy — and it gives tourists something by which they can remember Amarillo.

Those memories have made a lot of people for the past 40 years or so smile. What can be so terribly wrong with that?

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Why don't storm drains work?

This one creates a serious head-scratcher for me.

It’s been raining in Amarillo the past couple of days, with more steady rainfall expected through the weekend. The rain hasn’t exactly been in torrents, although it has rained harder in some locations than in others. Don’t get me wrong: I am among the many thousands of Texas Panhandle residents happy to see the moisture finally arrive.

However, what’s the story with the storm drains backing up?

I heard a city engineer say something today about “silt build-up” restricting the flow of rainwater into the storm drains. City officials were cautioning motorists to stay away from underpasses along Interstate 40 because of high water.

Good grief. We haven’t had any substantial rainfall since, oh, perhaps The Flood. At least it seems to have been that long. Where did the build-up of crud come from? Doesn’t the city monitor these drains to ensure that when the rain does arrive, that they’ll move the water efficiently to prevent large volumes of standing water that strands motorists — and puts them in jeopardy?

I saw social media pictures today of vehicles stalled out because of standing water. We have the usual suspect sites with which we have to contend. Fortunately, my wife and I have been able to avoid the trouble areas.

But they’re the same places that create havoc every time.

What in the world is up with that?

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Where's the 'Welcome' sign?

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In the grand scheme of life, this isn’t a big deal to most folks.

But I am wondering: Why doesn’t Amarillo post a “Welcome” sign on either side of the city along Interstate 40?

We just returned from a quick weekend trip to the Metroplex and we noticed something we hadn’t noticed before on all the hundreds of trips we’ve made between here and there — and back again. It is that several of the smaller towns along U.S. 287 have erected scenic gateway entrances. Quanah comes to mind; Wichita Falls does too; same with Childress.

Heck, drive into Canyon from the north and you see a gorgeous gateway featuring a large Old Glory blowing in the breeze.

You drive into Amarillo from the west as you connect from 287 to I-40 and you see a simple sign that reads “Amarillo.” What’s more, it sits on a dirt-and-weed median.

It made me wonder on Sunday as we came back home about why the city doesn’t erect something a bit more, um, welcoming. Why not boast that Amarillo is, “The Gateway to Palo Duro Canyon,” or is the “Capital of the Caprock,” or is the “Hometown of … ” oh, Rick Husband, Syd Charisse, Carolyn “Morticia Addams” Jones, or Ron “TV Tarzan” Ely.

None of it is out there.

Just “Amarillo.”

It reminds me of a similar pet peeve, which is the shabby “landscaping” done at the I-20/I-27 interchange. Thousands of motorists pass through that interchange daily, many of whom are just passing through. Is this the best we can do to show these folks we know how to dress up a major section of interstate highway?

I believe we can do better.

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NM knows how to build highways

Albuquerque, N.M., along with the New Mexico Department of Transportation, ought to market themselves as the highway interchange construction champions of the nation.

They know how to do it.

Albuquerque is home to what the locals call the Big I, which is shorthand for the Interstate 40/25 interchange in the middle of the city. The state rebuilt the Big I over the course of many years. My wife and I drove through it a couple of times when it was under reconstruction. The experience was harrowing to say the least.

It’s done now and the Big I actually is a thing of beauty, if you consider highway projects to be works of art.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:I-40_approaching_the_Big_I.jpg

The link here really doesn’t do the Big I justice. Suffice to say, though, that NMDOT has done a fabulous job of creating a piece of civil engineering that is quite pleasing to the eye.

The landscaping is quite spectacular, featuring native flora — desert cactus and other plants that require little irrigation. One overpass on I-40, just a big west of the Big I, actually has multi-colored indirect lighting that glows at night.

I bring all this up because the major interchange in Amarillo, where we live, is far less appealing aesthetically than the one in Albuquerque. I’ve heard complaints from Amarillo residents over many years who say, in effect, that the I-40/27 interchange — which also was rebuilt some years ago — as in “eyesore” to motorists passing through the city.

One friend, a local lawyer, once griped to me about the terrible impression the Amarillo interchange leaves on motorists who may never come back through the city again.

I happen to agree with him.

Albuquerque has done it the right way.

Other cities should take note and follow the Albuquerque’s lead.