rolling into Albuquerque

we had a good chunk of miles to travel from Amarillo, but crossed another timeline, so managed to arrive at the hotel by 8pm. this was early for us for us! our days have been filled end to end, and we have been settling in late.

we look on yelp a bit, and looked online for someplace to walk around and grab a bite to eat. it was after 8pm, but figured since it was Friday night it shouldn't be a problem. our hotel was close to old town, but when we asked the lady at the front desk, she recommend we head to central street in downtown. sounded good. short drive, we parked near a lot of places, and walked. turns out it was a big clubbing and bar district, and it was a strange scene. some people roaming, but not a ton. mostly clubs / bars. no good looking food to speak of. we decided to get out of there, and head to a brewery somewhere north.

the "chama river brewery" was a bit tricky to get to, but worth the trouble. the food was outstanding, and c were also pretty tasty. Kate had the really rich stout (even I liked it!). , and I had the Jackalope IPA and Hopricot. both very tasty! :)

Cadillac ranch

after lunch, we walked around a few blocks on 6th street, along old route 66. there were some awesome vintage and antique stores. It was a mixed blessing that we don't have room in the car for too much stuff!

just outside of Amarillo, there is one of America's quintessential roadside stops... the Cadillac ranch. a field on the side of the highway with 8 old Cadillacs doing nose dives into the ground. the cars are covered in spray paint, and everyone who visits seems to leave their mark. some folks leaving as we arrived gave us 2 cans of spray paint, and kate and I dove in!

from the highway it doesn't look like much, but up close the cars are pretty cool, and it really was a ton of fun to spray away anywhere we liked! :) there aren't too many places in the world that encourage this kind of behavior. i felt like a rebel. ha.

big Texas!

rolled into Amarillo around lunch time, and the nice man at the visitors center gave us some recommendations for lunch. while we try to avoid the tourist stops as much as possible, there was a new microbrewery operating at the "big Texas"... and I couldn't resist. it was all tourist and then some, so we opted to sit at the bar, and enjoyed some big steak sandwiches for lunch washed down by the "rattlesnake IPA , which was quite tasty.

the bar was right next to the shooting gallery, so before we hit the road again, I had to shoot some stuff. ;)

driving day... OK-TX-NM

in the planning, we knew we were going to have to put in a fairly dedicated day of driving to cross from the south east into the south west. today was the day. we gave ourselves a little bit of a slower morning to catch up on some rest, then just hit the road. we made it into TX around noon, and the landscape was big and flat!

AR to OK

after our visit to the refuge, we were hot and sweaty, and were ready to settle into the air conditioned car to make some miles west.

we meandered down the scenic routes in AR for a while, then committed to interstate 40 west for the haul to Oklahoma City. an audio book of david sedaris' "me talk pretty one day" kept us company, and amused for much of the trip. we made a quick stop on the road for subway sandwiches, and rolled into OKC pretty late, but managed to find a brewpub for one beer before turning in. long day, I was definitely road tired!

turpentine wildlife refuge, AR

just south of eureka springs, Kate had found a really Interesting place to stop called the "turpentine wildlife reserve". their mission is to save "big cats" that are being mistreated or need permanent homes. there were over 100 lions, tigers, panthers, bobcats, leopards, as well as a few bears.

it is a mix of emotion to see these animals in cages and contained outdoor spaces, but very heartwarming to hear all of their stories, and know that the love and care they are getting in this place far surpasses their other options. these are all animals that are not able to live in the wild due to human interaction in their lives, so some space to run, buddies, and 10+lbs of fresh meat a day doesn't seem like such a bad second.

we took a guided tour around the refuge, and the staff was really knowledgeable about the animals, and seemed to have such a connection to all their personalities. really a special place!