Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Cross country trip!

(Above:  Me at Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo, Texas.)

In December 1984, Steve and I drove from Columbus, Ohio to watch our beloved Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl game.  As a poor graduate student and is equally poor but working wife, we had camping equipment in our little Citation and only waved at the then ten pink Cadillacs upended in a field outside Amarillo, Texas.  I wanted to stop.  We didn't have time to visit Cadillac Ranch.  This time, however, I was behind the wheel driving alone to a workshop in Scottsdale.  Of course I stopped.  The cars are now covered with layers upon layers of spray paint.  It is a very popular tourist destination and I had a blast watching the senior members of a nearby high school's student council on a field trip.  They were delighted to legally create graffiti ... which probably was sprayed over within a day.  Their two adult escorts were having a good time too!

On the final night of the workshop, Steve flew into the Phoenix airport on a one-way ticket.  He came to do the driving back home.  On my drive west, I had one day of rain.  On our way back home, we went through snow squalls, high wind, torrential rain, and even experienced nickle-sized hail.  Yet, we had good weather to make a couple of stops.  We went to the drive-thru Route 66 sign in Grants, New Mexico ...

... visited the natural arch at El Malpais National Monument ...
... as well as the sandstone bluff in this same volcanic area ...
... and we stopped at Cadillac Ranch.  Someone left a can of green spray paint.  We added our mark ... which is undoubtedly covered by now.  It was fun!
 

2 comments:

Ann Scott said...

Thanks for sharing your adventures and I'm glad you two made it home safe. I hope the workshop was a success and a good time. I know the work involved even when not driving cross-country to get there!

Christine said...

What super. Photos... You're still kids at heart to enjoy a bIt of spray painting.
Hope your workshop went wellx