Day 4

Last night's stop was in Shamrock, Texas, a forgotten town of 1800 residents in the Panhandle.  Yet it does have a few claims to fame: Rte. 66 runs through it, the town has the only still-standing, tallest riveted water tower in Texas, and it was the model for the movie Cars, especially the body shop (right) that sits on the corner of Rte 66 and Rte. 83. 

We spent the morning crossing the Panhandle and then reached New Mexico.  What a change in scenery!  Hills and plateaus seemed to pop out of the ground on all sides, and broad vistas offered expanses of cacti, mesquite and grasses.  Occasionally fields of cotton and corn appeared, and cattle dotted the fields.  But the landscape offered the most exquisite views.  If I were a professional photographer, I would make time every year to capture the colors, light and elevations.  My simple photographs from our moving car barely tell the story (below).  I'm so glad we made this road trip because no amount of photographs or movies can reveal the vastness of this part of our country, nor the insignificance it lends to one's own being in the midst of the space.  I do believe this is my favorite part of the country..... although I haven't seen Arizona yet.

A surprising sight along the way was a herd of about 50 antelope gathered near the road. I doubt they were domesticated, but it seemed unusual to have so many of them in one small area, the way cattle gather in a field.

Most of the route today was straight and up and down as we kept climbing to higher elevations.  However, passing through the Sandia Mountains was a little more circuitous, yet manageable.  After passing beyond those, we were surprised to see many outcrops of lava.  We kept looking for possible volcanos -- long extinct.  Perhaps we weren't wrong as a roadside sign encouraged exiting ahead to see Bandera Volcano!  I'll have to look that one up on the Web. 

 We've reached Gallup, New Mexico, today, and are grateful for the chance to relax.  Happily there is only one full day of driving left before reaching Nevada.  Hooray!

More later.