Day two - Van Buren to Santa Fe

Leaving the hotel in Van Buren, Arkansas, and filling up with our 3rd tank of gas we head westward. 15 minutes later we're in Oklahoma and already the landscape is changing. The trees are not nearly as tall as those we had seen in the Ozarks and along the previous day's path. It really is amazing how landscapes change so noticeably at some state borders - obviously a borderline born of geography/geology rather than some political or other less physical reason.

Soon the trees begin to cease almost entirely, being replaced with low scrub and ever-expanding horizons and more large farming tracts. Generally the land is slightly rolling but with such extensive horizons the grade changes seem minor almost to the point of appearing nearly flat. And so it goes until we reach Oklahoma City, remaining glued to Interstate 40. By the time we reach the capitol it seems that the old slogan for the state - "Oklahoma is OK" (eh, not bad; could be better; shrug + wadda gonna do?) -  was genuinely applicable. Even after OK City we see little to impress, except the subtle appearance of old Route 66 remnants off to the right. Actually it looks more like a tired service road but after being "de-commissioned" as a major thoroughfare back in the 80s the commercial interests are milking the nostalgia as best they can and there is a lot of signage referencing the roadway and remaining buildings (dilapidated gas stations, garages, hotels. etc.) that can be seen along the way. What's most remarkable about these structures is the small scale, especially given the wide-open landscape. As we travel on into Texas and New Mexico we realize that the scale and general simplicity of these structures are as much a part of the Route 66 experience as the road itself, which, being as close as 40' (to I-40) in some places, and having virtually no vehicles on it, seems like a puppy following us, not really wanting to be noticed. But the commercial exploitation makes it hard to miss.

As we make our way toward the Oklahoma/Texas border the land is getting a bit harsher with very few "trees" - those which are there are obviously quite lonely and displaying no such strength as the great hardwoods of the east. Besides the now-smaller brush amongst even vaster horizons we notice a rusty oil derrick now and then but they aren't the image of industrial might and mass I had imagined - and as I suspect exist elsewhere in the southwest. These specimens are small, move very slowly and seem incidental to ordinary farm life - as if they were forgotten from an earlier time. As a contrast to this relic of the past we gladly noticed several wind-farms off in the distance, with as many as 20-30 individual turbines. It looks like progress to me. . Go Oklahoma - maybe you don't have to settle for "OK".

So far Texas has the most unique welcome center. Billowing, welded steel structures over nicely delineated personal picnic tables frame a beautiful view away from the interstate and off into the rolling, semi-barren landscape. Even the main welcome center prepares such a view with a landscape-focused pedestrian platform. This fresh design for a real welcome experience is surprising coming from a backward-looking state whose politicians continue to question such givens as human rights, social responsibility, separation of church and state, gravity, etc..….anyway…

The basic landscape of Texas's panhandle seems more severe than that of Oklahoma with larger tracts of land and less vegetation. I can't but wonder how difficult and lonesome it must have been for the early settlers. Minimal protection from the elements, little food/water to forage and nowhere to hide from potential hostile native people. A wagon could be seen for miles - the isolation and vulnerability must have been very stressful. Not so for us in our air-conditioned red rocket –  and we had good tunes to keep us company.

An hour or so later, around lunchtime we decided to abandon I-40 for a calmer place to have a picnic, and to experience a closer look at the new rural landscape. We randomly chose a road off to the right and started down a very straight 2-lane road (turns out the road travels straight for 12 miles). We discovered that much of the Texas panhandle (maybe most of Texas) is fenced off as ranches… private property….don't even think about it. The roads branching off this 2-lane had names like "Ranch Road 1321, or, for variety, Ranch Road 3473/Farm To Market Rd 2473". After about 5 instances of "maybe we’ll find something over the next hill" we became concerned about gas and turned around. (I should point out at this time that in the southwest there aren't gas stations at every other overpass - there aren't really that many overpasses so there are no refueling opportunities off in the range country of Texas). We did, however, find a dirt road that wasn't immediately gated as were the others and set up a restful lunch under a stand of renegade trees and enjoyed the quietest meal of the trip so far - only occasional birds chirping and lightly rustling leaves – and no people - aaaahhhh.

Oh. And as for Amarillo, Texas, the only large city we actually drove into in search of an after-meal peach milkshake (which we never found despite all the teasing billboards - curses) I will quote Gertrude Stein by writing "There's no there, there". It was like any other chaotic, franchise-filled city you'll find outside normal historic centers – of which there didn’t seem to be one here. We saw nothing to reveal a sense of the past except several huge stock pens that betrayed the area's only claim-to-fame – a good portion of the US beef supply comes through those stockyards and rail yards.

And although we saw very few cattle outside these pens along our route we did start noticing small herds of antelope along the fenced-in interstate corridor - Avery's first look at unfamiliar animals and a prelude to what we'll see in the upper mid-west. But for now we're approaching New Mexico where the landscape once again changes and even the physical adobe border marker is unique and welcomes us to the "Land of Enchantment". Ave and I joke that that's a tall claim, especially since Oklahoma merely expects you'll find their state "OK". We'll find New Mexico’s slogan is no exaggeration.

When I plan trips like this one I prefer to make steady headway for a day or two at a time so I can relax and take time to explore certain locations along the way. I had decided to breeze past NC, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas by traveling 1700 miles in 27 hours.  I anticipated that New Mexico (where I was born 53 years ago – yes, in 1957 and in Roswell – and please, no celestial alien references) would be worth the marathon and I was correct. This is truly a unique landscape with purple mountains off in the distance and rolling expanses of prairie punctuated with huge mesas that animate the view. Upon seeing these land masses in shadow and light I realize that is the biggest difference between now and what we’d seen before. The basic landscapes of Oklahoma and Texas are similar to the NM horizons but those two previous landscapes had no significant natural shadows. Wow, what a difference.

As the sun starts to go down we make it to the last stretch of road – highway 285. Desolate from I-40 to Roger’s home in the hills above, and looking out onto the lights of Santa Fe – the landscape encourages us to feel as if we had metaphysically covered quite a bit of ground. There is certainly a “there, there”. As we drive along 285 there are very few references of anything man-made – just fences, dirt roads with embedded cattle guards, plus mesas and mountains. By the time we turn off to finish the day at Roger's the sun has rested behind the distant mountains and the orange glow that had silhouetted one particular peak turns to a strong neon blue/purple…..We aren’t in Kansas anymore.

Finally we’re in the home of Roger (woodworker) and his partner, Mary Ann (curator), along with their dogs Jasper and Holly, and a couple other house guests. As we relax on the terrace, drink in hand and overlooking the twinkle of Santa Fe Avery comments that it’s great to finally “be somewhere”.  I agree. This land really is enchanting.