The Vast American Southwest - Time Out #315

Life is full of thrills and excitement.

To a gearhead like me, one of those definite rushes is the feel of American's open roads. With that buzz, also comes gazing off into the distance to see a vast expanse of all Mother Nature offers. This is especially true in our great American Southwest; the area of our country that contains Our Town and many other locations.

Recently, my bride, Lady Deborah, and I succeed in leaving that dreaded novel COVID-19 virus in the back of our thoughts, and thoroughly enjoyed a 1,400-mile road trip, courtesy our trusty pickup. We had originally planned on totally escaping the Oklahoma summer heat with another cruise through Alaska's Inside Passage for a week. However, the cruise vendor changed their policies 10 days before we were scheduled to disembark from Seattle on the roundtrip adventure. With the cruise company's abrupt change came an abrupt cancellation of our desire to take the trip. Thus, our Plan B road trip which, by the way, was to colorful Santa Fe, NM. My bride and I had not re-visited this special place in about 25 years, but had considered returning many times since we were last there in the 1990's.

The next weekly installment, I will relate our recent fun time in and around Santa Fe, but will use this week to discuss the going and returning to Our Town via the roadways our truck guided us.

For the first segment, we chose the interstate highway system, heading south and west; specifically I-35 south into Oklahoma City, then I-40 west, staying overnight in Texas' major panhandle city, Amarillo. Along the way, we made 2 significant stops; first at Sid's Diner in El Reno, enjoying their famous onion burger and fries. El Reno has several onion burger-featured restaurants, but Sid's Diner is probably the most famous. The tiny establishment might (?) seat 30 patrons, so the inside atmosphere is cozy for sure. The delightful smells coming off the busy grill are certainly great, as was the service, and, of course, the food. Sid does not operate the facility any longer, but has turned the reins over to his son. The inside west wall is covered with patriotic photos of military individuals in their uniforms, while the east wall has the many certificates and media articles about the iconic restaurant. We would certainly recommend Sid's anytime you are in the El Reno area.

The next extended stop for us was the OK state historical society-operated "Route 66" museum just off I-40 in Clinton. This is a modern, well-equipped, and must-see for anyone who enjoys the history of the "Mother Road". They have a nice gift shop with many items, and the museum is extensive enough to spend several hours enjoying the exhibits if you so choose. I will mention the local area Oklahoma Highway Patrol troop building is the next structure to the immediate north of the museum. Appropriate location, I imagine?

In addition to driving parallel with much of old Route 66, the other thing memorable about the trip going to Santa Fe, was the sheer number of 18-wheel tractor/trailer rigs traveling I-40, too. I think I am correct is saying about a third of all moving vehicles were those roadway giants.

On the return trip from New Mexico's capital city, we drove through remote northeastern New Mexico into our panhandle (formerly called "No Man's Land). We stayed overnight in the Texas County city of Guymon. Being the U.S. National Park Service fan I have always been, we did spent some time on the return trip stopping at Pecos National Historical Park, followed by Fort Union National Monument, both located in isolated areas of northeast NM. Most of New Mexico and Oklahoma's rural communities we traveled through appear in economic distress, certainly made more severe with the long, on-going pandemic. The shuttered small town former business establishments were really eyes wide-openers for us.

At the conclusion of our adventure when we pulled into our home driveway, I felt once again this entire experience had been much needed. Yes, I thought, everything does happen for a purpose. This road trip was definitely meant to be!