Westbound on 66

On the road again, this time heading to Austin, TX. Their catchphrase being 'Keep Austin Weird', gives the visitor something unusual to expect. Not outright the weirdest place I've been-all the same, Austin had it's quirkiness and a different vibe that was a pleasant suprise in Texas-the apparent 'best place on earth' according to many of it's natives. We partied with an amazing group of wholesome vegans who showed us the fun to be had in party games. We went down to 6th street at night-famous for it's nightlife and closed off at night to make way for the heard of pedestrians that take over the road. The weather in Austin nearly killed us, reaching near 30 degrees each day. The van decided to pack in a couple of times too-maybe similarly affected by the sun. When we got it started again, we took no chances and hit the road once again.

From Austin we had a quick stopover in Dallas. Seen as there isn't a huge amount to do in Dallas we headed to the book depository, saw where Kennedy was shot and then took a trip down the road to look at George W. Bush's new digs. Unfortunately the road was closed. Dallas seemed to have much more of a Texan feel, and it's true, they do shout instead of talking. We failed to come across a saloon in the city, but there were an abundance of cowboy boots along the way to keep us happy.

Once we headed up to Amarillo we could easily join back up with route 66. The road is of course not what it used to be and many parts of it are undrivable. At such parts we'd have to come back onto the interstate on stretches. There are still attractions along the way all the same. One of which I've wanted to see for years-the Cadillac Ranch. We found it off the old road on a stretch of desert, 10 Cadillacs protruding from the ground open for artists and travellers alike to inscribe them with spraypaint or by other means.

Other attractions along the way included retro cafes, an uninhabited route 66 museum complete with a cowboy boot tree, motel after motel and the open road of course. We drove through one street towns, Indian reservations, old cowboy towns with no signs of the 21st century and stretches and stretches of nothing. The roads through New Mexico and into Arizona are dead mans land, there is nothing for 100 mile stretches and the bullet holes in the signs are a good indication of the boredom driving through. We drove throught the old Route 66 town of Tucumcari, New Mexico. Home of the Blue Swallow Motel-one complete with 60,000 dollars worth of neon lights, the skyline here is made up of big 50's signs and the old road looking pretty much like what it did back in the day.