Road Trip Day 2 or: Two Kinds Of Holes

Friday, 4/15:

Meteor Crater met all my expectations. The scale is simply massive. I couldn’t even fit the entire thing in a picture. It’s one mile across and 550 feet deep. I just sort of stared dumbfounded, imagining what it must have been like when the meteor hit and threw up enough rocks and dirt to make this giant hole in the ground. A cutout of a person had been placed at the center of the crater to judge size, and you couldn’t even see it without binoculars or the zoom lens of a camera. I stayed a little longer than I wanted, but then it was back on the road. I had my first unscheduled Cool Thing™.

I’d planned to stop tonight in Elk City, OK, but I knew that cutting short yesterday’s drive was going to mean that I wouldn’t make it. My new destination is Amarillo, TX. It was to be an 8 hour drive – I’d scheduled longer drives earlier in the trip while I was still fresh. What I didn’t count on at all, however, was that I would cross time zones in today’s drive. TWICE. I was going from the Pacific time zone to the Central time zone, adding two hours to my drive. It’s still just 8 hours of course, but I’d arrive later and thus have to start earlier the next day, so it’s relevant to getting enough rest.

I passed through Albuquerque, NM and soon after saw one of the most stunning sunsets I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately I couldn’t stop and take a picture of it because a rest stop didn’t come up during the sunset and it’s too dangerous to pull over to the shoulder of the interstate when the speed limit is 75…I’d be afraid someone would hit me. I regret not getting that picture, though.

I pulled into Amarillo about 10:30pm local time. I was wiped out and didn’t have time to see anything, so I’m rather relieved that Amarillo seemed unremarkable in every way. I was a bit bummed after I checked into the motel, though. It seems that the Big Texan Steak Ranch was only a couple of miles away and had closed at 10pm. The Big Texan is the home of the 72-ounce steak dinner that’s free if you can manage to finish it in one hour. If you order the steak, they put you on an elevated stage in front of the rest of the dining room and start a big clock on the wall. Countless comedians, nutritionists and even a Simpsons episode have used the Big Texan as inspiration. I’m not sure I would have tried the challenge (especially since the dinner costs $72 if your steakhole is not up to the task), but I’d sure like to have watched!

Miles today: 610
Miles today: 1170