Wild, Wild West

Kindly check yore shootin' irons yonder at the door,
Please remove yore spurs before you come out on the floor,
We'll have no gunplay here at this charade,
No, siree, there's gotta be down right respectability,
Where ev'rybody drinks pink lemonade.
 
 I was hopin' to be ropin' somepin' wild in the wild, wild west,
I been settin' till I'm gettin' kinda riled at the wild, wild west
                                                   "The Wild, Wild West" from The Harvey Girls

Day #3: Santa Fe, NM to Oklahoma City, OK
599 miles
(New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma)
5 states total

This first looked like a "drive through and see nothing" sort of day.  We had concluded there is nothing to see between New Mexico and Oklahoma (apologies go out to residents of these places!).  Anyway, we stuck with our decision to stay on scenic by-ways rather than interstates whenever possible, and my able navigator found us some real gems along the road.

We drove through town after town where it was apparent that time and the economy had been devastating.  There were miles of closed shops and deserted homes.  Still, it is not difficult to picture how some of these places looked in the Wild West days (maybe my affection for the Cartwrights and the Barkleys spark my imagination a little).  In the spirit of the Wild West, we visited Billy the Kid's gravesite (which was eerie and fascinating in the cemetery by ourselves -- we escaped just before a busload of teenaged Baptists!), and went by Bosque Redondo - an internment camp for over 9000 Navajo and Apache people in Fort Sumner in the 1860's.  Then we got in the car and, through the magic of the Internet, reminded ourselves what Billy the Kid actually did (not a nice guy). 

The next stop was a ghost town - Yeso, NM.  I was planning on sidling up to the bar in the saloon and ordering a sasparilla.  This was no Calico Ghost Town.  See below:

 The next stop was one of the original Harvey Houses in Clovis, NM.  For those who aren't Judy Garland fans, (aka, according to Alexis, "Twitchy"), you've GOT to watch The Harvey Girls (note to Anne: we are carrying Pleasantville across the country.  We may actually watch it!).  Anyway, love the movie and the idea of the Harvey Houses.

The next point of interest was the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX.  It consists of a bunch of Cadillacs buried hood first in the ground in the middle of a field.  Visitors get to spray paint the cars.  Sounds crazy, but it is impressive and beautiful (note the pink heart on the middle car!).

So our day with nothing to see turned into a mixed bag of fun, history, art and entertainment!  Looking toward another long driving day tomorrow.