Days Nine

16 January, '10

After a late start due to some routine maintenance for Ole Yeller, it was time to hit the road. The plan was to get out of Texas as soon as possible, but once again, things kept conspiring to keep me from doing just that. What at first just seems like the vastness of the High Plains slowly starts to suck you in with the starkness of it beauty. The route of I-40 east of Amarillo leads through some interesting small towns including Groom, population 585. This quintessential High Plains town consists of three grain elevators, and a downtown of the local paper, bank, insurance agency and lone grocery store. Outside of town is what is touted as the world's largest cross bringing visitors from off the interstate to visit this local shrine and giving Groom the "economic competitive advantage", as such, over some of it's neighbors. This stretch of route also seems even busier with truck traffic than others. Truckers dash across this length of road as between Amarillo and nearer to Oklahoma City there are mostly smaller truck stops with lesser facilities.

Tomorrow on to Joplin,

Jim & Ole Yeller

Photo of the Day - The Double Cross - Groom, TX