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Pistachios cliffs and....rain

Having been in Alamogordo, NM I knew the first place to take Jim and Larry was to the worlds largest Pistachio. Really that is about it in this town. They grow a lit of these nuts here.

We were stopped by the border patrol coming out of Las Cruces at a check point in a remote road. Good thing I was able to say I was an American citizen otherwise I'd be writing this from a small jail cell somewhere. The agent was pleasant enough, saw by the patches on my vest that I had a daughter in the service. Told new to thank her for what she does and to have a nice day.

If you ever get a chance to ride our drive through Southern New Mexico, do it. Breathtaking good and cliffs. Apache National Forest stretches across the state and into Arizona. This is America. Well this and that Border Patrol guy.

Rolled into Springerville, AZ just as it started to rain. Found our Mom and Pop Motel and crashed.

Monday is off to Sedona and the wild fires and hopefully the grand Canyon if we can get up and going at a decent hour.

Barbie Loves Pistachios

This is how Barbie eats Pistachios.....   Welcome to Alamogorgo, home to the world's largest Pistachio

We are the rain makers!

Thinking that we were out of the rain, Jim Larry and I looked out the window of our $125 a night Best Western motel by a truck stop (have to love holiday rates, they have you by the short hairs) and watched it yet rain. Yup the rains caught up to us. There has been a five year drought in the Panhandle of Texas. We roll into town and they have toad strangling rains.

After having the complimentary breakfast (see comment regarding $125 a night) we ran into a guy from Paris (see $125 a night, bargain to him) who flew to Chicago rented  a Harley and was riding route 66 and got caught in the rain. He was going to spend the day in Amarillo. When we heard that, we knew we had to leave (Spending the day in Amarillo, not spending the day with a french guy).

It rained until Clovis, NM. Every town we drove through until Alamogordo was flooded and all the residents were thankful for that. Most had not seen rain in at least a year.

No trip through the dessert of New Mexico would not be complete without a stop in Roswell, home of the UFOs. Sure enough you didnt have to look far to find them as you can see by the pictures. Eating at a retrofitted Sonic restaurant called Munchies, the owner said they gave 4" of rain in two hours the night before. I said "your welcome" and walked out.

We rolled into Alamogordo around 7 where my daughter and her new husband Colby put us up for the night. Lasagna, salad and Angel Food Cake were on the menu. I am sure Jim did not mind the couch considering the snoring. Beating down rain will take t out of you.

The rainy start

With plans of leaving Topeka at 7am and getting to Amarillo by 5pm, Jim Larry and I met at the Quick Shop (Jim was late of course but I knew 7:30-8:00 was more like the time we would leave. Hard rain in the Flint Hills just past Emporia, Ks beat us like a jockey on the home stretch for miles. If you know anything about the Flint Hills is that there is nowhere to pull over under an overpass, there are none. We followed each others tail lights until the rest stop and waited for the rain to stop.

Oklahoma brought brief sun and Leos BBQ. A highly rated joint that looks like it used to be a gas station back in the days. Menu is simple; ribs, beef, chicken, sausage. Sides; beans, fries, okra, mac salad. Great service and bbq was good considering it was not kansas bbq.

Rain, Oklahoma City to just shy of Amarillo. Everyone at the gas stations thanked us for coming because they have not had any rain this year and our bad luck has "blessed them". Glad we could help.

The Big Texan Steak House is known for the 72oz. Sirloin. Finish it in an hour along with a baked potato, roll, salad and 3 butterfly shrimp and you get it free. If not $72. I signed up to eat it (when in Texas Right?) I was immediately handed a waiver. Pay up front in case you get sick and medical help s needed. If you do get sick you lose, stand up, you lose, have someone else help you eat it or cut it up (this actually came into play later). You have to eat everything but the fat.  You sit on stage, they announce your name and place the steak in front of you. This is when you realize, this may have been a mistake. In front of you is a hunk of meat cooked to your liking sprawled out on a platter bigger than a turkey platter. And then it begins. Strangers snapping photos of you cutting and chewing at a feverish place. Some try to talk to you, give you encouragement, most though just belt out a "Jesus, thats huge". On any given Friday night, I would consider this statement a compliment. Not tonight. Tonight I had my work cut out for me. Mike Tyson once said "Everyone has a plan until I punch them in the face". I had a plan. Eat all the protein first and not fill up on carbs. Watch the drink intake. Well that is a great plan until your jaw gets tired from chewing. So I went for the soft easy swallowing potato, then the shrimp then back to the steak. The shrimp offered a nice flavor alternative......

I didn't fnish the steak but I never stopped eating. Everything was eaten and I had just shy of 3 pounds of steak in me. I neglected to warn my trip mates what happens when I eat steak and potatoes at 10:00pm. They found out later.

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