Today began our great trip to the western part of the United States. We traveled from Memphis, Tennessee to Amarillo, Texas. It was a long and for the most part a boring trip.
I have to say the state of our interstate system is horrendous. Large tracts of interstate are in disrepair. It was like driving over a washboard. Other parts of the interstate were closed down, causing traffic to slow down to a crawl. It wouldn't be so frustrating, but I've been on better roads in the Philippines. What's up with that? I know states have problems with funding and such, but our infrastructure is seriously in need of some tlc.
Arkansas was pretty nice. Drove through some hills, had some nice forests to look at as we drove by. As soon as we passed into Oklahoma it all changed. The forests gave way to grasslands and sparse trees. It became worse as we passed Oklahoma City. As far as the eye could see was endless grasslands with maybe a house or silo out in the distance. It made the trip very draining.
One cool thing about Texas is that the speed limit is 75 mph. It was pretty sweet getting to "speed" legally.
It was a bit eerie at how far towns can be in Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. You definitely want to make sure you keep your fuel level well above the "E" mark. Though I had plenty of gas I decided to fuel up about 30 miles outside of Amarillo. It's pretty desolate out here.
Amarillo is definitely worth the trip. It's not much more than hotels and restaurants, but this little town has character. I really like it here. The people are extremely friendly and welcoming (like they are all over Texas). My main reason for coming here was the Big Texan steakhouse. It's claim to fame is the 72 oz steak challenge. The challenge consists of a 72 ounce steak, a salad, a baked potato, shrimp cocktail and a roll. If you can eat it all in an hour, it's free. As I sat down at my booth I noticed someone was doing the challenge! I had to find out who this guy was. He was Ron Lee of Amarillo. He was already well into the challenge. Though he gave it a valiant effort, the challenge won. I am glad to have met him. Seeing him up there really made me want to give the challenge a go, although I doubt I can finish half of the beast. Perhaps one day I'll make it back to Amarillo and will give the challenge a go myself. Ron, thanks for making the Big Texan experience more awesome! (Please note that the challenge isn't as easy as it sounds. The steak is huge and no matter how hungry you think you are, it'll give you a run for your money. Even Adam Richman couldn't finish it).
The Big Texan also has a decent brew pub. They had 11 of their beers on tap. You can get a sampler of them (11 4oz beers) and then decide what you like. I particularly liked their Pecan Porter. It was very tasty. The sampler is 11 bucks and well worth it.
My final note on this leg of the trip: There's something about Texas that makes you wish you were Texan. Don't know what it is, but it's a nice feeling. I actually miss being in Texas.
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