Heading East - Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Tennessee

Greetings!

We left Albuquerque and hopped on Interstate 40 and started heading eastward.  Our first stop was Amarillo, Texas for one night.  As you approach Amarillo from the west, you can visit a roadside art installation - Cadillac Ranch.  It's pretty cool and one of those random places that everyone knows about without any signs.  You just park along the road and walk in.  You can also bring spray paint and paint any of the cars.  

We then headed to our campground - the Big Texan RV Ranch - which is a fun spot that gives off the true Texas hospitality vibe.  It is the same owner as the Big Texan Steak Ranch, a famous roadside attraction along Route 66 that is a steakhouse known for its 72 oz steak challenge.  If you eat all of the 72 oz. steak, along with a salad, roll, and baked potato in an hour, your meal is free.  They have a table right in the middle of the dining room that is near the kitchen that has the 60-minute countdown clocks on the wall.  Sadly, there were no challengers while we ate there, but the waitress told us that 15-20 people typically do the challenge a day and one person every other day completes it!  We had a great meal there and it also has lots of fun elements - a shooting gallery, gift shop (with a live rattlesnake!) and all sorts of spots for selfies.  We had a blast.  The waitress also gave us these fun hats at the end of the meal and we had some fun with that too.  

We sat on the second floor looking down into the main dining room.  The table for the steak challenge is right in front of the kitchen and you can somewhat see the red numbered countdown clocks.

Nice shootin' Tex!

How hilarious are these hats???

There is the rattlesnake - sound asleep - just fine with me.

My new cowboy friend!

After our fun night in Amarillo, it was time to head further east - next stop - Oklahoma City.  We had never been to Oklahoma before and spent 2 nights here.  Our campground was about 10 minutes south of downtown and you know you're in Oklahoma when there is an oil pump jack and some storm shelters on the grounds!

We went to the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum which was incredible - "A Day of Darkness.  Years of Light."  On April 19, 1995 - over 30 years ago - lives would be forever changed and the Oklahoma City community's resilience and heroism was tested.  It was a very moving experience and so well done, truly honoring the 168 Americans who lost their lives that day, the families, the survivors, and all of the first responders and "the helpers.".  It also told the powerful story of how they caught those responsible.  

One of the most moving parts of the museum are the rows of chairs on the "sacred ground."  As there was a daycare on the first floor, several young children were killed and those chairs are smaller than the others - a real gut punch.

This is the "Survivor Tree," an American Elm surrounded by a parking lot filled with burning vehicles on that fateful day.  It survived the impact of the explosion and became a symbol of resilience to the family members of those killed, survivors, rescue workers and people around the country. 

The museum is in this building, which was next door to the Murrah Federal Building.  The grounds - including the chairs, the Survivor Tree, and the Reflecting pool all are on the ground where the building stood.

After a great lunch at Harvey Bakery & Kitchen, we visited the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.  This was a great museum outlining so many aspects of the Cowboy and Western culture.  

From Oklahoma City, we continued our journey west staying in Arkansas for a quick overnight dry camping - then 3 nights in Nashville.  We have been to Nashville many times and it was nice to be back - great weather, a fun lunch and walk in downtown, and of course a night at the Opry!

Del McCoury Band, Legendary Bluegrass Band

It's always a great night when you're at the Opry - such hallowed ground for country music. 

We left Nashville and headed northeast to Cumberland Gap, Tennessee where we would partake in a very fun Airstream rally - more on that in the next post.

We are on the tail end of our journey and will be back in Naples likely on Halloween!  We are so grateful for an amazing trip and for your love and support along the way.  XO, Jen & Paul