Road Trip - West Texas, Day 2

Day 2 started very early...about 4am.  My alarm was set for a little later in the morning but as par for the course, I could not sleep any longer so I got up and started getting ready...moving very slowly.  I walked out of the hotel's front door at 5am and got on the road five minutes later.  My plan was to be in Odessa by 9am, then drive down I-20 to Big Spring and then head back to Canyon.  I was supposed to meet the WTAMU police chief at the southeast gate at the stadium at 4:30pm...game time was 6:00pm.

I traveled down I-27 in the dark...not seeing too many other vehicles...covering the same highway I had traveled the day before and wondering why I had not waited until today to go to the Lubbock dealership.  As it turned out, my original decision was a good one.

I made excellent time in the dark, passing through Lubbock on the interstate sooner than expected and headed for Lamesa where my GPS indicated I would head in a more southwesterly direction towards Odessa.  I reached Lamesa and made the turn...still in the dark.  I was beginning to wonder when the sun was going to peak its head up above the horizon...and believe me, there wasn't anything blocking my view of the horizon.

One of the problems with following my GPS is that it doesn't always take the same route as Google Maps does.  Today was no exception, however, since I wasn't familiar with this part of the State, I decided to follow the GPS.  Shortly after I made that decision I found myself heading due south on a farm-to-market road towards Stanton...which did not show on my Google map.

I knew I recognized the name "Stanton" but I couldn't remember why.  Not too long after, I realized that I had passed through Stanton on I-20 many times over the years when we used to drive between Dallas and Midland.  At the intersection of the Farm-to-Market road and I-20, I turned right and headed west toward Odessa...it was about 8am and the sun had been up for about 10-15 minutes.

I got some interesting pictures of wind generators and pump jacks in the dawn light...yes, I pulled over to take the pictures.  I just wish I had thought to take my good camera.  There were a few more cars on the road...going to and from work...but not too many.

I passed through Midland and arrived at my destination about 8:45...fifteen minutes early.   However, there was only one problem...no dealership!  I thought that I must have put in the wrong address so I got back on the interstate and continued to drive west until I passed the city limits sign for Odessa...next stop Monahans, then El Paso...I was definitely going the wrong direction.

I finally go so frustrated that I did something no self-respecting man rarely does...I called the dealership and asked for directions.  They were on Hwy 80 Business...which wasn't even an option on my GPS.  I should have known that Hwy 80 was replaced in most places by I-20 and perhaps I would have found the place sooner.  As it was I wasted 45 minutes driving in circles trying to find the place.  Once I did find it, I figured out right away why I had so much trouble.  First, it wasn't on a major highway...business 80 may have been a major highway once upon a time but not anymore...and second, they had one of the smallest signs out front that I've seen.

Because I had lost so much time already, my stay at Legacy H-D was very short.  I got my passport signed, visited the little boy's room and headed to the car.  I wondered if finding the Big Spring dealership was going to be equally difficult...perhaps more so...because I could tell by the address that it wasn't going to be found on a major highway.  I plugged the address into the GPS and hit the road.

I made good time on the interstate...just under an hour...and the GPS took me straight to the dealership...as it turns out, the oldest Harley dealership in Texas.  As I suspected, the dealership was not on a main road, rather downtown in a very old part of town.  Their sign was even smaller than Odessa's.  There were no motorcycles outside the building...as is the typical process at most of the other dealerships...and only one car.  I thought they must be closed for business.

I parked outside and walked up to the front doors and found them open.  Inside the metal building, I found a small but nice dealership...not many motorcycles or merchandise but I guess enough for the area.  I did my business but before leaving the area I wanted to find a certain Holiday Inn and Denny's where Sharon and I spent our 1-day honeymoon 40 years ago.  I went back over to the interstate and headed east along the access road, thinking I would find the hotel easily...back then it was one of the few places in town.

Well, over the years the city has changed a little and the hotel isn't a Holiday Inn anymore.  In fact, most of the original hotel has been torn down and replaced by a newer one.  However, the Denny's was still there and still doing business...although it had seen better days.  I guess they must be doing something right to have survived for over 40 years.

The drive back to Canyon was uneventful.  I drove all the way to Plainview...about 50 miles from Canyon...before eating lunch.  I found a descent looking Furr's cafeteria so I decided I'd have a nice meal and skip dinner.  It was about 2pm and the place was packed...I was totally surprised.  The guy in line in front of me asked for roast beef and thinking that sounded pretty good, I asked for the same thing.  OMG!  I got a huge plate of tasty roast beef, mashed potatos, green beans, cole slaw, a roll, and to top it all off, a piece of chocolate pie.  Needless to say, I wasn't hungry for several hours.  I left about 1/3 of the roast beef on the plate...but I finished the pie.

It was a good day, a bit tiring but good.  I saw some interesting places with interesting names...some I had heard before, most I had not.  Tahoka, Pitch Black, O'Donnell Draw, Klondike (isn't that in Alaska?), Big Spring (good memories), Spareberg, New Home, Ropesville and Shallowater.  I didn't see much water...very few creeks and/or rivers...mostly dry creek beds and the occassional livestock pond.  There were thousands of acres, many with only red dirt showing and others with cotton waiting to be gathered up.

I'm not a big fan of West Texas, but the area isn't too bad at certain times of the day...like at night and in the pre-dawn hours.

After a short rest at the hotel, I met the WTAMU officers at the football stadium and had a good evening watching the Buffalos win.  Sunday would be a travel day, flying from Amarillo, through Dallas and back to College Station.

I'll have two days at work...catching up...then it's off to South Texas...Laredo and San Antonio.