Day 8: Cadilac Ranch

The first thing on the agenda when we all woke up was to head to Wal-Mart which were incidentally on our doorsteps as we parked in their car park overnight- Their car parks is essentially an oasis in the desert for any campervan travellers seeking a place for a free overnight stay!

We stumbled out of our campervan slightly dishevelled as we have earlier mutually decided not to use campervans shower as it wasted fresh water which are better used for washing up and toilets. We opted to shower every other day whenever we stayed at a campsite. We headed for the art section which contained spray paints which were what we wanted for a spot of vandalising later on…

It was a long drive to our next destination which was Cadillac Ranch which is a site that has several abandoned Cadillac cars buried vertically into the ground. There are several myths on how this occurred but the popular one was an enterprising farmer wanted to attract visitors to the site and decided burying cars is the way forward. He was right as it attracted tourists who are then allowed to vandalise cars which are covered in graffiti. Phew, we are not intending to get on the wrong side of the law after all…..

On the way to Cadillac Ranch, we stopped at a petrol station to take photos of a route 66 road sign, I had a quick wander around inside and I discovered a free hidden classic cars museum in the back and everyone wanted to check it out so we moved the RV and spent a while happily admiring many classic cars. There was several more classic Elvis and Marilyn Monroe memorabilia. To cap off the retro feel to the petrol station, there were several tall men wandering around with Texans cowboy hats! It is certainly one of the most memorable petrol stations I have ever been to!

It was actually difficult to find a roué 66 road sign to take a photo of because in the reality, there is no route 66 anymore as USA changed their road system and broke up the route in several sections and renamed each of them. However, there are several petrol stations and souvenir shops scattered along the road trying to cash in its former glory.

We almost missed the destination. It was growing bit dark and I was gazing out of the window rather when I saw the ranch, I was unsure as I never saw pictures of it prior to our visit and I don't know what it looked like. The Sat Nav said we got another twenty minutes' drive to go but I told Stuart to turn back and fortunately, I was correct. If we drove on, it would be dark by the time we turned back and worked out where it was so we will be unable to find it!

We all trooped out of the car and dashed to the ranch to capture it before it was too dark. It was enjoyable to be able to indulge my dark side and vandalise cars. They were covered in graffiti and very rusty and decaying badly so it had a vintage feel to it especially that we were in middle of a typical American field.

It got dark so we all went back to the RV and drove right into our next adventure! We had planned to eat at Texas Steakhouse Ranch as it was featured on a TV show called Man vs Food which is about an actor turned presenter travelling across USA to try out restaurant challenges such as eating biggest pizza or hottest chicken wings etc. The restaurant was featured as they have a 72oz steak which is about 2kg. Unfortunately it was closed when we arrived because we forgot that we went through a time zone which meant we jumped a hour ahead!

We had to look for an alternative place to eat, we drove about for a while and eventually we found Burger King but it was closed expect for Drive In section. However our campervan was too big for the off road that leads to the drive in window so we walked over and tried to persuade them to allow us to order but they insisted that we must be in a vehicle even that we explained that our RV was too big! Even a friendly hearing bystander who can sign ASL (American Sign Language) tried to persuade them and failed!

We drove around for bit more and found Dennys. It was at 12am at this point but we all were so hungry and amazed that the restaurant was still opened. The food were delicious ( I had philly ribs in a ciabatta with garlic spread and swiss cheese) which is a bit of a surprise as I thought the chef would be tired and want to go home.

There was an incident where Ashley accidently spilled his drink and a stranger who was eating at the table behind us provided tissues to help Ashley to clean his t-shirt before leaving. We later learnt that he actually paid for our bill in the full when we asked for a bill! His kindness touched all of us and we all felt bad that we never got a chance to thank him. His kindness is even more profound in the contrast at what we went through with offish Burger King staff.

We drove around for a bit more before finding a parking lot reserved for lorry drivers and their lorries. It was creepy to reserve into a parking space amongst all giant lorries and the movie called Roadkill which is about a serial killer who is also a lorry driver flashed in my mind. Lucy had the same thoughts as well!