Amarillo, Texas - If You Listen, We Will Come

Cadillac Ranch was glorious.  It was everything I hoped it would be and the highlight of the trip thus far.  In a land where erect cars shine in a multicolored splendor toward the heavens and the threat of being caned for spray painting cars is not a concern how could one not be excited.  With each car delicately slathered with three inches of neon colored paint and spent spray paint bottles littering the sparse landscape, I was alive.  The Ant Farm artists, Lord, Marquez, and Michels were genius.  My two day hiatus at the KOA campground in Amarillo, Texas consisted of contracting athletes foot from the camp shower, consuming a perfectly balanced diet of salt and sugar from the selection of food in the camp store and coming dangerously close to adopting a third feline traveling companion with a bum hind leg.  Canned, mild cheddar flavored cheese dip is not as good as I remembered but I still love artificially flavored strawberry fruit snacks.  Upon waking, operating under the assumption that if I broke down at least I would be somewhere picturesque, I decided to visit Cadillac Ranch before heading to the car repair shop.  The first mechanic informed me that my van needed a five hundred dollar repair and the mechanic at the second repair shop confirmed this diagnosis of which I will blatantly ignore.  Happy and deluded, I will continue to drive this extremely loud and slow, twenty three year old, amazing machine into its rusty automotive grave.  Where that may be, I have no idea.  Thank goodness I have AAA.  The level of noise that this van produces is reminiscent of my very first car, a three toned blue Pontiac Grand Am.  I loved that car.  You could hear me coming from miles away.  The van has some large shoes to fill but I am confident that it will prevail in sound and distance traveled.  New mystery mildew smell and all, Santa Fe, here we come!  Yee haw!