Tennesse to New Mexico, or, Why Is Everything So Flat?

In the past two days, Josh and I have driven from Nashville, TN to Gallup, NM. They have been two very long days, during which I have made a few observations. First, everything is FLAT. From western Tennessee, to Oklahoma, to the Texas panhandle. We can see just about as far as the horizon allows, our view not being obstructed by hills or trees. Just grass. Grass and cows. And more grass. It makes me miss the hills, mountains and trees of Maine. And water. One would think water to be a pretty universally present item, however the west proves otherwise. Rivers are scarce and lakes are as foreign as Democrats in this area. Yesterdays (1/1) trip was rather uneventful. We spent most of our time staring out the window, marveling at the flatness of the area. Today's (1/2) section was much more interesting. We stopped at the 19-story cross just before Amarillo, TX. It was massive. We could see it on the horizon from roughly 20 miles away. However, it is surprisingly only the 2nd largest cross in the Western Hemisphere. I believe the behemoth cross in Rio Di Janeiro is the largest. We then stopped at the Cadillac Ranch, a true American icon. Located along Rt. 66 (which we are traveling on by the way), it is a series of 10 Cadillac cars, buried upside-down in the middle of a corn field. Over the years they have been painted, graffitied and drawn upon, amounting to a coating nearly a half an inch thick of paint, a collaborative piece of roadside Americana. I found a can of bright pink spray-paint and decided to throw the old Springfield College "Spirit-Mind-Body" logo on one of the cars (I figured Ruth would like that, I know how much she loves the SC triangle). From there we then traversed the remainder of Texas, and the majority of New Mexico. Upon entering New Mexico, we were greeted with a rather surprising piece of signage; Speed Limit: 75. Oklahoma and Texas had both been 70mph. But 75mph? Yikes. This meant an actual effective speed of 85-90mph for most motorists. Needless to say, we made good time. The climate also changed dramatically, leaving the flat grasslands in Texas, and giving way to more of a chaparral environment. Thick shrub growth and wind-blown hills shaped the countryside, providing a lovely scene at sundown. That's another thing about the west. The sky. I have never seen a bigger, brighter sky in all my life. Well tomorrow we arrive in California, at long last! Our route will take us through the remainder of New Mexico, all the way across Arizona, and down to sunny Southern California, where we will stop just an hour or so outside of the city.
Thanks for reading.


Here is a video of me painting the SC logo on a Cadillac. Enjoy.