Day 8: Amarillo, Texas to Santa Fe, New Mexico. 286 miles

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​I didn't know if it's a Texas country thing or a Kathy thing, but when we met the woman who would clean our Air BnB, she wanted to linger and chat. I'd guess Kathy's in her mid-60s, so was astonished when she told me she has 16 great-grandchildren, with number 17 due any moment. I was gobsmacked: 17 great- grandchildren!  She asked where we were headed. "Redwood City? Sure, I know it."  For years, she drove a truck.  She delivered chickens from Texas to California, and then loaded up fresh California produce to bring to Texas.

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 Outside Amarillo, Cadillac Ranch is an art installation (1974) of partially buried cars.  It seems to be an interactive exhibit, as people keep adding their own art on top of earlier layers, and leaving their tools on the ground.  The smell of spray paint was powerful, even on this cold and windy morning.

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We never saw so many wind turbines as we did driving through Oklahoma and Texas.

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Aside from the gas price, this sign could be decades ago and still current. What we didn't catch: lots of billboards for upcoming knife & gun shows. And a lot about God and Jesus. "God WILL meet you when you die" made us wonder whether that was meant to make a person look forward to it or be terrified.

Works for us! (Though only one of us is a fan of the golden arches.)

Home of the largest pistachio in the country. We tried to imagine it and decided it was probably about 1-1/2 inches and encased in a glass display. Another favorite was one advertising "GUY STUFF for your man cave." The next one: "GIRL STUFF - handcrafts."

Is it just us, or is that photo with the billboard just a wee bit creepy?

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The spur off the interstate headed to Santa Fe. Our first view of mountains since upstate New York.

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Meep in a southwestern frame of mind (this was taken awhile back in Redwood City, but it just has a real southwest feel to us). Also, she was demanding equal time on the blog.

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