Amarillo Art and Big In Texas

We had arrived at the RV park fairly early on Monday so, after we got set up, we drove to the Cadillac Ranch.

Cadillac Ranch is not a ranch but a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, Texas, USA. It was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were a part of the art group Ant Farm. It consists of what were (when originally installed during 1974) either older running used or junk Cadillac automobiles, representing a number of evolutions of the car line (most notably the birth and death of the defining feature of mid twentieth century Cadillacs: the tailfins) from 1949 to 1963, half-buried nose-first in the ground, at an angle corresponding to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

Chip Lord and Doug Michels were architects; Marquez was an art student at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. According to Chip Lord, “Ant Farm was founded as an alternative architectural practice, kind of an experiment in an attempt to subvert normal corporate ways of doing architecture.”

According to Marquez, “Chip and I were living in the mountains north of San Francisco, and there was a book meant for kids left in a bar near where we lived. It was called ‘The Look of Cars,’ and there was something on the rise and fall of the tail fin. I didn’t have a lot to do, so I just sorta drew it up. I’ve always loved the Cadillacs.”

The group claims to have been given a list of eccentric millionaires in 1972 in San Francisco, identifying Stanley Marsh of Amarillo amongst those who might be able to fund one of their projects and submitted it to him. Marsh's response began "It's going to take me awhile to get used to the idea of the Cadillac Ranch. I'll answer you by April Fool's Day. It's such an irrelevant and silly proposition that I want to give it all my time and attention so I can make a casual judgement of it.

YEP....THIS IS IT.  OLD CADILLACS HALF BURIED IN THE DIRT.  VISITORS CAN PICK UP A RANDOM CAN OF SPRAY PAINT AND ADD TO THE ALREADY PAINT CAKED CADILLACS.

ROB MAKING HIS ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION

Cadillac Ranch is nothing spectacular but if you are going through Amarillo on I40, stop, grab a paint can, and add to the art.

Our Monday ended with beautiful skies.  It was so nice out that we were able to sit in our camp chairs and watch a bit of the NCAA basketball final.  We took in a bit of the first half before the cool temps drove us inside.  We made the girls stay inside while we watched the game.  We had started with Penny outside but she could not control her 'bark at everything that moves" impulse. So....

WATCHING US THROUGH THE SCREEN DOOR.  

Tuesday was a polar opposite of Monday.  We woke up to gray skies and strong winds.

The weather was not predicted to be dangerously stormy but it was going to be nasty.  It was about 38 degrees and raining.  It rained and the wind blew.  We were expecting this and had planned to stay in and work on our income tax returns.  I organize our data and Rob does the taxes.  He is very thorough but loathes the process.  Tax day looms.  We spent the good part of our day working through the numbers.

After a day inside with taxes, we decided to go out for dinner.

There is a place in Amarillo called The Big Texan Steak Ranch.  The Big Texan is the epitome of what people imagine Texas is.  It is a very large, fairly rustic restaurant with dead animal heads hanging all over the place.  The servers are dressed in western wear and cowboy hats and the words ya'll and hon are regularly applied.

HUGE CARROT CAKE

FOLKS EATING AND WATCHING THE CHALLENGE TAKER TURN GREEN

The Big Texan has a traditional challenge that anyone is allowed to accept.  The challenge, is to eat a 72oz steak dinner in less than an hour.  The dinner includes a huge chunk of steak, a baked potato, a side salad, a roll and a shrimp cocktail.  If you eat it in less than an hour, you get it free.  If you do not, it costs you $72.  I cannot imagine what would compel anyone to do this but they do have takers. As a matter of fact, they had a taker last night.  They put this guy up on stage, announced his name and said he was going to have a go.

THE CLOCK IS RUNNING

I will kill the suspense here and now.  He did not finish.  We walked by and he had lots of beef left and he looked absolutely miserable.  Fascinating.  He is going to pay $72 to puke.  

Even more fascinating is the fact that, in 2015, a 124lb woman ate three 72oz steak dinners in less than 20 minutes.  Yes, I said three.

At the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, Molly Schuyler, weighing in at 124 pounds, ate not one, not two but three 72 oz. steaks in 20 minutes flat.

Not only did she scarf down the steaks, but she also ate three baked potatoes, three side salads, three rolls and three shrimp cocktails.

That’s more than 13 pounds of steak, not counting the sides.

The whole thing is a bit gross if you ask me but to each his or her own.

SHE ATE THREE OF THESE AND ALL THE SIDES THAT COME ALONG WITH EACH DINNER AND SHE DID IT IN 20 MINUTES!

Putting the 72oz steak dinner challenge aside, the food was really good.  Our steaks were melt in your mouth tender and very flavorful.  The servers were a bit rushed because it was very busy but the service was good and very friendly.  

Back at the RV, the wind was still howling and it was still raining.  We buttoned up really tight and enjoyed the rest of our evening with the fireplace and a bit of television.

Another great day in this thing we call life.