Waxahachie, TX

Y'know, the trouble with Texas is that it's so big. And the maps are so small. So when someone at work told me there was a Chitauqua (no, I didn't know what it was, and still don't - see below) going on at Waxahachie (which I have learned you have to pronounce "Wauxahachie", otherwise people laugh), and I looked at the map, it was only a couple of inches away, I figured, hell, why not.

75 miles later, I reach Waxahachie - at least I now know the scale of the map, which is helpful, because it sure as hell isn't shown anywhere. There's obviously something going on, because all the streets are blocked off and it's tough to find somewhere to park. Anyway, it's a farmer's market cum craft fair, with a country band playing in the square. Some notable scenes are the Cadillac, the "cowboy's last ride" (only in America!), a pair of jalapeno wreaths that Val would love if only I was allowed to bring them back, and me eating a corn dog. By the way, a corn dog is a hot dog on a stick, dipped in batter and deep fried. And yes, I asked what it was before I bought it!

I'm sure you know what a pizzeria is. A taqueria is the same idea, but serving tacos. And I discovered what a pecan tree looks like. I didn't know this until I asked two "good ol' boys" sitting on the porch of the house next door.

Anyway, it was fun, but it wasn't the Chitauqua. Now Waxahachie is a pretty small town, so I'd guess that having two events happening on the same day is unusual, if not unique. By the time I found this out, it was a bit late to check out the Chitauqua, especially since it was $25 to get in. So I still don't know what it is.

I headed back towards Dallas, and stopped off to see a movie that's just come out - Under the Tuscan Sun. Good movie - not great, but very good. When I came out, I was about to pull back onto the highway when I spied a Caribbean restaurant. I was the only white face, but it was worth it for the jerk chicken, rice and peas, and Red Stripe. I still have some in the fridge for tomorrow.

The reason I was pulling back onto the highway is because I'd heard on the local TV station a couple of weeks ago reports of spontaneous bluegrass breaking out in Garland, a nearby town, on Saturday nights.  Garland, like most towns in TX, is small in population, but pretty spread out. But I looked for Main Street, and followed it until I hit the town square. Sure enough, there were about half a dozen groups of people jamming bluegrass scattered around the square, with a small audience surrounding each. Each band consisted of at least a fiddle, banjo and guitar, but often there were as many as 6 or 8 playing a variety of instruments. They were mostly older people (older than me, that is), both men and women, with the occasional teenager, usually playing electric bass. They were just having fun, and the participants would occasionally break up, and join other groups. Apart from being a fun thing to watch, the curious thing is that there is nothing at all else going on in Garland. No bars catering for the refreshment of the performers or audience, no restaurants. Oh, there was the coffee bar a couple of blocks away that were trying to entice people by offering 10% discount coupons. Enterprising, but not very successful, I suspect.

Country band

Cadillac

Cowboy's Last Ride

Jalapeno wreaths

Corn dog

Taqueria

Pecans

Garland pickup band

Oklahoma

It's only 75 miles from Dallas to the Oklahoma border, so I headed north, with the intention of going to Oklahoma City - for no better reason than it's the closest major city. I deliberately didn't pick up the couple of hitch-hikers I saw, but only because I wasn't sure where I was going. As I crossed the OK border on Interstate 35, there was the inevitable "visitor center". I told them I was in OK for probably the only day in my life - what should I see? Their response? If I was prepared to drive to Oklahoma City (which I was), I should see the Cowboy Museum and/or the site of the Oklahoma City bombing. I got back on the highway wondering what I was going to do when I hit Oklahoma City (I've never been back to the World Trade Center in NYC, haven't been to the site of JFK's assassination in Dallas, and certainly don't want to see a disaster site in Oklahoma City; and I'm not hugely interested in cowboys, either!).

I pulled off the highway at a "scenic pullout". I suppose it was scenic, but would have been a lot more so if they'd cleared away some of the immediate vegetation so you could see the full panorama. They probably have much more interesting things to do in Oklahoma.

As I drove along the highway, I noticed a number of trucks going by (sidebar: everybody here drives trucks; when I asked someone at work why, they said "in case I want to haul sump't'n"; if I asked what was the last thing they "hauled", they usually just laughed) with a flag flying from the window. There were so many  of these that I tried to read what was on the flags - it was "OU". Now I know from talking to one of the guys at work who's from Tulsa that OU is the University of Oklahoma, and I also know that football season has now started, so I thought maybe there was a game. I tucked in behind a truck flying TWO flags (if there's a game, this guy HAS to be going!) and followed him when he left the highway. Sure enough, he went to the University. It was pretty obvious that "the game was afoot", so I parked and went in search of a ticket. None at the box office, so had to buy from a scalper outside - fortunately, only a reasonable markup, and a very good seat - 6 rows back on the 30yd line.

The local team (the Sooners) were playing Fresno State, from California, and at half-time the score was 38 to zip, so I decided to bale out. It was 200 miles back to the hotel, and I wanted to find Route 66, which I knew was somewhere nearby, and 4:30pm already. Besides, they don't serve beer at college games!

So, after getting lost around Oklahoma City, I found Route 66 almost by accident. The signposts all around here are terrible. Route 66 was a bit of a disappointment (and I think Buzz and Todd would have been disappointed, too). I was hoping to find at least a diner where I could get something to eat, but no such luck. After about 20 miles, I headed south on Route 81, which turned out to be the old Chisholm trail. As I came over the brow of a hill, I saw the road stretched out in front of me. In some ways this sums up Oklahoma - kind of a cross between Pennsylvania and Northern Vermont. Not hilly really, but undulating, and mostly agricultural, but with many buildings that have outlived their usefulness, and simply left to decay and despoil the landscape.

I keep seeing sunflowers growing wild by the roadside - they're everywhere, and they're pretty.

OU game

Scenic overlook

Straight road

Sunflowers

Louisiana

Roadtrip complete! 500 miles in a day, covering Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. I wanted to do Oklahama as well, but time didn’t allow – maybe next week. Some pictures are attached – I’ll explain what they are as we go. The first is the Dallas landscape that inspired me to get the hell out of the “Metroplex”, at least for a short time. I got onto Interstate 20, put Jimmy Buffet in the CD player, switched to cruise control, and settled back. 200 miles later I was in Louisiana, as you can see from the second picture.

Of course, while there, I had to do two things – pick up a fridge magnet to prove I’d been there, and get some fried catfish for lunch (I have to go back for jambalaya). The third picture is a view of “Crescents Landing”, where I had fried catfish with field peas (black-eyed beans, they looked like to me), pickled green tomatoes (delicious), and mashed potatoes with gravy. The fridge magnet I got from Walmart.

On the advice of the restaurant owner, I headed north on Rte 71 towards Texarkana, which straddles the Texas-Arkansas boder (hence the name – I didn’t know!). Along the way I stopped to take a picture (the fourth attached) of a Louisiana cotton field – having led such a sheltered life, I’ve never seen cotton growing before!

I picked up a guy thumbing a ride (I know, I know, not a good idea …). Anyway, Carl (the fifth picture) had been trying to get work in Dallas, but couldn’t – he had to walk 25 miles to the city limits to get a ride to Shreveport, and had spent the night sleeping under a bridge, which is where I picked him up. That took him four days – took me 3 hours of driving! I didn’t pick him up until around 2pm, and the guy had no money, so I stopped at a gas station to fill up, gave him a twenty, and told him to go buy a drink and keep the change – he was planning to try to get a job in Texarkana for a couple of days to make the bus fare to Tulsa, where he has family. He was a nice guy – 2 kids and some family dotted around, no discernible drink or drugs, and nothing but what he carried on his back and the change from a twenty. I don’t know how he got into that state, but there but for the grace of God … I hope he finds a job and makes it to Tulsa, but my guess is he’s sleeping under another bridge tonight.

Texarkana sucks. Arkansas is the poorest state in the union, and it shows. A lot of American cities look the same these days, thanks to McDonalds, Wendy’s, IHOP, Home Depot, CVS etc. The major difference is in their prosperity – some are thriving, some are not. Texarkana is not. I’m sure there are prosperous areas, and of course I was just passing through. But what I saw was the archetypal trailer home with a couple of hounds sleeping on the porch and the rusted hulks of dead cars scattered around. Some hopefuls had transformed their front yard into mini flea markets. I suppose they were hoping to make some money from a few extraneous possessions, but I wonder if anyone ever stops by.

Once again Walmart provided the necessary fridge magnet. If I’d had decent maps, and if the area had decent road signs (which they uniformly don’t), I’d have made the run up through Arkansas to get back to Dallas. But it was getting late, so I chickened out and hit Interstate 30 all the way back to Dallas.

I started out at 10am, and got back at 7:30pm. Tiring, but fun.

Carl

Dallas

Me in Louisiana

Catfish Restuarant in Shreveport

Cotton