Trip out to Clayton's Place Part I

(NOTE: Due to classes and a computer virus I apologize for the scarcity of blogs) The holiday season is filled with joy and excitement. This year all my friends and family are miles away and that it meant one thing: a journey to the road less traveled. On the 19th of December, I left the North Texas prairie for the vast open space of the Texas Panhandle. After driving 25 miles west to Decatur, I hopped along US 287 where I passed through communities like Bowie and Wichita Falls. In Childress, I stopped to take a peak at a filling station, which not only served gas, but burgers and cokes as well.

Over an hour later, I reached Clarendon, where I met up with a friend at JD Steakout. The day was moving by and I began to hit the throttle. Two hours after Childress, I circled around the capital of the Panhandle, Amarillo, by taking Interstate 40 to the 335 Loop before logging back onto US 87/287. The curvaceous road led me up through the heart of the panhandle. After picking up groceries in Dumas, I got onto Farm Road 722, where I met various ranches, before a reunion with US 87, which ran through the heart of XIT country, Dalhart.

Minutes later I reached Texline, the last Texas town before hitting the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico.

In a matter of seconds the "Mountain Time Zone" sign came and went just like the hour I just lost. The speed limit slowly went from 70 to 55, then 35 as I reached the first destination, Clayton, NM. After meeting up with US 56 and 412, aka N. Railroad Ave, I went back to the turn of the 20th Century at the Hotel Eklund. It was still afternoon thanks to Greenwich, England. Yet, as I unpacked the truck charged the cellular phone I felt tired and took a nap. An hour later, I came down to get some grub at the Eklund Dining Room, which has an original saloon with the glass mirror behind it. At which point, a plain and dry hamburger with french fries sounded about right. The evening ended with a trip to a bar operated by the Elks Lodge of Clayton. (Note: Do not ask how I got in without being a member.) After listening to "Take it Easy" by the Eagles and "Lonesome, Onry and Mean," by Waylon Jennings, two Hispanic ranchers behind me began to talk about treasure. "Boy, I think there is some treasure out there," said the man with a wrinkled worn face face who wore a blue button down shirt and blue jeans. "Yea, I think it will solve all the problems," his buddy in a grey Stetson and black jacket replied. The owner with a ball cap, blue jeans and belt buckle chipped in, "How would we split the money?" The community, like the nation, is struggling with the depressed economy, but that evening it was about hanging out and shooting the breeze, while trying to find the Seven Cities of Cibola.