Much of Route 66 in Texas has been built over by interstate highway 40 (I-40). Hubs and I managed to find a few sections of the original Mother Road, and chose to drive on them as much as possible, just to be able to say we did. It had a wonderful stepping back in time feel to it. My feature photo is of one such segment.
Yesterday was full of fun and interesting stops to check out many well-known attractions along the Texas section of Historic Route 66.
Our first sighting on Good Friday was The Groom CrossA small town with a big spiritThe Leaning Tower of Britten has an interesting history No matter where you look along 66, you’re time travelingMcLean, TX Museum was an amazing findHubs checking farming implements from days gone byAnother iconic Rte 66 stopThe Devils Rope Museum is massive inside Cute mock up of a 40’s DinerThis guy had a long trip Juxtaposition in Shamrock, TXShamrock, TX is the first Texas town along Rte 66 when coming from the EastThe iconic Conoco Tower Station and U Drop In CafeA tribute garden to Bill Mack, who was born in Shamrock Outside the U Drop In CafeLook who I found inside the cafe! Memories One must keep a watchful eye because the roadside history is continuous
Hubs and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of our last day (for now) celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Route 66. The anniversary lasts all year (the actual 100th birthday is in November), so we have plans for exploration of other sections later this year.
Along the way from San Angelo, TX to Amarillo, TX we saw some varied and beautiful scenery and enjoyed a couple of breaks from driving to check out attractions.
The weather has been more than cooperative with sunshine, warmth, and clear blue skies.
Breakfast and road snacks from our hotelNear Sterling City, TXRed Soil at Ackerly, TX. The white specks are debris from the cotton harvest
Our first stop was Lubbock, TX – birthplace of Buddy Holly.
After touring Clear Lake, Iowa on our way south this past fall, which I posted about here , we were interested in visiting Buddy Holly’s hometown.
Lubbock Texas has streets named after their favourite son.
There’s also the Buddy Holly Center which is a museum tribute to his life, and includes an art gallery inside an old attached train station.
Across the street, is The Buddy and Maria Elena Holly Plazawhich includes the West Texas Walk of Fame – with inductees from the area named in plaques along a curved wall. Among the many inductees were Tanya Tucker, Merle Haggard, Roy Orbison, and Dan Blocker.
We also toured the house of JI Allison, the first drummer for Buddy Holly’s band, The Crickets. In his bedroom was a piano and a drum kit and this is where “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue” were written.
I was in Rock n Roll heaven here.
Entrance to the Buddy Holly CenterMe with the famous glassesThis courtyard can be rented outInside the entrance Lots of reading involvedDoorway to the Art GalleryThree large sections for exhibitsOriginal doors to the old train station Hubs was most interested in the history of the train stationJI Allison’s gomeJI’s room in the homeBuddy and Maria Elena Holly PlazaFront of the old train station Dedication Plaque
From Lubbock, we made the 121 mile (194 km) drive to Amarillo, TX where we checked out our first stop on historic Route 66.
2026 is the hundredth anniversary of “The Mother Road”, so over the course of this year we plan to see as much of it as we can.
First stop: Cadillac Ranch
There’s spray paint everywhere Even on the pavement alongside the entrance Spray painted locks on the fenceThis truck pulls the souvenir trailerEvery souvenir you could want is in hereThe famous interactive art installation, created in 1974I took my turn at spray painting Hubs did some tagging tooThe Second Amendment Cowboy with a neon sign (one of many on Rte 66)A diner and gift shop behind the cowboy
For those of you wondering about fuel prices:
This is per US Gallon (3.75 liters) We saw it as low as $2.99 and as high as $3.99
Yesterday was a ten hour day, worth every enjoyable second.
Yesterday was take off day and we logged nine hours on the road with only quick rest stops.
Texas is a big state and because we’re headed up to the panhandle, we’re taking the longest route from south to north.
It’s bluebonnet time in Texas and the state flower was abundant on the roadsides and in fields along the way. My feature photo was on the way by, so more blurred than I like but it gives you the idea.
Here are a few more “on the way by” photos.
I had to do a white balance correction on them, because of the tinted windows in our truck.
Check stop at Encino, TXOne of many overpasses at San Antonio, TXComing to Comfort, TXComfort TXFredericksburg, TXMany great old buildings in Fredericksburg
Mason, TX Courthouse
My Moment 58 mmTele Lens for iPhone does a pretty good job of bringing things closer and at the same time, reducing blur. It’s my favourite attachment for shooting from a moving vehicle.
When I see “Arnie” (our golf cart, named after the famous golfer, Arnold Palmer), all wrapped up and sitting on wooden planks to keep the tires from melting onto the concrete in the extreme summer heat, I know we’re leaving the next day.
As we always try to do, we have a new route home to Canada in the plans, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
It’s going to be a bucket list hit for me, so I’m pretty excited!
Neither hubs nor I have ever been involved in a spring break celebration, so we thought that a Sunday visit to South Padre Island during spring break might be a good way to wrap up our weekend of welcoming spring 2026.
Out of curiosity, the morning that we planned on leaving, I decided to consult professor Google as to what we might expect in terms of crowds. I’m so happy I did that.
Sunday, March 24 this year just happened to be the apex of the Texas Spring Break and this is what we should expect: possibly fifty thousand high school and college students in full and noisy party mode, heavy traffic (including complete jams) for both South Padre Island and the causeway going to and from the island, two hours or more waits for food, and zero parking at the main venues.
We decided to nix the trip and spend our last day of celebrating spring by watching nature programs on TV in the comfort our A/C’d living room, with snacks available immediately, and silence on demand as soon as we decided to mute the TV and have a nap.
The header photo for this post came up in Google Images when I looked for Claytons Spring Break Celebrations 2026. Claytons is one of our favourite stops for food and entertainment.
This photo was all that either of us needed for a “hard no!”
I guess we’ll complete life with never experiencing spring break.
On the second day of our celebration of spring weekend 2026, we attended the 35th annual RGV Big Bloom Home and Garden Show at the McAllen Convention Centre.
Even though this was the 35th year of the show, it was the first time we’d heard of it.
With over 200 vendors, this event featured literally everything from bedknobs to broomsticks and everything in between.
It was a wonderfully apt way to welcome spring.
This section had plants native to the RGVCreative use of BurlEvery cactus and succulent one could imagineFlower pot decorations Glass flowersHand carved military memorabilia Funky clothingMany food vendors, most with tasting samplesLawn furniture galoreBBQ’s and Smokers of every type and sizeApparently the leaves are used in India to make a med that lowers blood sugar This large outdoor courtyard was filled with plants and potsTalavera pottery – my favourite These ceramic plant pots caught my eyeHubs bought two for me 😊
Now that we know about this event, we’ll definitely attend again next year. It was a couple of well spent hours that truly brought home the feeling of spring.
Because the official first day of spring fell on a Friday, hubs and I decided to spend the weekend welcoming the new season by doing new things.
On Friday, we visited the Veterans War Memorialof Texas in McAllen, TX.
Hubs and I have passed this park many times over the years, but have never stopped to take it in.
The 3.5 acre site was opened in 1990 and pays tribute to the 1.4 million Americans who were killed or missing in action in every conflict the nation has been involved in.
There are 160 tall granite panels, each engraved with a plethora of historical information. To read it all, one would have to spend several hours there. Because it was a hot day, we browsed and read a bit from each plaza and I took photos of every block, so we could read them later.
Each plaza is made up of several granite panels arranged in a circle and has its own theme.
At the centre of the site is a 104 ft tall granite monolith. It’s named the American Spire of Honour.
There is a statue of a female officer at each entrance A Sobering experience Memorial to WAC and WAVE membersGeneral Bernardo de GalvezPatrick HenryGeorge WashingtonMartha Washington This shows the amount of engraving on each panel
This was well worth the stop and we’ll definitely visit again on a cooler day.
This is a late post for me. We had a busy day finding ways to celebrate the first day of spring.
We’ve actually decided to do something special each day over spring weekend 2026. More on that Monday.
Yesterday, I found a forgotten loaf of homemade focaccia bread in my freezer.
I defrosted it in the fridge overnight and this morning, set it out on the countertop to soften in the bag. When we got home from our day out of the park, I cubed up a slice for a decadent late afternoon snack. .
The slightly sweet and tangy notes of the aged balsamicvinegar floating in light olive oil made the perfect dip.
Spring weather in deep south Texasbasically happens all winter long.
One hint that spring is sneaking up on us here is the flush of white blossoms on our back yard orange tree.
Soon, we’ll be heading back to our home in Canada, where spring will become glaringly apparent by about mid April to early May.
There will likely still be snow when we arrive home in a couple of weeks. The nice thing about driving home vs flying is that we have time to acclimatize on the way north.
Jumping (via a flight) from the current mid 30° C (mid 90° F) temperatures in South Texas to our near or below freezing temps at home in Saskatchewan, Canada, would be too much of a shock to our systems.
Radically Retired 