20th Day - 2nd March 2022

Despite the proximity to Route 66, I had a peaceful night. It's strange, sometimes you sleep well even though you live practically on the highway, sometimes you hear every noise even though you're far away. I believe it has to do with the attitude towards the establishment. And that was very positive, my Indian landlord was very nice. As I leave, he is just finishing a room. No wonder it's so cheap. He seems to do everything himself.

I'm on the road early and quickly buy some things at Walmart. It's extremely empty at this time. But huge, even though the place is relatively small. I always wonder who is going to buy all this. I'm already back on Interstate 40 at 9:00 a.m., which takes me to my first destination, Erick. I want to make progress quickly today because at the end of my journey lies one of the most beautiful spots in Texas. Erick is a completely sleepy village with a Western atmosphere. And there's nothing going on at all. Most of the shops are still closed. Only the cannabis cafe is open. I'll just keep going.

The next place is Groom. It has two landmarks. One is a leaning water tower right at the entrance to the village. The second and much more impressive one is a huge steel cross. It stands at the eastern exit. Until a few years ago, it was still the tallest of its kind, then someone in some other place built a few centimeters higher. And now it's only the second tallest. But very impressive.

The whole place is dedicated to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and all the stations he went through on his way to Golgotha are recreated. As I get back in my car, an older man gets out in front of me and asks if I'm a geocacher too. I decline and ask if there's something here. He says that something would be lying at one of the stations. Then he continues on. His wife follows him, shaking her head, mumbling something about "we're doing this all across America". She doesn't seem completely thrilled. Too funny.

The rest of the journey to Palo Duro State Park goes as quickly overland as it does on the interstate. However, after another hour and a few kilometers, I wonder how the landscape is going to change dramatically. It's still completely flat, and you can't see any sign of a canyon. How is that going to change?

3 minutes before reaching my destination, the land opens up on the right and reveals a huge valley. I didn't expect that. Right after the entrance to the park, about 500 meters away, there's an overlook. I park there and can't stop marveling. A huge impressive canyon reveals its beauty. This is one of those places that is very difficult to capture in pictures. This immense nature cannot be easily captured photographically. Nevertheless, you may be able to see that this place is indeed one of the most beautiful ones that this country has to offer.

I stay here for a total of 4 hours. You can drive around in the valley and there are picnic tables and grills at every spot, and campers can park their trailers here and provide them with electricity and water. The number of visitors, however, is very small. It's already quite hot by now, and with the huge rocks, you're glad to have a little bit of shade. When I've been walking for 15 minutes, I suddenly get very thirsty and I'm glad to be able to refill my reserves at the car. If you hike here for longer, you have to bring enough water. The heat is quite intense.

When I leave at 4:00 p.m. to go back to my accommodation, I see dozens of cars coming towards me. Either they're all on the road after work or they didn't feel like going out this morning. I've noticed this before, that they arrive very late. In any case, there are ten cars in line at the cash register. I was the only one when I arrived this morning.

The way to Amarillo takes another 45 minutes and is just as flat as the way to the state park. My hotel is again in the same category as the one from the day before yesterday, relatively cheap and a huge room and everything is very well maintained. However, I have to admit that I also enjoy these road motels with parking in front of the room. even if they are often a bit more old-fashioned and not as well maintained. They are actually all clean.

I treat myself to sushi again, they do it much better here than at home. The price-performance ratio is also okay, so I'm satisfied and happy that I'm only halfway through my road trip. I should say it was halftime today at 2:00 p.m. It's incredible what I've already seen. What a great fascinating country.