Where's the Beef?

We slept in 'till almost 8:00, as a little rain shower made it easier to stay in bed, all covered up. It's about 65 degrees this am still a few sprinkles around, but I'm outside under the awning, and a hummingbird comes in & checks out the 'mingo & whizzes off..cute! I then dump a lot of water off of the awning & have some coffee & cookies-there's a fly in my coffee & he's crunchie. Ok, let's get going, start packing up & tearing down-it's almost 9:00! I do finish off the breakfast dish before we leave & then we finish packing & folding up the camper. Off we go down highway 285 toward Clines Corners..I should have ridden this! It's about 40 miles to I-40 & eastbound for Amarillo-we dropped from around 6900' to 5500' at I-40. Absolutely no trees, but a lot of pencil cactus & scrub bushes. We pass a lot of DQ's but we're not in the mood yet & when we get hungry, there's not one around. We do stop for lunch & have some Squawkers Chicken at a Stuckey's--it's ok -KK gets a burger. On to Amarillo and to the KOA-our Nav system works!- about 4:00 & set up pretty quick & get the a/c going. It's warm, about 91 & sunny & this time we're right by the showers & bath. I suit up & go out for a 17 mile ride, while KK heads for the pool. The ride is fun & I explore a little & up to the old airport (airbase) terminal, where WW II pilots trained on the B-24's..it was "English Field" at that time. I get back, but KK has left the pool as the skeetters are bad. I get my suit and go for a quick swim & don't even see a skitter. Now, what do we do for supper? We find out that the "Big Texan" supplies a free shuttle service to & from their restaurant to the KOA! We've see the sign for the "Free 72 oz steak" for years so let's give it a try..not the 72 ouncer, just the restaurant. A stretch caddy limo comes for us & Don takes us to the front door. Oh, and while we're waiting on the limo, a guy walk by and sees we're OSU fans & says he was with Mike Gundy last week in Steamboat..I said, WHAT?" turns out he grew up with Mike's mom & knows all of the family & of course, Blas too. What a small world we live in..his name? (.....) back to the restaurant..we wait 30 minutes for a table & we're in a huge room, like an old time saloon, with an upper deck all around, noisy, with a 3-piece band playing cowboy tunes. And more "dead" animal heads, horns, etc than you can imagine. Is it a tourist trap or real good food? Well, the food is really good & we don't buy any "stuff" so I guess it all worked out fine. KK got the 9 oz filet, cooked to perfection, with a huge salad plus macaroni with cheese. I got the ribs, with coleslaw & potato salad & a couple of drinks..the "Laughing Margarita", and Amber ale. This is the 50th anniversary for this place, so I guess it really has to be good or people would quit coming here. They're famous for their "free 72oz steak"..if you can eat it & the trimmings in 1 hour. if not, the price is now $72! The record time is 8 minutes & 52 seconds..unbelievable! Anyway, it was a good time & we had 5 people from France next to us & they were having a ball. Then the limo ride back to the KOA about 10:30 & it's starting to rain a little & a storm is brewing..must have followed us from NM. Now it's just after 11:00 & the wind is kicking up with thunder, lightning & heavy rain. Now it's 12:11 am and it's still storming, but the rain has letup a little. On my ride today, I found 40 cents, a socket & an open end wrench & saw a few jack rabbits up on Folsom Road..right by the prison. We also got a glimps of "Cadillac ranch" just west of town. tomorrow, it's pack up and head east for Harrah, America..how much mail will we have?..even better, the POKES start practice on Friday!