2023 EB Day 10 - Texas Mud

If yesterday was a gold day... then our 10th day was a mud day - but more on that in a moment!

Driving through the spectacular Palo Duro Canyon it was clear why our Longhorn Ranch Tour had been cancelled.

Two inches of overnight rain - added to a year's worth in the past two weeks - was welcome relief after a dry spell of 288 days but changed our plans.

Still, the close up drive through the state park that is perhaps second only to the Grand Canyon, was worth it.

With time on our side we dropped in for a coffee at the Sad Monkey, so named after a local rocky mountain outcrop!

Back in Amarillo, no one seemed keen to try their hand at consuming a 72oz steak for lunch at The Big Texan.

Do it under one hour and it's yours free. Fail, like our father and son team from out of state, and the privilege of being on show will set you back just $72!

We chose to be crooned by Dave with a little 'Johnny Cash' and a more moderate sized steak.

Wind turbines blight the horizon again today as we split time either side of the interstate.

In Conway the satire is hardly subtle. No Cadillacs... just half the number of VWs at Bug Ranch, buried to their noses and missing some increasingly valuable parts.

Nearby in Groom Is the 98 foot cross. We never quite got there... the slippery surface luring two of our steads to a slimy halt.

We successfully extracted both Mustangs, but needed a little help from a local! Big shout out to Taner Blackburn and the boys from T & H Towing LLC.

We still made McLean in time to browse perhaps the weirdest museum in the whole journey... a barb wire display that somehow is much more interesting than you'd think.

The Phillips 66 Gas Station in McLean has seen better days. Restored only a decade or so ago, the pumps are now gone and it's slipping back into ruin.

Shamrock was the final stop of the day and the Conoco Gas Station is one of the best on the entire stretch and was inspiration for 'Cars'.

But it's Hazel who's special.

Our Texan octogenarian is as excited to greet us as we are to see her again after a break of nearly three years.

The Conoco is fantastic by day....

...and brilliant by night.