Day 25 - Lubbock, Texas

Day 25 (20 July) - When we initially departed DC and headed west we were moving with the sun and gaining hours as we passed through the four different time zones on Continental USA. We departed from inside the Eastern Time Zone and we then passed through the Central Time Zone, Mountain Time Zone and finally the Pacific Time Zone. The trip has been fantastic for not actually being really aware of the day, date or time. Each day has run well into the other and because we see little television and virtually no newspapers we forget when it is (and occasionally where we are). Whilst we were obviously conscious of the time differences we became more aware as we headed back east and lost an hour (or two).

The drive through the remainder of New Mexico involved a short detour to the old Fort Sumner where the outlaw and infamous William Bonney aka 'Billy The Kid' was killed by Pat Garrett. It was an interesting diversion and the museum had some interesting artifacts and copies of letters that Bonney wrote whilst he was detained there. His letters to the Governor were quite articulate and well written. Whilst another town claims his grave, Fort Sumner was where he was actually killed and is home to his tombstone, though it had been stolen from there and only resurfaced in the 1980's. It's hard to imagine that his body would have been buried anywhere else other than the military fort where he was killed so I think Fort Sumner's claim as his authentic gravesite is probably realistic. It was a very interesting visit and now we have to rent the 'Young Guns' movie for the kids so they better understand what they saw (well, the Hollywood version).

The crossing into Texas was almost immediately obvious and a stark contrast to the barren landscapes we'd endured over the previous week. The extensive cotton farms and the rolling hills that were the sweeping ranches were green and lush. I thought this colorful change of scenery and eye-relief was initially an aberration, but no - it kept going and has not stopped.

We were amazed when we traveled through the Sweetwater area and saw wind farms littered the countryside from left to right and to the horizon miles away. Texas has embraced wind power and this area has one of the largest wind farms and it was enormous. There were hundreds of them and they were a sight to behold.

The Texas countryside is big and beautiful. We drove away from the major interstate highway and tacked south-east along state highways toward our overnight stop in Lubbock. Lubbock is quite a sizable cattle town and the home of Buddy Holly. We had hoped to visit the town's museum to him, but forgot about losing an hour when we crossed from New Mexico to Texas and only arrived in the town as it closed. However, there was plenty of time to get to the main reason for our stay in Lubbock - the Stars and Stripes Drive In Theatre. Andrea and I had been to the drive-in previously, but given the almost non-existence of the Australian drive-in theatre meant the kids had never had the opportunity nor did they know this wonderful form of entertainment even existed. We had a delightful night under a beautiful night sky sitting outside on chairs outside the car watching 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice.' It is a great show and we thoroughly enjoyed both the movie and the drive-in experience - even as the occasional freight train tooted its horn and rattled its carriages on the way past the screen.

Next stop - Clifton, Texas for a short stay at a friend's ranch.