We checkout of the Dallas hotel and head down the road again. Our first stop is to see friends Jim and Mary, meeting up at Norma’s Cafe in Frisco. Very cute restaurant with good food and great conversation with our friends. Always too short as we pass through their area of Texas. This time in Frisco, then on down the road.

After leaving Frisco we had previously decided to take a slight detour to Turkey TX on our way to Amarillo TX. The roads we travel are truly the wide-open spaces of the USA. What in the world would an electric car do out here? Stop midway across the state for an overnight recharge! A few small wind farms here, but nothing like what we will see in Amarillo. Mostly flat, some areas of rolling hills. We pass through Henrietta and Wichita Falls, the only two sizable towns, the rest of the towns are 100-300 populations with not much but towering grain elevators and oil-field-supply companies. And the temperature keeps climbing!

This is typical of towns we passed through – this happens to be an old bank building no longer occupied.

The reason for heading to Turkey, Texas — it is the hometown of Bob Wills, the King of Texas Swing. We listened to our Bob Wills albums all the way to Turkey – 4 – 1/2 hours. On the county road to Turkey all you see are cotton fields. Every turn in the road has orange cones on poles as warning, perhaps too late, of the upcoming turn. Finally we arrive, us and one other car who is also on the Bob Wills quest.

They have an old Phillips 66 gas station set-up as a memorial with the Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys bus sitting on the side next to a small museum (not open). Further down Main Street, we find two or three stores are open before we stumble on the memorial to Bob in a small park near the edge of town. Steve and I recall when we first met that he was surprised that I knew who Bob Wills was. Thanks to my Dad who did some training in San Antonio, Texas in the 40’s. He brought Bob Wills into our home growing up. Steve grew up in Western Oklahoma with Playboy’s music in the background, then spent his early career in Tulsa, a place Bob Wills frequented and where his brother, Johnny Lee Wills, owned a western-wear store.

This is the fun of a road trip. Definitely worth a stop!

It is hard to believe that there is a festival here in April every year celebrating Bob Wills and his musical contributions. This day as we drive down Main Street, we see no one and only two cars.

Back on the road out of Turkey, we drive to I-27. A pretty country road drive. Then once on I-27, we try to figure out why there is interstate in the middle of nowhere. It turns out this one is built strictly between two cities – Lubbock and Amarillo. Nothing much in between except a few small towns. One is called Happy – the town without a frown! LOL

Next stop Amarillo, check in to our hotel and immediately head to The Big Texan for steak. The last time we had them pick us up in their free limo ride. This time, Steve limos us there. This is a tradition for us – we’ve stopped to visit The Big Texan every time we’ve driven through Amarillo since our first trip in 2002 on Route 66. And the place never seems to change.

Live musicians serenade us at our table and the steaks are big and juicy. No one is taking on the challenge of eating a 72 oz steak in one hour and have it be free, until we are just about to leave. Then a man from Canada comes up for the challenge.

Yes, he has to eat all of that including the shrimp, potato and bun in one hour to have it be free and have his name on the board out front for posterity!

And all we had to do was eat our steak and a piece of Texas-sized or bigger-than-your-hand Carrot Cake!

Looking forward to more adventures down the road tomorrow on our way to Santa Fe.