this leg was a little longer than originally planned, 293mi, because i stopped about 40 miles before oklahoma city. and i took advantage of the wireless access this morning to plan my next steps, so i left a little later, 10:20am, than i might otherwise have.

i stopped at this really cool rest stop in the texas panhandle over looking the high plains. i was somewhat underwhelmed by the landscape of arkansas and oklahoma, after the hills and mountains of tennessee (especially before knoxville), but the texas panhandle was surprisingly beautiful. it started out with these sweeping hills covered with grass and small bushes, punctuated by views of mini erosion-canyons, and then finally it flattened out completely, with nothing so much as a clump of trees or grain elevator in the distance. i guess owing to the fact that it’s early may and thus mid-spring here, everything was greener than i remember from living in central texas.

Oh yeah, and I stumbled upon the coolest (rest-stop) grill ever!

finally i made it to amarillo, shortly after 2:00pm, arriving at supposedly the best bbq joint in the city, desperado’s. sadly due to the mushbrain effect brought on by hours of driving while listening to books on tape, i found the hours listed on the side of the building, 11am-2pm, incomprehensible. the place was deserted, and i had to ask a guy sitting outside reading a book why. he told me: it closed at 2pm.

thankfully i’d remembered seeing something online about a place called dyer’s, as well as a billboard on the way into town advertising the restaurant and listing the exit, 68B, just one away. and so to dyer’s bar-b-que i went, ordering the holy trinity of texas bbq (pork ribs, brisket, and sausage) to cover as much ground as possible.

oh lordy were those pork ribs something else. the menu said something about them being award-winning, and i got to say again, i love me some mesquite smoked pork ribs. meat so tender and tasty it falls off the bones.

the sausage was good and the brisket alright, but then i’ve never been much a fan of the latter. i mean those ribs were so good i had to ask for three more. the beans were not sweet or gelatinous, like you get about everywhere except texas, which i prefer, and the texas toast was thick. the bbq sauce, served in a coronita bottle, helped the brisket along but was wholly unnecessary for the ribs or sausage.

i’ve got leftovers, and i intend to eat them!

next leg: amarillo to santa fe