Texas in Pixels: The Mystery May Be Solved!

In 1872 artist John Gast painted a popular scene of people moving west that captured the view of Americans at the time. Little did he know that this painting would also shape the way we think to this very day.

The destiny of man is dictated by his passion

His path may not be straight

But if he follows his heart

It will always be true.

When I first started planning my Journey along US Route 83 many people had asked me, What is so special about that Road, Why don't you take US Route 66? These are fair questions and my answers were always the same.

1. US 83 was one of the 1st roads to be commissioned to run from Mexico to Canada. It is still in use for it's original design to this day

2. This road is pretty much intact as it was form it's original design back in 1915. Even in places where it uses the interstate, The US 83 signs are there.

3. US 83 is one of the LAST de-commisioned roads from that era and 66 is pretty much gone- it is Interstate now that either passes close to a town or passes by the town with no exits. Even when you get off of the Interstate, it become Business 40.

4. In many sections, if you are driving Route 66, you really are driving on what USED to be 66 for the most part. Of course there are sections still intact, but 83 is still intact passing THROUGH the towns and countrysides as it did years ago.

These answers I have come from some- not a lot of research I am not a historian, I just wanted to experience the Road, the towns and the people along the way. It seems simple enough and yet........

One of the towns that seems to have captured my heart is Shamrock Texas. US Route 83 intersects with US Route 66 and on the corner of that intersection sits two iconic buildings. The "U Drop In" and the Western Motel. Both have my heart and my imagination and have become a very important part of my Journey.

As time has gone on, I have been able to visit Shamrock and the U Drop In many times. I also stay at the Western Motel every time. That puts me in a very unique position, as I get to see from a distance the traffic flow plus I get to talk to all sorts of people at all hours of the night as they take pictures of the Iconic building. When I say all hours of the night I mean it. There are people 24 hours a day 7 day a week from all over the world visit Shamrock. If the U Drop In is closed most people park at the Western Motel to get the best wide shot of the whole building. As they are taking the pics, I walk up with my camera in hand, (Yes, I set them up) and strike up a conversation asking about where they are form, and where they are going. Over 99% will say they are driving Route 66. Then I hit them.

Why are you Driving US Route 66?

Now here are the most popular answers.

Well my daughter (or son) LOVES the Disney movie "Cars" and Disney used this building. So we decided to make the trip here.

I am only passing through and heading west to see family- or they are on their way back from a visit.

My personal favorite answer is- "It has always been on my bucket list" when I get this answer I ask them "Why is it in your bucket list?" No one can really answer the question with any sense of logic. Most reply "I do not know". I believe them because the tone in their voice has a sound of confusion and they seem to go into a thoughtful conversation about what they have seen, not what they are going to see.

Now this really makes no sense to me at all. We are a country of planners, and really very few people will embark on a trip nowadays without some sense of direction, yet a overwhelming majority of folks traveling US Route 66 have no real reason to pick that road, they all talk about the movies, the songs and all of that. But I have yet to meet anyone who has built a Yellow Submarine and traveled the ocean from that Beatles Song. SO what gives?

While on this trip I decided to take a drive to the west outside of Shamrock along a section of the REAL 66, it is there, it sits along I 40. I stopped at an abandoned RV park that is known to have had a few movie stars stay there from time to time. I sat on an old picnic table, watching the incredible amount of traffic traveling I 40. As I sat there I remembered when I also took I 40 many years ago to move to Arizona in search of a better life. Of course at 20 years old, you have to have at least one life to be able to start a new one. Yet I moved from Durand Michigan to Scottsdale with my girlfriend and her family. I later married that young lady, and both the the marriage and the move were dismal failures! But here I was some 35 years later staring at I 40, smiling about the memories of that adventure and that time in my life. Remembering the excitement of travel, and the dreams of success in the "wild west" in the deserts of Arizona.

It was in the middle of that time is when it hit me. This is not about the road at all. It is about the romance of the road and their travel. It is their " Manifest Destiny"

We are a word of conquerers. Here in our country we Settled from East to West. We left England and headed WEST! when we got here and things got crowded we headed... WEST! The mystery and promise of greatness were to our WEST. The great Oklahoma Land Rush in 1893, the Louisiana Purchase, the Gold rush were all to our west. It has become ingrained in us from our earliest days in school. Our very basic history classes showing the very picture above. It was our destiny to head west and settle in the "New World". Our world, even our own Government ensured that Manifest Destiny was fulfilled.

Route 66 was the paved destiny of travel for folks as our country grew. It allowed easy access to the west and cities along the way sprung up, to support the travelers needs as they went to seek their fame and fortune. US Route 83 is no different, it was built to support the travel North and South. In their heyday , both roads were marvels. They served a purpose of commerce, and ease of travel. Folks were going to California to make a new life and US Route 66 with it's numerous towns made it a natural migration route for all to follow. I do not remember reading anywhere of some one packing their car and heading north to Westhope North Dakota to seek their fame and fortune. The only constant North to South movement in our country is the migration of the birds, our growing season and the "human snowbirds".

This is where it gets interesting to me. As time went on, I 40 was built and the very towns that prospered along that way pretty much started to go downhill unless they had a secondary source of income, like oil, farming and so forth. Towns like Shamrock, had oil, farming and other resources to keep them alive. They romance of travel to a town and to stay the night are pretty much gone. Interstates allow us to cover so much ground in a day that little communities like Shamrock become nothing more than a billboard to pass the boredom of the trip.

US 83 has not really changed overall. It passes through what I like to call "Land locked towns" They have no interstate to pull from US 83 is the road that connects towns and families and friends. It creates a whole new type of dynamic. There is a true common ground with them all. From farming to commerce they are interconnected in way that makes life, family and friends the most important part. Towns are spaced far enough apart for some privacy and they can still get into the car and visit that special someone when they want to. News travels fast along that road, and a cry for help is met with a fury of people and whatever they need to make it right again. It has been that way since the first settlers got there and it still that way today.

Where many towns along the Old Route 66 path dream of the past and try to preserve history the folks along US route 83 live everyday like the dream and preserve family and friends.

I will take US 83 and the incredible history scenery and people anytime.

I wonder what would have happened to me If I had moved to Westhope North Dakota in 1980? What would have happened to the towns along US Route 83 if Dennis Hopper had turned those motorcycles in Easy Rider and went North to Thedford Nebraska, fell in love and started a ranch? One can only imagine.