Day 7 of our Route 66 Road Trip from Shamrock, Texas to Amarillo, Texas was a shorter driving day but included the Leaning Tower of Broom, the Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere, Bug Ranch, and the 72 oz. Steak Challenge at the Big Texan in Amarillo.
Route 66 Road Trip Day 7: Shamrock to Amarillo
Vintage Sign: Rattlesnakes, Burma Shave
We started out the drive towards Amarillo and of course came across more cool roadside shit like the remains of the Rattlesnakes sign from an old roadside snack pit as well as some Burma Shave signs.
Leaning Tower of Groom
Next up, the leaning tower of Groom and some awesome grain elevators.
Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere
The Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere is worth a stop. Yep, it’s pretty tall at 190 feet.
We also came across some BBQs in the shape of guns for sale. This picture pretty much sums up Texas.
Bug Ranch
Bug Ranch is pretty cool. It’s a satire of Cadillac Ranch.
Vintage Signs: Eastridge Bowling, Cattleman’s Club, Cowboy Motel,
We then got into Amarillo and took some photos of the awesome roadside signs.
Big Texan Motel
Next, we checked into the Big Texan. I think the husband was so excited when we pulled up. He had no clue where I booked us to stay along the trip, so every night was a surprise, and this was a very happy surprise. I don’t know how to describe the Big Texan exactly … it’s like Disneyland, Las Vegas, the Madonna Inn, and an eating contest all rolled into one.
Big Texan Restaurant
After unpacking the car we went to dinner at the Big Texan restaurant. The steaks are served on giant Big Texan plates (yes, they are for sale in the gift shop, and yes, we purchased one), there is a trio of cowboys who wander around serenading diners (they sang Roger Miller’s King of the Road for us), but the star of the restaurant is when a diner takes on the 72 oz. steak challenge.
We did NOT partake in the challenge and just got regular steak dinners instead.
Luckily for us, a Contiki tour bus rolled in and a poor guy from New Zealand decided to take on the challenge. You see, you have to finish a 72 oz. steak, one baked potato, one side salad, one shrimp cocktail, and one dinner roll, in one hour or less. If you finish, the meal is free and you get a tee-shirt. If you don’t finish, you owe them $72.
The New Zealand boy failed. He only made it through 66 oz. of steak.
Perhaps he needed this 125-lb mother of four from Nebraska to show him how it’s done! She finished two (TWO!) 72 oz. steak dinners in less than 15 minutes! What?!? If you have 4:58 to spare, you can watch her eat the first one here. (My favorite part is when she dumps the salt on the baked potato.) And read an article about her here.
Stay: The Big Texan, 7701 Interstate E 40, Amarillo, TX 79118, (806) 372-1000
Planning your own Route 66 Road Trip? I used the Route 66: EZ66 Guide for Travelers to plan our trip and I highly, highly, highly (I truly cannot emphasize it enough) recommend the book/maps if you’re planning to drive most of Route 66 turn-by-turn – meaning all of the historic route, no modern-day highways.
Follow along on the rest of our Route 66 Road Trip with my day by day guide:
Day 1: Chicago, IL to Springfield, IL
Day 2: Springfield, IL to St. Louis, MO
Day 3: St Louis, MO to Lebanon, MO
Day 4: Lebanon, MO to Carthage, MO
Day 5: Carthage, MO, to Oklahoma City, OK
Day 6: Oklahoma City, OK, to Shamrock, TX
Day 7: Shamrock, TX to Amarillo, TX
Day 8: Amarillo, TX to Tucumcari, NM
Day 8: I gave Tucumcari it’s own post because I was in neon sign heaven!
Day 9: Tucumcari, NM to Santa Fe, NM
Day 10: Santa Fe, NM to Albuquerque, NM
Day 11: Albuquerque, NM to Gallup, NM
Day 12: Gallup, NM to Holbrook, AZ
Day 13: Holbrook, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ
Day 14: Flagstaff, AZ to Kingman, AZ
Day 15: Kingman, AZ to Rialto, CA
Route 66 Day 8: Amarillo to Tucumcari
Saturday 11th of October 2014
[…] began Day 8 with breakfast at The Big Texan. We figured their dinner was good, might as well give breakfast a try, too!Then we got on the road […]
Route 66 Day 10: Santa Fe to Albuquerque - Legal Miss Sunshine
Tuesday 29th of July 2014
[…] antique stores were okay, I would recommend them, although I liked the antique stores in Amarillo better. We had lunch at Rudy’s BBQ (which is the Mister’s favorite BBQ) and then he was […]