|
Route 66 this is
not. Nor is it Colorado’s Million Dollar Highway. Though a very close
second and third, these two are Texas’ own million dollar highways.
Both traverse the state entirely. East-West from Louisiana to New
Mexico and North-South from Arkansas to Old Mexico.
While
in a previous life, I had a pretty close working relationship with
US 90 and US 67 but not now. “Ramblin’ Ray” doesn’t ramble quite as
much as he once did.
Throughout my many years of traveling in this great state of Texas,
no roads I’ve traveled have more meaning and evoke such nostalgia
than US 90 and US 67. I have spent many hours, days and nights, of
my working life on both.
So you can see why, on vacation a few months back, I was pleasantly
surprised to see these two US Highways merge for 34 miles in far
West Texas, mostly
between Alpine
and Marfa. There,
together, they go through Alpine,
skirt around the picturesque Paisano Peak and Twin Peaks,
both 6050 feet high. Then on to Marfa
where 67 leaves 90 and turns south into Presidio,
ending at the Mexican border.
But to my most pleasant amusement, 90/67 also passes another very
interesting landmark. One you won’t want to miss...... To wit:
The
Marfa Lights...
Stop and enjoy a pleasing respite at the provided installation just
a few miles east of Marfa.
This modern observation area has plenty of parking and restrooms;
plus picnic, exercise and “hanging out” space. It’s a very pleasant
desert viewing area with a short walking trail nearby. You will find
it on the south side of the road and a couple miles east of the winery
road. It’s not well-lighted since brighter lights will interfere with
viewing the Heavenly and phenomenal dancing
lights that habitually perform across the distant southern horizon.
They have installed only “walking lights” about the perimeter for
safety.
After witnessing the lights
and reading the history of it; you can’t help but go tell others about
it.
If you are driving along too fast in the dense darkness of Highway
90/67, you may miss it. But don’t be too disappointed if you stop
and those famous lights are bashful and not performing on your visit.
They, like General Douglas MacArthur, will return.
The night desert breeze is usually a bit chilly. So be sure you have
a jacket. Sit, relax and wait around a while. You’ll be glad you did.
My wife and I have, on occasion, taken a picnic “dinner basket” to
enjoy while we wait for the lights.
Mega Long Trains
Here’s’s another interesting observation. While you are there viewing
the Marfa
Lights, long Union Pacific freight trains will sometimes quickly
rumble through. Or you may even see a sleek, silver, fast moving Amtrak
passenger train zip by. The railroad tracks are just across the highway
and parallel to US 90/67 on the north side. As you watch the train
lights come closer from a great distance away, it’ll be blowing loudly
at each road crossing. With the ground shaking beneath your feet,
those bright lights and roaring engines soon pass and disappear into
the night. Trains run frequently on a regular schedule along the Sunset
Limited route from New Orleans to Los Angeles. Connections
can be made to most major US cities – if you have time enough to spare.
All the trains are caboose-less since there’s no longer a need for
them. That’s why so many of them have been donated to railroad towns
to be put on display.
To me, the deep darkness and ever-so silent vastness of the great,
hot (and often mysterious) Chihuahua Desert is an opportunity
that begs a visit. I love the local “flavor” of the region and usually
let serendipity plan the day. All the better to savor the moment and
“take time to smell the flowers.” Life is in the present; the here
and now. There are so many interesting things to discover. To use
another old peace of advice: “If you snooze, you lose.”
Oh! My Previous Life...
US 90 East
During the first half of the 1960's, my job assignment in law enforcement
included rural traffic supervision and plenty of “major” accident
investigations on US 90 East, between Houston
and Beaumont.
The area of East Harris County, from Houston,
is referred to as “the Beaumont Highway.”
During the 1940's, ‘50's and ‘60's, that stretch of road became known
as one of the bloodiest in Texas.. With
honky-tonks, dance halls and beer joints, plus heavy late night traffic,
serious automobile accidents were an every-day occurance with many
fatalities. The stench of death was encountered too often. Alarmingly
too frequent. Arrests for drunken driving, speeding, wrong turns and
other forms of reckless driving were routine. So were the frequent
late night bar fights and occasional killings. Patrolling that dangerous
stretch of highway with death sometimes as close as the next car lane
was not a pleasant job. Really.
US 67
So, when the opportunity arose, I transferred up to North Texas up
on US 67 for the last half of the 1960's and through the ‘70's.
I worked east of Dallas
along 67 toward Texarkana
and surrounding areas. Several of my other stories detail a number
of experiences while working in North Texas. The work wasn’t a lot
different from US 90, except there weren’t as many bloody wrecks.
Auto theft suspects and high speed chases along Interstate 30 were
common. “Drug busts” were becoming more prevalent. I-30 ended just
east of Sulphur
Springs back then, and at very high speeds it presented a maneuvering
obstacle for offenders trying to elude a ticket or arrest.
Weekends had the occasional drunk driver and the volume of 18-wheeler
traffic was much greater along I-30. Students bound for East Texas
State University at Commerce,
Texas, added to the problem. Drownings on Lake Tawakoni, south
of Greenville, between
Emory and Quinlan,
weren’t as common as they were down on the San Jacinto River in east
Harris County between Crosby and Sheldon, nevertheless, these are
always tragedies, despite their being mostly avoidable events.
Now you can see how these two great US highways, separately, have
played a major roll in my career experiences in east
Texas, dating back to the early 1960's. So today, while on vacation,
you can imagine my surprise at seeing them coming together in far
West Texas. The landscape
out there is not what it is in my native east
Texas, yet it’s interesting and lovely in its own way.
Hopefully, I’ll see you on down the road.
© N. Ray Maxie
"Ramblin' Ray" October
1, 2008 Column
piddlinacres@consolidated.net
Related Topics:
Texas Drives | Texas
Towns |
|
|
HOME
