A Tree Tunnel

One of but a few places left along Hwy 60 east of Miami where the tops of the trees touch each other from opposite sides of the road. It's not as nice as some, but here in the Panhandle where trees can sometimes be scarce -especially along highways- it's a lovely sight.

(The Texas Dept. of Transportation recently announced plans to cut down some of these trees in order to make the highway "safer". There was an uproar from the public and I *think* the project was put on hold, perhaps a compromise was reached. I need to find out.)

When I was a kid, we used to go camping every summer, and at some lake (I can't remember which one, think it was Fort Supply in Oklahoma) there was a long stretch of dirt road that was named "The Tree Tunnel" because the trees enveloped the road, creating a long, dark tunnel of green, with some beautiful rays of light where the sun pierced the canopy of leaves.

This photo was taken last year, and I plan on making another "Foliage Tour" of my own when the leaves start turning colors.

Stuffed Bobcat

Permanently snarling in a window
Downtown Pampa

Meet The Maltese

From left to right: Gary, Steve, Eddie, Jackie & Larry.

This was a band of local guys that played in our garage, before "garage bands" became famous , the back wall of said garage being the backdrop for this "publicity shot". I've cropped the photo, or it would show our house back door and the entire garage window. To the right was a gas scrubber that supplied the gas for our house, straight off the lease.

Looks like I should've mowed first.

I remember sitting there listening to them trying to decide on a name. I also distinctly recall a particularly vulgar one that was pretty funny. I won't mention it here, but you can email me. They thought "The Maltese", after the German cross, would be cool and it DID sound pretty cool. I had another photo of them, but was lost decades ago, sans Larry, in white turtlenecks with big ol' maltese cross necklaces.

The only trouble was, there was another band in Wheeler by the name of "Motese" (not sure on the spelling). They, according to what I remember, were a group of Hispanic guys, as was Steve, and pretty darn good, playing original tunes with something like a Santana sound, plus the usual covers of Top 40 Hits.

I'm not for sure exactly what year this was taken, but I'm thinkin' it was during the summer of '68 or maybe '69.

I'm not sure where they all are these days, except for Jackie, the drummer, who died under some suspicious circumstances many years ago. Steve, vocals, shown with the tambourine, went on to join the Navy, getting out in time to go to college with me and some of my classmates. (I majored in Pot, minored in Pinball) Eddie and Gary were classmates of my oldest sister and in fact, my nephew, her first son, was named after Gary. Larry was a year younger than those two, I believe, and was the "Pete Best" of the group, not staying very long as I recall.

Jackie was not a bad drummer and had some good equipment until I destroyed his cymbals when he made the mistake of leaving his equipment out there for far too long. The other guys would get angry with Jackie for various and sundry reasons, and they wanted to fire him and let me drum.

I hadn't a clue what they thought I could drum on, but I betcha my pop coulda fabricated me up a drum set outta various sized bbls. and drums, dope buckets, pieces of casing, whatever. He probably could've electrified it somehow.

The fact that they wanted ME to drum for them shows how desperate they were. That's how I destroyed the cymbals, trying to develop some sort of rhythm. I never could do "Wipeout" for very long, but I got pretty good at the high hat and the bass drum, doing the stripper bump 'n grind. That was about it.

Jackie loved my second oldest sister and gave her several odd presents, one being a very nice punchbowl. I recall a time when he and I were out hunting, and he was being wild with his rifle, shooting the long .22 ammo (whereas my dad always made me use shorts, we DID have a few neighbors even though they were quite aways away) at rocks and field larks and clouds. We were flagged down by a Phillips pumper who was bleeding profusely from the upper lip. "I wuz jest standin' there by the side of my truck when 'ZING' sumpthin' bit me on the mouth!"

Gary and Eddie were pretty fair on their guitars, Eddie playing lead and he wasn't a bad picker. His tastes seemed to run more towards country music, though, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash. Gary was rhythm guitar, and was very patient with me, showing the chords for my favorite songs. He even loaned me a Beatles songbook that I never returned. I did pick up quite a few chords on the guitar and can still crank out "House of the Rising Sun" but it would probably make my fingertips bleed.

I remember them giving a dance/concert/cacophany in what is now a garage on Main Street in Miami. One of their best covers was "Gloria", but they could also do pretty good on "Paint it Black" and "Wild Thing".

I also remember sitting out there on those soft Panhandle nights listening to the guys jam. As I said, they weren't "too" bad and I enjoyed the entertainment, it being mighty scarce back then. I also was the one who heard my dad hollerin' from the back door, tellin' 'em to turn down the volume. Usually, it wasn't enough and after the second warning, the guys split.

Old Tree in Sepia

South of Miami, Texas.

Cast Away Crossroads

Last Friday I took another trip to the Arrington Ranch House, the rural location featured at the first and last of the 2000 movie Cast Away. (blog post about my first visit) I hadn't visited the intersection and wanted to take photos of the roads described by Bettina Peterson (played by the lovely C&W performer, Lari White), the artist character who gives directions to the Tom Hanks character, Chuck Noland, at the ending of the flick.

A friend of mine went along for the ride; he works for the Texas Dept. of Transportation and, just before the scenes were filmed, was tasked with removing most of the easily visible highway signs around the intersection.

I asked him why he had to remove them and he said he was told it was to keep the location "secret". Since the roads were mentioned by number in the movie, that didn't make sense to me. Personally, I think they were removed for "artistic reasons", to make it look a bit more barren.

This is a new "goalpost-type" sign that replaced one of those that were taken down.

(click for larger view)

This is the intersection, facing NE.

The last dialogue in the film was between Hanks and White; he has just dropped off the pkg. to the woman's house and is now at the intersection, standing by his vehicle, puzzling over a map, wondering which way he should go. (and the obvious symbolism is that he is also puzzling over which direction he should take his life)

Bettina Peterson: You look lost.
Chuck Noland: I do?
Bettina Peterson: Where're you headed?
Chuck Noland: Well, I was just about to figure that out.

The woman then points to each direction, telling Noland where each will take him.

Bettina Peterson: Well, that's 83 South.

(NOTE: That's not THAT hwy. number, it's 1268, but it connects with Hwy 83, which is one of the longest north/south highways in the U.S. It's also facing east in the above photo.)

And this road here will hook you up with I-40 East

(NOTE: That's facing south, but WILL connect you with I-40. I'll have to check my road map, but I believe one would reach the small town of Mobeetie first via Ranch Road 48 and then wind their way over to the interstate. Yep, you can "hook up" with I-40 that way, it's a twisty path though. Might as well just go ahead and get on 83 which will intersect I-40 at Shamrock, Texas.)

If you turn right, that'll take you to Amarillo, Flagstaff, California.

(That's Ranch Road 1268, facing west. It intersects with Ranch Road 748. Turn left/south to Laketon, then turn right/west on Hwy 152 which will then lead to Hwy 60, Pampa, White Deer, Panhandle then Amarillo and points west. One could also turn right, go to Miami and get on Hwy 60 there. Also, there are a multitude of small farm and ranch roads leading off of Hwy 60 between Laketon and Amarillo that would let a traveler go South and hook up with the interstate. )

And if you head back that direction, you'll find a whole lot of nothing all the way to Canada.

Chuck Noland: I got it.
Bettina Peterson: All right, then. Good luck, cowboy.
Chuck Noland: Thank You.

I'm not so sure a "whole lot of nothing" would be a nice thing to say to folks in the top part of the Texas Panhandle, the Oklahoma Panhandle, Kansas, etc. It's a lovely drive between Canadian and Miami as well as on up to the state line.

Be that as it may: That is a caliche road, not in the best of shape with some blind corners and hills. If it is wet from a recent rain, it will be slicker than earthworms in a barrel of snot. (I wonder if the mud puddle the FedEx truck drives through at the first of the movie was real or manufactured, i.e., filled up by the film crew from a water truck? As you can see in the above photo, the low spot is still there)

As we made our way on down to the Arrington Ranch house, nice, smooth stretches lulled me into picking up too much speed, then suddenly hitting suspension rattling holes and ruts. "Spur 'im, Hogan! " my pal said after I steered right into a deep hole and nearly lost control. "Hell, I'm barefoot!".

We stopped to take a few pictures, but I had already taken quite a few the last time I was out there and other than a clearer sky, nothing had changed since my previous visit. As was the last time I took photos, there was no one there, and I wondered if they had ever had problems with "fans" prowling around the property.

There's not much to photograph out there; besides the house, there's the sign over the gate. It was altered for the movie, but the angel wings were left when the sign was restored.

EDIT: 11/11/18

I removed a YouTube user created video of him at the crossroads; that is the reason for the comment from my sister at the start of the comments below this post.  Sorry for any confusion.

Here's the end scene from the movie.  As I have pointed out in the comment section, the surrounding area looks much different now.

09/03/08

I added a bit more information about the various highways, put in some links, posted the Google Earth screenshot. Hope this helps anyone searching for this location.

In case the link was missed at the first of this post, there's another blog post about my visit to the ranch house.

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9/19/08

Sheesh, noticed another hit, then figured out I had put the wrong directions in when I described how to go to Laketon. Mea Culpa, I'm an idiot, what can I say. It's correct now...I think.

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9/23/08

Edit once again, probably for the sole sake of being anal retentive.

In case you didn't know, click any photo for larger view

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1/12/09

Interesting article about the history of the house, plus some photos of it and the intersection

In PDF format

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09/16/09

Added a new post about the locations

Cast Away Locations in Google Maps

Ol' Smokey

This is Smokey, a horse who belongs to a pal's dad. Both Smokey and his owner are retired, and ol' Smokey is allowed to run free on the half-section where my friend's father has a small cow-calf operation south of Miami, Texas.

My friend was off work yesterday and called me, wanting me to come down. After I rolled into town, I couldn't find my buddy at home, so I went to his folk's house. His mom was there and told me they were moving some cattle from one pasture to another. She wasn't for sure which place they'd be at (they lease another half-section a few miles away) but she said they'd wind up at the place they own before they went home and I couldn't miss 'em.

I told her I would just visit with Smokey until they got there and had brought some sugar cubes and an apple for him. I really like this horse; he's more personable than most horses I've been around, and enjoys the treats I bring him and likes me to rub his ol' gnarly head.

My friend's mom said they were bringing Smokey into town; they were going to have him shot! I was taken aback, and said "Have him shot???"

She laughed, and said "No, have him SHOD!"

I am such a doofus.

The gate to their place was locked, so I knew they were at the other pasture. I drove over there, but didn't see them, so decided I'd go back and wait at the other place. This time, the gate was open so I drove down to the pens. They weren't there, but I knew they'd be back soon because Smokey was tied up to the fence.



He was glad to see me, happy to get the treats, but I could tell he was a bit miffed at being tied up. He kept looking down the road; I expect he was looking for his owner and hoping he'd soon be let loose.



He kept stamping his feet; not merely to get the flies off, but to show his displeasure at being tied up so short!

I took several videos of him; this one is the "best".

Discarded Doll in the Dumpster

I was taking out my trash yesterday evening when I noticed a splash of color on the dumpster down the alley.



It was a clown doll, in fairly good shape, looking incongruous amongst the nasty dumpster, the tall weeds and the abandoned and run-down houses at the end of the block.



The sight made me sad for some reason, and my first inclination was to rescue the doll, at least throw it in with the rest of the discarded items, save it from such an embarrassing postion.

As I knelt down to take the photos, the doll's smile gave me pause. I tilted my head to look into its face.

It was as if the doll was saying to me: "I've done my job, I've been a faithful companion, made a child laugh. It was time to put away childish things. Don't feel sorry for me."

Oh wow, man!

The local United grocery store is selling a new product, all natural Brownie Bites.



I'd say they were natural all right.



The description says "with the natural nutty boost of hemp".

I don't know about the "boost" because I'm afraid to try them. I'd hate to fail a drug test because Alice B. Toklas started a new line of desserts.

Aw what the heck, I'll give 'em a go. Just a second...

Hmmm...not for sure if I'd describe them as "nutty". They're more "woody" tasting.

Like a tree, not Harrelson.

I'll make 'em a deal...

If they won't give me gas tips, I won't give them spelling tips.

At the Valero station, Pampa Texas.

Shotgun House

I was going through the photos in the Picassa slideshow and had forgotten I had put this photo into the mix.

It's not a particularly good photo and wouldn't mean anything to anyone else but my family and I because it was where my grandparents lived when I was a boy.

It's called a "shotgun house" because it's long and narrow and if you stuck a shotgun in the front door and pulled the trigger, you would hit every room in the house.

I have some fond memories of the house and staying there with my grandparents. There was a "play house" at the back of the garage and my sisters, cousins and I liked to decorate the inside with pages cut out from a magazine and stuck to the walls with flour glue.

I recall some guys in an old pickup driving down the alley and stopping, trying to coax my big sis over to their vehicle. She was wary and someone ran into the house to tell my dad and he ran out there but the guys had already left. I don't know what their intentions were, but I darn sure know what my dad's were. They were lucky he didn't catch them.

I also remember playing baseball with my cousin and some neighborhood boys. My cousin hit the ball and it broke a window; the next thing I know, I was standing there alone with the bat my cuz had quickly thrust into my hand before he ran away with the other kids. Grandpa believed me when I told him I hadn't done it, and gave me some grudging admiration for not snitching on who had done the dirty deed. I believe he knew who had done it even before he came out of the house.

I remember climbing on top of the garage and jumping off, just like a paratrooper, yelling "Geronimo!". Grandma saw me and told me to not jump off, and from now on to stay off the roof. Being the good boy I always was -grin- , I tried climbing down but slipped and fell on my back and hit my head on the sidewalk. Reaching back to feel the growing knot on my head, my hand came away with blood on it. I freaked out a little bit, but with only a sniffle or two, I went inside to let Grandma survey the damage to my head. It was just a little cut, but when Grandpa looked at the minor damage to my scalp and said "My gosh, I can see all the way down to your toes!", I lost it.

Before my grandparents passed away I was visiting them and we remembered that and Grandma STILL chastised Grandpa for scaring me like that. Grandma always called me her "little Mikey man". She's just about the only person I ever allowed to call me that.

The things I remember the most about that house were Grandma's chicken and dumplings and how the entire family would gather there for Christmas. I don't see how we all fit into the small shack. I also remember Grandma getting a kick out of me coming into the house and asking her sister if I could go down the street to play; they were twins and always were amused when people were confused as to who was who.

Here's me 'n Grandpa, sitting in front of the window that was broken.



I miss 'em.

Direct Daniella

Direct supermodel Daniella Sarahyba in this Taco Bell interactive website "photoshoot".

Choose what you would have Daniella do and at what location.

(the choices are limited, and no, she won't do that)



She's a gorgeous young woman. (this was the first I have heard of her)

I took her out on the pier, but she didn't last long and started bitching about the wind. I took several shots with her hair in her face , with her eyes closed and even a couple with her back turned. Believe me, these are the best of the lot.



I kept hoping this parrot would bite her; it tried, but...



Seems that I'm not good at real photography OR at this type.

' 62 T-Bird

From the July 04 car show in the United parking lot, Pampa, Texas.

Very clean, inside and out.



Wonder how many speeding tickets this car has had in its lifetime?



Not my fav. T-Bird, but I like it.







I thought something looked odd when I was on the other side, but I didn't realize until I was on the driver's side that the steering wheel was at an odd angle.



EDIT: This car placed first in show.

' 68 Chevelle SS

From the July 04 car show in the United parking lot, Pampa Texas.

Click any pic for larger resolution.

' 67 Pontiac GTO

From the July 04 car show in the United parking lot, Pampa, Texas.



( guess I was leaning a bit on that one )

Chucky's Back!

That thing startles me every time I've seen it and to be honest?

It creeps me out.

From the July 04 car show in the United parking lot, Pampa, Texas.

' 73 Jaguar XKE

From the July 4th car show in the United parking lot in Pampa, Texas.

' 56 T-Bird

From yesterday's (July04) car show in the United parking lot.

I really liked this car; it wasn't trailered in, but driven and was very clean.



I never wanted a Caddy. One of these would do just fine.



I really enjoy looking at the specific details of a car, especially on these older ones.



The outside of the car looks as stylish as anything built today, but the interior is definitely '50's tech. It too was neat and clean, just dated.



It caught my eye right off the bat, and I had trouble getting photos as it was one of the most popular vehicles in the small show.



The owner said there wasn't any particular story behind it; he saw it and bought it because his wife liked it. He said he had been offered 40k for it, and I don't blame him for turning it down.