Oklahoma City, OK, to Acoma Pueblo, NM

16 January 2016:  Today was a long one -- 600 miles (965 km) from Oklahoma City to Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico.  I had planned to stop in Albuquerque, but I didn't get off the interstate to look for a motel until I had already gone too far through Albuquerque.  I ended up driving an additional 60 miles west to Acoma Pueblo, where I got a room in the gaudy Sky City Casino Hotel.  The staff at this place have been very friendly, but modern casinos (with hundreds of electronic slot machines) are not my cup of tea!  Oddly, very few of the many people playing the slots appear to be having fun.  They tend to sit motionless and expressionless, staring at the screen and pushing a button mechanically.

I drove with cruise control during much of the day:  I-40 west of Oklahoma City runs straight across flat, open countryside in western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle.  The land in New Mexico is more varied and interesting, especially around Albuquerque, which is set in a range of low mountains.

I was pleased to arrive in Amarillo around midday, so that I could stop for lunch at the Big Texan Steak Ranch (http://bigtexan.com), a place that is so over the top that it cannot be missed.  The Big Texan has become famous for its 72 oz. (2 kg) steak, which is free if the customer eats the whole thing within 60 minutes.  My waitress today told me that only about 10% of the customers who take up the challenge actually succeed.  The rest pay $72 for the experience (and naturally they can take home what they don't eat in a doggy bag).

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I-40 west of Oklahoma City:

Rest areas are rare on these highways -- and then some of them are closed!

The Big Texan Steak Ranch:

Big Texan's modest 9 oz. steak was plenty for me:

The scenery -- not to mention the sky -- became more interesting in New Mexico:

The Casino's restaurant offers a good kale salad – just right after a couple of steak meals...