Interstate 40 brought us through Amarillo, and east of there we took state Hwy 207. I want to do these "drive-by" paintings on scenic roads if I can and avoid the Interstate if possible...I like interstates because they are smoother for painting in the car, and because the views are familiar to most folks, but I like the idea of taking a road I may never take again. This one, 207, has a green dotted line on the Rand McNally map, which means it's a scenic route. We pulled off the road near Claude to move Nancy from the right to left side in the back so she could watch me paint...It was fiercely windy and a little bit cold. I turned around to look over the land, and saw this cloud of dirt in the distance. When we finally drove off, I made sure we drove by slowly so that I could sketch John Deere coming at us. I am sure that the farmer was thankful for an enclosed cab! Our tractors had heat and A/C , and I can imagine what the new ones must have!! I confess I made Barbara drive REAL SLOWLY past this scene and I made lots of quick strokes which I completed from memory as we drove by. I wanted it to look windy. So far, this is the ONLY painting I really like for "Passing America..." 149 to go!
Below are photos of this scenic stretch inthe Great Plains of Texas!
This grain elevator in Claude did not seem to be shut down, though it was very desolate! At harvest time I bet this place is BUSY! I can imagine farmers whose parents and grandparents built this place inan earlier time when LIFE revolved around agriculture...
The reason for the green dots on the map...Caprock Canyons State Park appeared out of nowhere! It's so obvious that the plains were eroded by great waters passing over the land and carving these red rock canyons. Our road was "eye level" with the tops of the mesas, but then the land sloped away toward the river. This Canyon is at the end of Palo Duro Canyon, and looked the same to me!
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