Day's Summary: Day 2 starts in Oklahoma and ends at the Grand Canyon. Along the way, other than some rainy conditions, the main highlights are the ghost town of Glenrio, Pie Town, and the Very Large Array. Glenrio is a ghost town located on the border of Texas and New Mexico along I-40. There's an abandoned Chevron station there, and it's pretty darn cool. I find it fascinating that it's just there, untouched after many years. No reason to tear it down, I suppose. I've been through Glenrio before, but never had the guts to actually enter the abandoned gas station. Perhaps I thought I'd be attacked by roving bands of Glenrio thugs. I don't know. Anyway, this year I got the courage to go and take some video. Truly a highlight of the day and the entire trip. Pie Town, New Mexico is located, well, in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico. It's known for--you guessed it--pie, and a friend of mine had already visited it to try their pie. I thought I'd try some pie as well, so I made a specific effort to drive there. The pie was pretty darn good. The Very Large Array is a set of radio telescopes located at a high elevation on a plain for maximum resolution of waves from the sky. Enjoyable to see these up close, as I'm a huge fan of the movie Contact. Finally, after seeing these sites, the desolate drive to Williams, Arizona to the Grand Canyon is also an enjoyable experience.

Clinton, OK Early morning in Oklahoma in a Ramada Inn. A mix up with a Super 8 reservations meant that I stayed at the Ramada (at the same price). Essentially, they hadn't downloaded my reservation. I show up to the Super 8 (tired from the long day of driving), say "I have a reservation," the manager says they don't have any rooms. Uh, excuse me?! After a frustrating few minutes, the problem was rectified and I enjoyed my first night after a long day on the road.

Clinton, OK West of Clinton, Oklahoma. Will end up in Mather Campground at Grand Canyon National Park, but will visit Pie Town, NM for some PIE and then double-back to the Very Large Array (VLA) that is near Socorro, NM. It looks slightly darker in this video than I remember it being.

Near OK/TX Border Approximately 34 miles east of the border, looking for lightning. Pretty much nothing.

Near OK/TX Border About 32 miles east of the border, looking for lightning. At around 13 seconds, look slightly above the speed limit sign on the right of the video frame as it goes by. Then, at 1 minute and 6 seconds, a biggie in the middle of the sky!

Near OK/TX Border More searching for lightning. None to be seen.

Rain On OK/TX Border Crossing into Texas as the rain starts to pick up.

Torrential Rain On OK/TX Border Lots and lots of rain. Fun to drive through.

Rain On OK/TX Border Notice the wimpy semi-truck driver hiding under the overpass, waiting for the rain to stop! (That's a joke.)

Near Amarillo, TX Stopped to film this at a parking area near Amarillo. Not much to say about this video except you get a good via of my road tripping vehicle, the RAV 4, from afar.

Near TX/NM Border Around mile marker 18. Stark and flat. Glenrio is coming...

Approaching The Glenrio, TX Chevron Honestly, one of the highlights of the trip. Glenrio is a ghost town on the TX/NM border.

Glenrio, TX Chevron I'm fascinated by abandoned buildings, and this one has been abandoned for years. When a friend and I took a road trip out west in 1999, this was abandoned. So we're talking at least 12 years, probably more. Anyway, in this sequence of videos I explore it! I was a little worried that there might be homeless people or criminals using this as their "hideout" or something. Paranoid, right? Anyway, that was one of the goals of this trip: explore the Glenrio Chevron.

Glenrio, TX Chevron GLENRIO! The Glenrio exit is located at the border of Texas and New Mexico on I-40. Route 66 is nearby.

Glenrio, TX Chevron Now, over to the other building. Vehicle repair shop?

Glenrio, TX Chevron Looking at the main "gas station building" from the "vehicle repair building."

I-25 South To Socorro, NM I discuss the plan to visit Pie Town, NM and then double back to the Very Large Array. The reason? Time constraints, based on the daily closure of the Pie Town Cafe. I thought that the closure was 4:30PM, and I mention that I don't want to cut it close. I cut it close, arriving around 10 minutes before 4PM...the actual closure time.

US 60 West towards The Very Large Array Getting closer to the VLA. Notice the sign at 0:47...picnic area in 1 mile.

Approaching The Very Large Array 46 miles until Pie Town.

Passing The Very Large Array You can't really see much from this short video, other than a "Tourist Parking" sign on the right. I'm on US 60 West, headed past the VLA towards Pie Town, NM.

Entering Pie Town, NM The video starts three miles away from the Pie Town Cafe (formerly Daily Pie Cafe). It's 3:45PM and I THINK I have until 4:30PM, when actually they close at 4PM. Again, a very close shave, timewise. I pass the "Continental Divide" sign at 1:06, the "Pie Town" sign at 2:07, the "STOP" sign for the Pie-O-Neer Cafe at 3:00. At the end of the video, I turn into the parking lot of the Pie Town Cafe.

Pie Town, NM There are two "pie eateries" in Pie Town, NM. 1. Pie Town Cafe & 2. Pie-O-Neer Cafe Where is Pie Town, you ask? Well, take I-25 south from Albuquerque towards Las Cruces. Hang west on US-60.) This video (and the next one) is somewhat of an inside joke between a friend and me. I arrived RIGHT before closing, driving from Clinton, OK, so that's the reason I state I'll eat quickly.

Pie Town, NM Here's the inside joke to these two videos: the pie eateries have limited hours and days, and when my friend took a road trip both of them happened to be closed. One of the stated destinations on his trip was Pie Town. So, in order to give him a better understanding of what he missed--and perhaps even to rub it in--I filmed myself eating a burger and some pie. This video shows the consumption of Pie Town Cafe's New Mexico (Hot) Apple Pie, and the last video shows consumption of a burger. Both were delicious.

Pie Town Cafe Formerly the "Daily Pie Cafe." Notice how windy it is. Hopefully you get a sense that this place is just along a highway and is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. That's not a criticism.

Leaving The Pie Town Cafe One reason I filmed inside the vehicle as well is because you can't narrate a video when the wind is whipping as hard as it was. You have to yell and the camera still will not pick up your voice sufficiently. They closed at 4PM and I thought the website said 4:30PM. I can't say 100% but I'm pretty sure. As mentioned, I showed up at around 3:45 or so. The other pie place in Pie Town is the Pie-O-Neer Cafe, and this shows the proximity between them.

Continental Divide Near Pie Town, NM I run an experiment on the Continental Divide. If I pour water on one side of the Divide, it should run to the Pacific. If I pour water on the other, it should run to the Atlantic. Turns out that the Continental Divide is not actually in this exact location, due to safety concerns. Contact NM Department of Transportation if you have any questions. :)

Doubling Back To The Very Large Array At mile marker 81, traveling east on U.S. 60 from Pie Town to the VLA. Full of pie and ready to see the satellites! You can see at least four satellites from the beginning of the video (to the right, approximately south), and later on at least seven or eight with a couple on the left side (approximately north) of the video. I mention the fact that the visitor's center may be closed. The visitor's center was apparently still open when I arrived, although I don't know if there were any employees available. I also make a reference to Contact, a favorite movie of mine.

Doubling Back To The Very Large Array Notice the big satellite on the left that I pass at 0:56. About to turn south onto NM State Road 52.

Very Large Array As you can tell, the wind is strong here. It's hard to hear anything I say, and I try not to say all that much with the wind being as strong as it is. Right now, I'm walking along a walking path to get closer to some of the nearest satellites to the visitor's center.

Very Large Array Using the monopod to get a panorama of my location at the VLA on the Plains of San Agustin.

Very Large Array Walking up to a satellite.

Very Large Array I'm at the VLA...VLA...Very Large Array...WOO!

Very Large Array A satellite dish up close.

Very Large Array Viewing multiple satellite dishes in the distance.

Very Large Array A bunny!

Very Large Array Some video near the visitor's center. Very windy!

Leaving The VLA Getting a picture of the road sign on Old Highway 60.

Post Office In Pie Town, NM I mail three postcards in this ultra-small post office that's right across from the Pie Town Cafe. It would be interesting to find out how old the post office boxes are! This was on a Wednesday, but it was after 4PM. Notice the sign near the end giving distances to Quemado, Omega, and Springerville. I had intended to end the video on the sign, but I instead took a picture. Very amateurish, and perhaps that's because I'm an amateur.

Williams, AZ To The Grand Canyon Another favorite drive of mine is the State Route 64 from Williams, AZ to the Grand Canyon. When it's done at night, it's pretty awesome. This is a 2:30 minute video. Any oncoming traffic? Not one car!