Amarillo and the Cadillac Ranch!

We are all a little jealous of Flat Stanley at this point. He is seeing some seriously cool stuff, not to mention spending time with the family and friends WE would love to be hanging out with! Here is his latest adventure with his Uncle Gary, as written by Aunt Beth-Ann!

"Well hello Schwinds!!! We are having such a great time with Stanley.

On Thursday, Uncle Gary took him to Amarillo so he could see northern Texas and visit the Cadillac Ranch. This is a big field filled with Cadillacs of all years, ranging from 1949 to 1963. They are buried nose-first in the ground at an angle that corresponds to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

The Cadillac Ranch is located in a big cow pasture along Interstate 40 (Route 66, as in where you can get your kicks). You can see all the cars from the highway as you are driving by. It is located on private land but visiting is encouraged. The owner of the Cadillac Ranch also allows (and even encourages) people to write graffiti onto the Cadillacs either with markers, spray paint or whatever you want to use. The cars are all painted every now and then. One time the owner painted them all pink to honor his wife for her birthday. So sweet!!!!

You might remember that a tribute to the Cadillac Ranch was featured in the Disney movie "Cars." Bruce Springsteen also wrote a song called "Cadillac Ranch." There is a country band called Brooks & Dunn and they have a music video for their song "Honky Tonk Stomp" that was actually filmed at the Cadillac Ranch. It is SUCH a neat place and so fun to visit.

Uncle Gary and I visited it before we had Taylor, Bailey and Camryn. We have pictures of each other on the Cadillacs. We climbed up on to them and took pictures of each other. There are a couple of things I remember about the Cadillac Ranch, it is VERY windy (in fact my hair in all the pictures is blowing completely sideways) and there are tons of little gnats (or at least there were the last time I was there). Nothing like a gnat appetizer before we headed off for dinner. YUMMY!!!

Well, when Uncle Gary headed off to Amarillo, I called him when he was about halfway there and asked how Stanley was doing. He said he was asleep in the front seat and I am pretty sure Uncle Gary didn't make him wear a seat belt. NAUGHTY Uncle Gary!!!! He called me later after they had visited the Cadillac Ranch and told me Stanley had LOVED it.

He said he hung out on a few of the cars and the wind actually picked him up and blew him away. Uncle Gary had to chase him through the cow pasture in his suit pants, suit coat, nice shirt, tie and brand new dress shoes. His exact words to me were "Honey, you owe me BIG!!!" He said his shoes got a little dusty but nothing that couldn't be dusted off. No big deal at all!!! I think Stanley was laughing really hard as Uncle Gary was chasing him. Wish I had a picture of that!!!! Luckily, Uncle Gary is in really good shape and was able to catch the little rascal!! We will keep you posted on his next adventure. Miss y'all, love y'all!!!!

Aunt BA"

Maybe Aunt Beth-Ann should feed Stanley some of her great cooking so he can get a little meat on his papery bones! Then he wouldn't blow away so easily! Thanks, Uncle Gary, for sacrificing your new shoes and possibly eating a few gnats to show Stanley such a good time! You're the best uncle a paper boy ever had!!