Flashback Friday - "A" is for Amarillo

Today we are going to Amarillo, Texas baby!

It is one crazy town. All because of this gentleman.



This here is Stanley Marsh 3. No, that's not a typo. He likes to put a "3" instead of a"III" at the end of his name. That's just one of the ways that makes this guy a rebel.

Stanley's father, Stanley Marsh, was an oil baron, who, along with two partners, started up a business that developed gas properties and oil in the Texas panhandle. He also owned a couple of TV stations.

Stanley 3 is an artist, philanthropist, and above all, a prankster. He joined in with the art group ANT FARM to make his famous "Cadillac Ranch".

No, this is not the "Cadillac Ranch" restaurant you might be thinking of.

This is the 10 Cadillac CARS buried nose-deep in a cow pasture just off eastbound highway I-40 between exits 60 and 62. You exit onto the frontage road, then enter the pasture through an unlocked gate.

We visited the cars back in November of 2006. They might look a lot different now, as they are forever being spray painted by the public.





















Looking towards the highway:



Another project Stanley funded was these huge pair of legs. They are in a middle of a field.



A close up:



Here is the sign for them. Click on photo to enlarge.



This is called "Floating Mesa", and has a broad, white band around a mesa so that if the color of the sky is just right, it looks like the mesa is, well, floating.

The Marsh family founded The Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 Endowed Lectureship in Pharmacology and Neurochemistry of Substance Abuse/Addiction at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The family also donated land to Ascension Academy, an Amarillo private school.

Stanley Marsh 3 is also a big supporter of children's programs conducted through out Potter County.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Although Stanley has made generous donations to good causes, he has quite the reputation around Amarillo. He funded the "Dynamite Museum," which is an ongoing project consisting of thousands of mock traffic signs that are posted throughout Amarillo. (They are also displayed in the town of Adrian, TX, which is located 45 miles from Amarillo).

The following are just some of the signs that are displayed around the city. All of these photos have been taken from Google. I could NOT find my photos!





















How could you not love a man with this sense of humor?

Despite the attention of the art projects sponsored by Marsh, critics have called them eyesores with little or no artistic value. In response to the criticism, he is quoted as saying, "Art is a legalized form of insanity, and I do it very well."

Courtesy of Wikipedia

While you are in Amarillo, stop by The Big Texan for some good grub.



If you're willing to try, they have a 72 oz. steak, with all the trimmings, for free, if you can eat it all - with everything included - all sides - in 60 minutes. They seat you at a special table, and if I remember right, it's raised up on a platform so everyone can watch you make a pig of yourself eat.

The Palo Duro Canyon State Park is only 25 miles away and it's a wonderful day trip. The canyon is the second only to the Grand Canyon. I'll save that for another time.

That's all for today!