December 2, 2025, Winslow, AZ- A friend who thinks deeply about the course of human behaviour made a cogent point today- People who often get assessed as being “broken” or “lost” are more often creatures of dependence. They seek approval or guidance from those they view as more powerful or worthy of control over their affairs, and leave their own power on the sidelines.
Through my life, I have often been right, when I trusted my gut and my heart. The bloopers, which have also been many, have come when I tried to “honour” requests or demands made by those who I, erroneously, deemed “heavy hitters”, “hard chargers”, or more adept at life than yours truly. They came when I absorbed their insults and diatribes into my own psyche. Mathematically, this translates into (Dependence) X (Sycophancy)= Self-defeat.
Here is what I would like to see increased: Each person takes stock of how the gut feels, how the heart feels and how those feelings are in sync with common sense, before deciding upon a course of action and certainly before carrying it out. Committing myself to these has definitely decreased the number, and severity, of bloopers that cause so much pain and annoyance to me and to those around me.
This morning, I had a brief urge to go from Tucumcari to Pecos National Historic Site-which would have been a two-hour, thirty-five minute diversion. Gut told heart that there is simply much to be done back in Prescott, once I return there tomorrow. When the turn northward, towards Pecos, presented itself, I kept on driving west, and other than a brief stop at Continental Divide, continued on until I decided that a Winslow break was in order. Top notch birria tacos, at Shorty’s and a night’s stay in The Beatles Room, at Delta Motel, the music-themed inn that is one of my favourites have helped set the tone for the rest of my return to Prescott and getting started on the month of transition ahead.
As for the exploration of New Mexico and other areas, I am looking forward to helping, slowly and gradually, introduce the world and its beauty to my grandchild.
November 25, 2025, Amarillo- Having been interested in prehistoric life since I was around 6 years old, I had to seize the opportunity to visit a place which I had sped past, about two dozen times, over the last 25 years: Mesalands Dinosaur Museum, in Tucumcari, New Mexico.
“Tucumcari Tonight!” was a billboard slogan that was shown as far west as Gallup and as far east as Clinton, OK., in the 1980s and ’90s. The little town’s motels and restaurants were billed as a fine halfway point between Albuquerque and Amarillo, in a bid to recover from the loss of traffic, after I-40 replaced U.S. Highway 66, as the prime east-west conduit in the upper South.
I’ve stayed in Tucumcari a couple of times and stopped for dinner there once. I found it a welcoming place-just a bit too far west, when I was going from Gallup eastward and a bit too far east, when going from Oklahoma City or Amarillo, westward. Today gave me the reason to take in the museum, as my itinerary was Moriarty to Amarillo.
The day started with a wonderfully flavourful “Classic Breakfast” at a Country Pride restaurant, on Moriarty’s west side. After about ten minutes, I was the lone diner in the place, a shame, as this Country Pride’s cooks and server seem to care about their customers. K looked bored stiff, but was pleasant and attentive to me and to those who were about to leave. I felt sorry for her, but she said this is the way in Moriarty, from October to April-slow traffic at the Travel Center. I wouldn’t have guessed it was Shoulder Season last night, though, as the nearby Nachos Mexican Restaurant was packed.
I left Moriarty around 9:15 and headed towards Tucumcari and Amarillo, stopping for gas at some friends’ station in Milagro, a rural stop about halfway between Moriarty and “Tuke”. About five miles west of Tucumcari, there was a one car accident, closing the highway fro about twenty minutes. Some people decided to cross the grassy median, and drive west to the frontage road at Cuervo, then head back east. I thought better of that and stayed put, not being in any particular hurry.
Once traffic resumed, it was not long before I was in the first section of Mesalands, the Early Life exhibit, focusing on ancient sea life: Trilobites, ammonites and prehistoric insects are prominent in the collection of fossils from the Cambrian and Carboniferous Ages, the time before the emergence of amphibians in the Permian Era. There are then open rooms displaying fossils and bronze castings of dinosaurs and related reptilians, early avians and some mammalian megafauna. The Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Eras are all well-covered. A small section is devoted to the Cenozoic Era, the modern time of mammals, including us humans.
This being a largely fossil-centric institution, minerals have their place in the exhibits, including the Shanks Collection, one of the loveliest mineral exhibits this side of Jerome State Park, in Arizona, which to me is the Gold Standard for mineral displays. Howard and Laura Shanks were keenly interested in the mineral and fossil troves of the Quay County area, collecting sizable amounts of all manner of unearthed gems, minerals and petrified animals and plants. These were donated to Mesalands Community College, in 2004, and the Museum was born. Paleontology has continued apace, with bronze castings and careful restoration of even large dinosaur fossils finding their places in this marvelous collaboration between Mesalands Community College and the people of Tucumcari.
Here are five photos from today’s visit to Tucumcari, Back Then.
Henry Gonzales, professional bronzecaster, who created the dinosaur marvels of Mesalands Dinosaur Museum and taught others his craft.Coelophysis, one of the terrors of the Triassic Period, was an ancestor of velociraptors, and of birds.An Apatosaurus got stuck in the mud, and left this for us.Torvosaurus, an apex predator of the Jurassic Era.A variety of petrified material, in one stone.
There was enough in this Best Kept Secret of northeastern New Mexico to keep me enthralled for two hours. Many more photos will be posted on my Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/86298326@N07/, over the next several days.
Now, I am resting at a Motel 6, on the west side of Amarillo. After breakfast, tomorrow, in this city’s “Fun Zone” (Old 66), I will make my way down to my little family’s home.
I woke up in Sallisaw, just after 6 AM, which is my usual wake-up, when on the road. Ed’s Cafe was across the road from Sallisaw Inn, so I headed over for breakfast. The waitress looked to be a sassy sort, the kind that can handle truck drivers very well. She plopped a menu down in front of me and took my coffee order, then walked over to a gray-haired gentleman and plopped her cleaning rag in front of him. I liked her right away. Turns out, he was indeed a regular, coming by here every two weeks.
I ordered the special, and Sassy Stacey got me to change it to the same plate from the regular menu, telling me quietly that “the boss jacks up the price for the special, when all it is, is more hashbrowns.” So I got a good deal on a very decent breakfast.
I headed straight across Oklahoma, bypassing OKC, and stopping at a Braum’s, in Weatherford, for lunch. I like Braum’s for their milkshakes and malts, getting one of the latter, to go with my chicken tenders. Weatherford is a nice little town, so getting in out of the heat there, and giving the Elantra an hour’s rest, made perfect sense.
Next was the Texas Panhandle, a far more magnificent place than many people might see. My remorse came from not giving old Texas Tidbits enough of a heads-up, as I approached Amarillo. So, it happened that my only Texas stops were gassing up in McLean and a short meditative visit to the rest stop off I-40, at Alanreed.
Despite the ominous clouds, I did not get so much as a drop on my windshield today.
After leaving Texas behind, I made two stops in eastern New Mexico, dinner at K-Bob’s, in Tucumcari, taking advantage of the chain’s delicious catfish plate and generous salad bar, then gassing up at a Mom and Pop store in Milagro- just because the young couple are making a heartfelt effort to revive the windswept little settlement.
Finally, the day ended at one of Moriarty’s oldest inns: Sunset Motel. The widowed daughter-in-law of the motel’s founders runs this place with a velvet fist. Her business acumen and graciousness do not clash- which I find admirable and reassuring. She keeps her late husband’s and in-laws’ legacy running very smoothly.
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A Sagittarian Seeker 