Family Road trip along with kids is always best. In this current Covid, road trip is going to be the only best option for any travel loving family. Yes, we love to travel a lot and here coming up with best of our road trip.
With no other option, we took our most protected covid road trip in 2020. In this blog , we are going to share our road trip experience to Amarillo Texas- along with 4 and 9 year old kids and the precautions we took during trip due to Covid-19.
It took 5 hr 20 min of drive from dallas to entered Amarillo city , it welcomed us with beautiful bright yellow sunset by 6.30pm.
Most of you seen this above car picture in movie or in television or might heard about this nose down car somewhere. Yes, you are correct ,we are going to see the 10 cars nose down to ground and this place is named as Cadillac Ranch, only at Amarillo, Texas.
UNIJOU is so proud to feature about this historic art sculpture – one and only place in the world – “Cadillac Ranch ” at Amarillo , Texas.
In this blog, you are going to read our travel experience with kids and brief history of Cadillac Ranch.
Our Experience At Cadillac Ranch,
Since we reached Amarillo by evening, we took sunset look and next day – morning view of the cadillac ranch. We stayed 20 min away from cadillac ranch, so it is not much time to travel.
To be wonder , Cadillac ranch is opened for 24 hours, 7 days a week and all 365 days without any admission fee and opened for public all day!!!!
To visit cadillac ranch, all you need is spray paint, yes you need only spray paint bottle. Since it is located near to the highway , you can stop anytime and make your own signature/graffiti on the car’s anytime.
The cars are located in wide range of wheat field and the property is owned private. We went in starting of september , there is lot of mud around the cars and we can’t even stand near to the cars , only first there cars are dry enough to stand and spray paint .
If you like colorful picture, then you are at right location -Best place for photographer to capture family graffiti pictures .
Nearby Shops ,
Only gates are there in front of Cadillac ranch and for shop you have to drive to gift shop which is little away and which is not walkable, you have to drive.
If you want to visit the Cadillac Ranch with Abhinav and Reya, then checkout our video :
Water , Food – gift shop might have soft drinks but for food (like breakfast lunch ,dinner ) you have to drive to city – it will take 15 to 20 minutes from cadillac ranch.
No restrooms nearby or by walkable and the gift shop only option for restroom .
If you have kids make sure – you have plenty of water bottles and tissues to wash there hands and wipe of paint (as we did).
Water bottles are must needed in both hot summer and winter .
Morning we saw one moveable shop, which sell spray paint but it is not there when we visited in the evening.
Better to buy some of your favourite color spray painting from walmart or other shops .
Things to Consider to visit Cadillac Ranch,
You have to walk for 5 to 10 minutes from the gate to visit the car (might be 1 mile away from the road ).
If you plan to visit cadillac ranch then first consider the weather.
Consider – Weather of the day you visit, since it is open field , there is no shade to stand .
In Hot weather , take lots of water bottle , cap along with sunscreen.
In Cold Weather, take good warm sweater, jacket along with head cap, socks and gloves are must needed for kids and adults.
Prefer Old or used or low cost dress while visiting Cadillac Ranch. Chances your dress will get spray paint due to wind !! ( we got paint on our dress and even few strands of hair got spray paint)
Rainy season will not suit for this place, since painting is the fun part at cadillac ranch.
Take some bags or covers to keep your belongings and to bring back the empty spray bottle.
Spray Painting/Kids
Since we told kids about spray painting at cadillac ranch , they are so excited and that made them to be happy for the 5 hour drive from dallas.
Reya and Abhinav made list of pink,orange,white,black and yellow spray painting colors to buy.
We got our spray painting from walmart at Amarillo, which is near to our hotel Fairfield Inn & Suites ,Amarillo.
Make your own Signature at this historic place,
Walk or run towards the cars . Kids love to run with spray bottle, as if all cars are waiting for them to make signature.
When you go near to the cars , you can start spray your own mark on this years of color layered cars.
You don’t want to be artist to do this paint and reason/history behind this car is that one too , art should be available for everyone(public) and it should not be conservative.
Think ,that the car going to hold your signature, your mark or your presence on that place for years & years or until you come back again.
As parents we enjoyed by spray painting along with kids ,their name and some nice pictures.
Spray paint bottle is hard to press for Reya but Abhinavit is not hard to use. We helped reya to paint her name and she really enjoyed it .
With help of brother – reya painted on her hand and made finger paint print on the car but it actually dont work. We took an hour to wash off spray paint from her hand. Both the kids got mud on their slippers as they played around the car, good thing we had lots of water bottle and tissues in car to clean them after the graffiti work .
Kids did spray painting for 10 to 15 minutes . Then started to play around the car.
Travelling with kids :
Little Preparation is always best, if you travel with kids.
It is easy to travel newborn or until one year of age. Travelling with toddlers and above 3 years need little extra preparation .
It is open to public and always important to keep eye on your kid .When you are painting in one car , kid can play hide and seek in another car. It is hard to find, if there is lot of visitors. So always keep eye on your kids.
History of Cadillac Ranch.
The cadillac Ranch located west of Amarillo on Old route 66, south of I-40 between exits 60 to 62.
This iconic art installation is an planned artwork originally located in a wheat field, in Amarillo, Texas.
It is visible from the highway, though located in private land, it is open to public 24/7/365 and there is no admission fee needed. Yes, 100 % free, gates are not locked and open to public all the time and visiting the ranch by driving are encouraged.
Know who is behind this Art Installation
A group of artist named Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels and they formed – art group name called Ant Farm.
The Ant Farm was created as an alternative architectural practice, to make direct art experiment by public (everyone) and not like formal education of art.
Marquez and Chip in their childhood read about a book called ‘The Look of cars’ and there was something on the rise and the fall of the tail fin. He liked that and just drew it up and he mentioned that his love for Cadillacs.
The Ant Farm by artist Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels group from San Francisco had vision that art should be enjoyed by public(everyone) instead of the constructive form of studying.
They made a project and looked for fund to their project , here come the Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3 who had the vision of creating public art.
When this Ant Farm artist group submitted the project to Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3 ,the project got approved.
Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3 ,in silent partner with Ant farm group of artist started creating this unique art project and the evolution of Cadillac tail fin started .
Car buying and Installation:
The group Ant farm along with Billionaire Stanley Marsh 3, planned to get ten used Cadillacs, models ranging from 1949 to 1963.
Most of the cars were purchased from junk cars or used or older running cars and each car averaged about $200/car. The cars represent the “Golden Age” of American automobile.
All the ten Caddies(cadillac cars) were driven into one of Stanley Marsh 3’S fields , all of the ten cars half-buried, nose down , in the dirt saying at the same angles as the great Pyramid of Giza.
Each car faced west in a line from the 1949 Club Sedan to the 1963 Sedan deVille , their tail fins went high for all to see on the empty Texas wheat Field.
The project completed in 1974. As a vision of art for everyone, people started to visit from all over the world and started to leave their mark , name through spray painting. People scratching or painting their names in the cars and the original car color – turquoise, sky blue, banana yellow, gold was replaced by years of layered spray painting it became the art of Graffiti- covered cars (you can see the original model of car in the nearby Cadillac Ranch Gift Shop).
Some removed off the speakers, radio from the car and even doors and wheels, some kind of theft around the art place but Marsh still says ” We think it looks better every year”.
In 1997, installation was moved quietly by local contractor to a location two to three mile to the west along Interstate 40 and the place where it is located now. Both sites of the property are belonged to the local billionaire Stanley Marsh 3.
Spray Painting
Marsh encouraged public to visit cadillac Ranch and he not mind about the constant graffiti added to the cars.
Every year, the cadillac Ranch has been repainted many times. In May 2002, the cars were restored to their original colors. In june 2003, the cars were again painted, this time in flat black, in response to the passing of the member of the Ant Farm.
This monument was built as public sculpture and every visitors are encouraged to participate in it.
It is fine to buy spray bottle paint along with you. Writing your name or an inspiring message , which will be erased by another message soon in front of you or within a day and become part of history.
The Ranch appeared on lot of TV Shows, magazines and newspaper accounts.
