Just off the highway, on a short frontage road, we found a public art exhibit called Cadillac Ranch. Created by “Art Farm” in 1974 in a wheat field near Amarillo, Texas. Ten Cadillacs from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s were planted nose first into the ground and tilted at the same angle as the pyramids of Giza. The cars are covered in 50 years of graffiti and spray painting is encouraged; making the row of cars a living and ever-changing piece of art.

At one point Hampton Inns paid to restore the cars to their original colors for a Route 66 public relations event.

The restoration lasted less than 24 hours before they had fresh graffiti. The cars were painted solid black with the words “Black Lives Matter” June 2020 to protest police brutality the murder of George Floyd. Today, the cars consist of thick layers of paint, melted tires (from an earlier arson incident), rusty parts and empty spray cans all standing tall in a field off the interstate.
It was a cold windy day, but we even caught some artists in action!