Conway, Texas – Bug Ranch

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Eastbound Route 66’ers will have already seen one of the Mother Road’s most well-known works of art, the famous Cadillac Ranch on the outskirts of Amarillo.  There, ten Cadillacs are lined up in a row, and planted nose-down in a cow pasture.  It’s art.  It’s cool.  It’s unique.

Okay, it’s not unique.

Some folks on the east side of Amarillo decided to capitalize on the Cadillac Ranch idea, and have a little fun with it at the same time.  Next door to a sketchy motel-cafe, you’ll find five Volkswagen bugs, similarly buried in the ground.  Yes, these too are covered with graffiti.

From the artistic point of view, this display lacks a bit of the beauty of the American-made display which it parodies.  Instead of standing in the middle of a wide-open field, these bugs were simply planted by the side of the road, with buildings and power lines nearby, ruining the view.  I suppose, though, the Bug Ranch was never meant to be interpreted as serious art.

If you’re headed westbound, at Conway, a nice break from the frontage road begins.  For a few miles, Old Route 66 runs a mile south of Interstate 40, before inevitably turning back to the highway.

  If you’re looking for the Bug Ranch along Route 66, you won’t find it.  You’ll need to turn north on TX Rte. 207.  The Bug Ranch is on the entrance to the south frontage road, underneath the “Motel” sign you see pictured above.  Interstate travelers can take exit 96.

Note: This trip was first published in 2008.

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