On my three-week cross-country road trip to see Wrestlemania 39 in Los Angeles, I made it a point to drive Route 66 and see all the fun, kitschy attractions like Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.

But what is Cadillac Ranch, and how did I end up there with a can of spray paint in my hand? According to the Roadside America website, Cadillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of art hippies who came from San Francisco. Billionaire Stanley Marsh 3 wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals (and this is baffling), so 10 Caddies were driven into one of Marsh’s fields and buried into the dirt face down. The problem is that tourists would come by to see the art but deface it, ripping out pieces of the cars.

Over time, the Ant Farm (the name for the group of hippies who brought the cars) encouraged the defacing, and today tourists drive by and either bring their own spray paint or use what’s been left behind to make their own mark. I wouldn’t take a piece of the car even if there was something to take, and from what I could tell, there wasn’t really anything. These are truly shells of cars that are spray-painted over and over and over again.

I added this baffling exhibit to my checklist of things I wanted to see. I didn’t think of bringing spray paint but just wanted to take a photo and say I was there. Now I don’t know if Cadillac Ranch is THIS windy every day, but the wind was intense the day that I was there. It’s a little bit of a walk from where I parked to the cars, and my significant other couldn’t handle the walk because of his back, so I ventured out solo. I felt like I was fighting against a wind tunnel. I finally had to pull my hood almost completely over my head and ears and with just my eyes exposed, I made it to the cars. My hair is so windblown and taking this next picture hurt my face. LOL (Scroll past the next two photos for more story.)

When I finally get out there, it looked like I was alone, so I start walking around the cars and getting a closer inspection of this unique experience. As I am finally about to step behind the last car, I got a whiff of spray paint, but with all the cans and spray paint there, it’s not unusual.

However, my spidey sense kicked in, and I slowed my walk because if I hadn’t, I would have walked directly into a cloud of freshly-sprayed paint that a couple had sprayed to leave their mark on one of the cars. I just missed getting it all over my face by a split second. The couple apologized. I told them they didn’t need to because they didn’t know I was there and they were entitled to have their moment in this incredible wind too.

They offered me their spray paint and I was very thankful. I outlined a heart on one of the cars — being careful not to breathe in my own mist of spray paint — and stepped back to admire my work, knowing it would be there momentarily until someone else comes along and tags the cars with their own graffiti. But for a brief, shining moment, my heart was on that car at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. Isn’t that was a road trip like this is all about? Making your mark and memory and moving on.

Cadillac Ranch is open every day all day, and there is no admission. Just clean up after yourself.

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