Category Archives: 2017 Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey

This is the virtual tour that will imagine what it would be like to visit every North American drive-in theater in 2017 by visiting one or two every day. While the drive-ins, restaurants, and hotels are real, all the events in this section are fiction. But it’s fun to dream!

Feb. 28: Tascosa Drive-in Theater, Amarillo TX

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It’s Day 59 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. The drive from Guymon OK was just two hours from the heart of the Oklahoma panhandle to the Tascosa Drive-in Theater in Amarillo, the heart of the Texas panhandle. I ended the second month of the odyssey with a solid week of dark screens, but what else would I expect for February?

According to Cinema Treasures, the Tascosa opened in 1953 and added a second, smaller screen in 1967. It apparently closed some time before 1984, and in the 1990s part of it became an RV park. The Tascosa reopened in 1999 using only the smaller screen, and it’s been operating ever since. I love drive-in revivals!

As you can see by the Tascosa web page, I didn’t miss opening day by much, just a week and a half before Kong Skull Island starts the new season on March 10. Still, it’s another dark night that I’ll need to make up for once drive-in season returns in earnest.

Miles Today / Total:  119 / 7802 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 37

Nearby Restaurant: I couldn’t very well pass up the opportunity to sample the World’s Best Pancakes, and that’s what the sign promised at Ye Olde Pancake Station. It seems like the only reason I was able to get in without waiting too long was that I arrived in the late morning on a Tuesday. Huge, plate-sized pancakes that taste great too. Maybe they really are the world’s best.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Quick story: Amarillo has a lot of motels, and once upon a time in the pre-web days, I took it for granted that I’d be able to find a room. When I arrived that night around 11 pm, I found out there was a convention in town and every room was taken. I ended up heading east until I finally found a vacancy at the Best Western in Shamrock TX a sleepy hour and a half away. Now it’s easy to book a room online, so I was sure that the Drury Inn would be waiting for me. They’ve always got a great breakfast, and their evening reception was even more appropriate considering I didn’t have to leave to watch a movie that night.

Only in Amarillo: When it comes to eating challenges, the Big Texan Steak Ranch is legendary. As told by billboards all around the region, if you can eat the full 72-ounce steak dinner with all the trimmings, it’s on the house. The restaurant was the first challenge undertaken by Adam Richman on his Man v Food series on the Travel Channel. On the show, it was said that only about one in six challengers are successful.

Next Stop: Sandell Drive-In, Clarendon TX.

Feb. 27: Corral Drive-In, Guymon OK

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Corral Drive-In logo projected on its screen at night

photo from the Corral Drive-In Facebook page

It’s Day 58 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. The drive from Las Vegas NM took a solid four hours to the heart of the Oklahoma panhandle and the Corral Drive-In in Guymon.

The weather’s pretty crazy now, grazing 70 degrees in February. I know you can’t count on drive-in weather this time of year, but I was still a little sad to see yet another closed for the season.

When the Corral opened around the late 1960s, it was the second drive-in in Guymon. The 54 had opened in 1949 and would continue operating into the 1970s. On the other hand, the Corral made it into the 1980s before closing, then was revived in 2009. I love drive-in revivals!

The Corral pizzeria and drive-in are closed for the season, but the RV Park is open year-round. Would it have made more sense for me to use an RV for this odyssey instead of staying at a different hotel every night? Would it have made it through the twisty, snowy mountain roads of a few days ago? I guess I’ll never know.

Miles Today / Total:  257 / 7683 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 37

Nearby Restaurant: One of the closest places specialized in chicken, always one of my favorites. (The chicken statue was a dead giveaway.) That’s why I stopped at Pollo El Ranchero close to downtown Guymon. Yummy grilled chicken at a reasonable price.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Well waddaya know! For the second straight night, I had a great stay at a great price at a Super 8. Friendly people, a clean room, lots of TV channels, and biscuits and gravy at breakfast.

Only in Guymon: I travelled on one of Guymon’s claims to fame on the way to the Corral. The east-west stretch of US Highway 412 between Boise City and Guymon includes a 47.7-mile straight shot. RoadsideAmerica calls it one of the longest straight roads in the US.

Next Stop: Tascosa Drive-in Theater, Amarillo TX.

Feb. 26: Fort Union Drive In, Las Vegas NM

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It’s Day 57 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. The drive from Monte Vista CO took almost four hours over twisty two-lane mountain roads. At the end of my journey, I reached the Fort Union Drive In Movie Theatre in Las Vegas NM. It’s on the north edge of town, right on Highway 518.

In a June 2014 article, the Santa Fe New Mexican documented how the Fort Union almost closed because of the need to convert to digital projection. It highlighted its new general manager, then 18-year-old Jake Cordova, who had asked his grandfather to buy the projector and take over the theater. “Las Vegas doesn’t have many other forms of entertainment,” Felipe Cordova said. “You often wonder why they discontinue this kind of entertainment that brings the community together.”

So we know that it updated to digital projection in 2014, but when did the Fort Union first open? At Visit Las Vegas NM, they say it was 1958. Then again, the Vegas Drive-In, about the same size as today’s Fort Union, opened around 1949 and was still in the 1955-56 Theatre Catalog. Did it get renamed, or did the Fort Union replace it? I just don’t know.

The Fort Union typically operates from mid-May to September or so. I expected that I’d run into a stretch like this – I’ve only seen one movie all week.

Miles Today / Total:  182 / 7426 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 37

Nearby Restaurant: For a touch of history in this old railroad town, a great place to eat is The Landmark Grill at the Plaza Hotel. It was like stepping through a time warp to the late 19th century, except for the prices. I chose the somewhat reasonably priced blue corn enchiladas so I’d feel better about trying their bread pudding for dessert. The best I’ve ever had is still at the Golden Nugget in that other Las Vegas, but this one’s on the list.

Where I Virtually Stayed: A few days ago, I suggested that if the Super 8 is the best hotel in a town, that might mean it doesn’t have much competition. In Las Vegas, despite the historic, excellent Plaza Hotel, it’s the Super 8 that has the highest traveller rating on TripAdvisor. Because it really is that good, especially for the money. Evening soup and a decent breakfast are included, as is some of the friendliest service you’ll ever find.

Only in Las Vegas: Thirty minutes away from the Fort Union Drive-In is the Fort Union National Monument. Fort Union was built in 1851 near the convergence of the Cimarron and Mountain branches of the Santa Fe Trail. In 1879 a newly built railroad began to displace traffic on the trail, and in 1891 the Army abandoned the fort. Fort Union National Monument was established in 1956, so maybe that’s when and why they renamed the drive-in.

Next Stop: Corral Drive-In, Guymon OK.