Category Archives: Texas

Mar. 1: Sandell Drive-In, Clarendon TX

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It’s Day 60 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. The drive from Amarillo was just an hour to the Sandell Drive-In in Clarendon TX. I started the third month of the odyssey with what will be my last stop in Texas.

According to KFDA, Amarillo’s News Leader, the Sandell Drive-In opened in September 1955 and was named after owner Gary Barnhill’s two daughters, Sandra and Adele. In closed in the late 1980s, then John Murrow purchased it and reopened in 2002. I love drive-in revivals! The Sandell switched to digital conversion around the end of 2011, so it looks like it’s in it for the long haul.

Coolest part of the Sandell? As shown in this photo, for the box office they use a repurposed booth from Clic Photo, a manned parking lot kiosk that was part of a smaller chain that was a lot like Fotomat. That’s so brilliant that I’m surprised I’ve never seen anyone else do that.

The Sandell web page says it held a special junior high school fundraiser on Feb. 11, but otherwise it’s open Fridays and Saturdays from April through September. Which makes this my eighth straight day of dark screens and no end in sight.

Miles Today / Total:  61 / 7863 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 37

Nearby Restaurant: What would I expect to find to eat in Clarendon? A solid steakhouse? Check! A good pizza joint? Check! The surprise was an authentic Lao Thai restaurant with the stealth name of the Jinda Cafe. I started with the Jinda roll and continued through the yellow curry. It’s great to find something this nice and unexpected.

Where I Virtually Stayed: It was just across the railroad track from the Sandell, and there aren’t a lot of choices in Clarendon, but the Best Western Red River Inn would have been a good pick no matter the circumstances. It’s a clean, modern place with wifi in the room and eggs, bacon, and omelets for breakfast in the morning.

Only in Clarendon: Just up the road in Groom TX, there’s an old water tower along old Route 66 that leans on purpose. According to Wikipedia, the tower was slated for demolition until Ralph Britten bought it and moved it to serve as a sign for his truck stop and tourist information center, and he thought it would attract more attention if it leaned a little. Oh, and Groom also has a 190-foot, free-standing cross.

Next Stop: Winchester Drive In, Oklahoma City OK.

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.

Jan. 31: Fiesta Drive-In, El Paso TX

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It’s Day 31 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, the end of Month 1, and it marked a visit to an unusual drive-in. There are only two Fiesta Drive-Ins in the US, and they happen to sit just over two hours apart. Yesterday was the three-screen Carlsbad NM version. This one was the Fiesta of El Paso TX, the one that shows adult movies.

According to CinemaTreasures, this Fiesta is not the Fiesta Drive-In that operated in El Paso from the 1950s until the early 1980s. Its commenters suggest that the adult version opened before 1999, and that it has switched to digital projection.

More clues come from a 2015 article in the University of Texas-El Paso newspaper, The Prospector. The author said she interviewed Fiesta manager Lee Wilson, who said that the movies change every night and that the theater has “two large outdoor movie screens, a projection booth and a concession stand.” But every other source I’ve seen says the Fiesta has only one screen, and the overhead view from Google Earth shows only the one obvious screen with its back to US 62. The official Facebook page mentions “an 80ft outdoor screen,” so I’m guessing that the UTEP reporter misread a note.

Unlike most drive-ins, the Fiesta encourages patrons to bring their own refreshments. “The theatre is BYOB, meaning bringing your own beer, booze, babe, burger, barbecue, etc,” Wilson said.

That Fiesta Facebook page, which lists the business’s start date as 1981, sometimes lists its movies, but the service is pretty spotty. Previously shown titles include Superstars Open Wide and Registered Nurse . Because Registered Nurse 1 and 2 left so many unanswered questions.

Miles Today / Total:  146 / 3754 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: not counting this one / 21

Nearby Restaurant: I can’t visit a place this close to the Mexican border without trying some authentic Mexican food. The L & J Cafe downtown provided that plus plenty of cold beer in a sports bar atmosphere. I’ll bet this place is great on weekends, albeit even more crowded.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Call me crazy, but I thought the closest place to stay was a great bargain. Sure, the Value Place is the kind of chain that features long-term, no-frills lodging near military bases, but it gave me a full kitchen, a decent TV and a full-sized bed for the lowest price I’ve paid all month. And it was the only hotel close to the Fiesta.

Only in El Paso: With all this talk about the border between the US and Mexico, few think deeply about what that border really is. In El Paso, it’s the Rio Grande, but rivers can shift over time. One chunk of land used to be on the Mexican side, then shifted to the US after the Flood of 1864. The Chamizal National Memorial commemorates “the harmonious settlement of a 100-year border dispute” as it provides a peaceful urban park.

Next Stop: Glendale 9 Drive-In, Glendale AZ.