Nick‘s Big Ride, Day 5: ‘Just For a Moment, Let’s Be Still…’
by Nick Coston, OOH, DOOH Professional; Industry Writer
Friday, April 26, 2024
The Skinny:
As you read this piece about Friday’s journey, Nick’s Big Ride from Maryland to California for the OAAA conference in Carlsbad rests comfortably in Tuscon, Arizona. The drive from Amarillo, Texas, to Las Cruces, New Mexico, was roughly six hours, allowing me to hit stretches of the famous U.S. Route 66.
Before departing Amarillo, I had a breakfast of coffee and yogurt and made a beeline to the famous Cadillac Ranch, about 15 minutes west on the old Route 66. It was a beautiful day, sunny but dry, and I was able to see better that Amarillo is a much larger town than I thought, a super stop for cross-country travelers and a haven for long-haul truck drivers.
In fact, I was sitting on a comfy leather couch in the hotel when a young man looking for a place to sit caught my eye. He seemed eager for a conversation, and I pointed him to the couch to my right. He said his name was Justin, a truck driver on his way to Southern California. He claimed to have once lived in Maryland not far from my house, but he hated the politics and high taxes, so he skedaddled for Texas.
Justin said his mother was riding with him. I did not see her. He also said he pretty much lives in the cab of his truck. That’s often the life of these folks. They’re under intense pressure to keep commerce moving. Justin admitted he listens to far-right conservative talk shows while driving his rig, and he believes in conspiracy theories. Then, a woman came around and said the bus was ready to take him to his truck. We shook hands, I wished him well, snapped out of my haze and returned to Earth.
Day 5 Quickies:
• Where I started: Amarillo, Texas
• Where I ended: Las Cruces, New Mexico
• Miles driven: 437 miles
• States: Texas and New Mexico
Friday’s Highlight:
It was a warm, beautiful, sunny day for an enchanting drive to New Mexico. Highlights include the distant mountain ranges, zero traffic, and a magnificent sunset as I rode due west with most speed limits around 75 mph. I cranked the Volkswagen SUV up to 120 mph several times, passing trucks. The open road never looked this good, and on the fifth day of my westward Big Ride, I was literally speeding to the end of this road trip.
The Narrative:
My first goal of the day was to stand erect, wave my arms and stretch my legs to ensure they were still attached and working after all this driving. They were. My first ride goal was to visit Cadillac Ranch, located 15 minutes west of my hotel on old U.S. Route 66. Constructed in 1974 as an art project by the group Ant Farm, Cadillac Ranch is a stunning series of older vehicles sticking out of the ground, backside-up.
Parking on the side road parallel to the interstate, Cadillac Ranch is about a quarter-mile walk from where the structures are displayed. Visitors are encouraged to add their own art using spray paint. Graffiti from five decades fills the place. It’s a fantastic site and worth the hour’s stop. I couldn’t resist buying some handmade car chain trinkets produced from broken-off pieces of metal from the exhibit. I picked out one for my daughter and a co-worker watching over my business while I ride.
Cadillac Ranch and cruising down this historic American avenue is another monumental milestone during my trip. Despite the songs, books, and stories that may seem slightly exaggerated today, the significance of this famous highway cannot be overstated. It’s a part of American history that I was privileged to experience first-hand. Worth every moment.
OOH Report:
Ad copy along the route was all local, and once again, even in smaller towns and into Las Cruces, there was the usual assortment of personal injury attorneys. Several towns used the old Burma-Shave billboard concept of successive billboards to sell a product. The most creative boards were those in pistachio nut country. The area was also dotted with tours of wineries and a giant pistachio nut. They were all closed when I was zooming past, so I have no idea what pistachio wine might taste like, but this climate is a perfect place to grow grapes—and apparently pistachios.
Unexpected Surprise:
You can’t believe how beautiful and majestic the drive is through New Mexico. Even with the long stretches where I lost cell connections and satellite radio reception, it didn’t matter because the scene was like being in the middle of a movie set. I peacefully faded away for over two hours with nothing but the landscape and my thoughts. There was a euphoric rush of freedom. Without a prompt, my iTunes began playing “Let’s Be Still,” a lovely ballad by The Head and the Heart. Being hypnotized by the sights and music around me, I reflected on my family, my home and the recent health issues that have popped up.
Mortality is a bitch, but she sure is a fun ride, especially at 85 mph.
Grub Hub:
Because I’m a thousand years old, some wariness and eagerness have crept in as this trip has moved toward the end. Needing to achieve x-number of miles from one day to the next, breakfasts have been uneventful, with quick freebies from the hotel. Lunches often consisted of leftovers, and, yep, like clockwork on this day, I was chomping on porterhouse steak from The Big Texan in Amarillo. I won’t get into the Neanderthal details of eating a hunk of red meat on the bone while driving, but it worked, tasting sweeter than the night before.
Las Cruces is a great city with a fantastic food culture that blends Spanish, Mexican and Native American flavors. Led by local green chile peppers, there are green chile cheeseburgers and green chile stew and green chile burritos, and about 185 other ways to fuse local native eats.
But I was late, and I was possibly delirious, hallucinating that I was in Nashville instead of New Mexico. Dinner at my hotel was a tasty spicy-hot chicken sandwich with pickles, secret sauce and steak fries washed down with a Modelo. From my table seat in the hotel lobby, I people-watched and decompressed, reveling in the glory of saving the other half of that sandwich to eat on today’s ride to Tucson. Old food lives on, my friends.
Hotel Report:
Rather than driving around Las Cruces looking for a hotel with some history, I returned to the Hilton app and those loyalty points for a room at the Hilton Garden Inn right off the interstate. Unlike the Hilton Garden Inn I stayed in Oklahoma, this was a beautiful, newer hotel with a southwest vibe. With a big swimming pool and hot tub, I was enjoying the water by 9:30 p.m.
Gas Report:
In Santa Rosa, New Mexico, one big fill-up at the Sinclair Dino is surrounded by majestic mountain ranges, landscapes and skies you can’t imagine unless you see them. The mini-mart, owned by a friendly Hindu family, had everything, including my usual big boy peanut butter Snickers bar. Gas was $3.49 a gallon, much higher than Texas, and I topped off the tank at $62.
Quote of the Day:
“You must be Mr. Coston. We’ve been waiting for you. Your room is ready and you are already checked in.”
— My greeting at 9 Friday night upon reaching the front desk after six hours on the road.
Today’s Big Ride:
Today’s destination is Tucson, Arizona. As the list of Big Ride goals is winding down, Tucson is where my son Tyki and his longtime girlfriend Cierra have lived since graduating from the University of Arizona. After the 2019 OAAA Conference in Las Vegas, I flew to Tucson, and father and son drove back to Maryland for the experience. Although we took a different route, there’s some familiarity here as I approach Tucson. I’m excited and emotional to see Tyki, especially on his 25th birthday weekend.
As I keep saying, this stuff keeps writing itself.
Nick Coston has been in the advertising industry for over 35 years. He’s worked at newspapers, magazines, OOH/DOOH companies, programmatic platforms, and ground-breaking ad tech companies, including Washingtonian, Washington Times, New Republic, USA Today Weekend, Clear Channel Outdoor, The Neuron, and Hypercell. Currently SVP media sales/strategy at Smartify Media, Nick also spent 10 years buying OOH for a top 10 national advertiser. He resides with his family in Dayton, Maryland, and has been musing about the Outdoor Media industry for over five years.