Saturday 22nd April 2023
We packed up and did another very long drive! 25 miles to our next park in Quanah, Texas just next to the Oklahoma border. After two weeks of no stores or laundry we knew we would need to do some chores and stock up on food so we stayed in a private campsite for a week as we were not able to get a booking in the next State Park until the end of the month.
https://www.oletowncottonginrvpark.com/
This was an ok place. As it was just off a highway it caters more for people stopping overnight to break up a long drive. It had full hook ups and a laundry with the nearest Walmart just over twenty miles away. Felt a bit like staying in a car park but the rates were reasonable, the bathrooms and laundry were clean so it did the job but it definitely reaffirmed our love for State Parks even with their minimal services.
Saturday: after getting set up we drove to Walmart and stocked up, then had a drive through the historic area of Childress which was basically a very sad main street. The architecture was lovely and the road was made of brick pavers, you could feel it's history and the echoes of it's glory days but now the businesses are closed and many of the buildings left to rot.
We drove around the corner and found a cute place, bakery and pizza the only business open. Well you know me, use the B word and I'm pulling over to investigate!
Wheat's Pizza and Bakery in Childress, Texas. Does not have a website but here is a Tripadvisor page.
The owner was a great guy who had renovated the building himself and had made a photo album to show all the great work he had done. We got a tasty pizza and some cookies. Hopefully more people will buy up some of the buildings and turn them into great businesses, there is a highway running through the town and I'm sure people would stop to shop.
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| North Main Street Childress |
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| Great cell reception here! |
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| So many abandoned buildings |
A few miles from Quanah is a sign for a town called Acme. It made me remember watching the Looney Tunes cartoons with the Roadrunner and Wile Coyote and their Acme gadgets. Acme was once a thriving town with a cement works and railway line but slowly the population dwindled and the town died. The gypsum plant finally closed in March 2023 eliminating 166 jobs. It's not surprising and very sad the neighboring towns of Childress and Quanah are dying too.
Driving around both of the towns made me sad. I saw some elderly people outside their homes, how do they function on a day to day basis? The supermarket in Quanah was small, very limited and expensive and if you wanted more choice you have to drive thirty miles to Walmart. What do they do for health care and social life? Is there any sense or feeling of the community they have had for years left? I do not imagine they have the option to move to a new area and there are no residential homes catering to the aged to go live in.
These are things we will be thinking about when we look for somewhere to lay our hat. A rural life looks good on Instagram but what would it mean on a daily basis? Are there healthcare providers, stores etc. within a reasonable drive?
A good stop in Childress was Justin Outlet Store. The store from the roadside looked pretty sad and closed but was fun to shop in. The place to get your boots! Nope I was good, I didn't buy any.
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