ND3 and a B-17
Today’s Roadside America picture is of the Flying Fortress of the Plains A metal cut-out sculpture of the B-17 bomber on the site of the WWII Hobbs Army Air Field. I had been here before, back in 2023, too bad I didn’t remember where here was.
Today’s destination was Lubbock, TX, which is a little over 300 miles from Santa Fe. It was a short driving day with only about 5 hours in the saddle. I had picked out a lunch spot in Fort Sumner and a Roadside America stop in Muleshoe, TX, to see the world’s largest mule shoe.
This route took me right through Clovis, NM, where I thought the above B-17 was located. I remembered that it was not far from the airport and was visible from the road. After taking a circuitous route all around the airport, I never found it. Plus, nothing seemed familiar.
In 2023 Donna and I took a road trip over to Laurel, MS, to visit the Hometown town of Laurel, MS. Our route was through Hobbs, NM, on the way there and Clovis, NM, on the way home. All three towns were in the running for us to possibly relocate to.
Turns out the B-17 sculpture was in Hobbs. With the planned short day of driving, I decided, what the heck, and would head south. But first, lunch. I fired up Google and searched for a place. The first one up was Mom’s Cafe with a 4.7-star rating. I headed that way, and as I started up the bridge that went over the railroad tracks, I had a hit of déjà vu. I already knew where I was going, Donna and I had breakfast at Mom’s Cafe back in 2023.
Instead of just the 100 miles I had left to go to Lubbock from the start in Santa Fe, I turned it into 240 miles with the Hobbs detour.