Saturday was the big festival day for us.

We knew we’d be heading out early the next morning, so this was our one full day to take it all in—and we made the most of it.

Getting ready in the bigger trailer has definitely been a nice upgrade. There’s still a bit of morning choreography involved, but nothing like the old Scotty days. Everything has its place now… even if I was still figuring out exactly where those places were.

We made our way over to the festival grounds and started with the car show and local vendors before heading into The Glass Place—basically the hub for many of our Route 66 friends. Authors, artists, photographers, collectors… if you’ve spent any time in the Route 66 community, chances are they were there.

And so were a lot of familiar faces.

We caught up with longtime friends and finally met quite a few people we’d only known through Facebook. Jim and Shellee, Jane, Bob, Fred, Chery, Mike and Sharon, Joe, Jerry, Tonya, Rhys and Samantha, Ron, Don, and Jason and Woody from The Road Crew… and plenty more. It’s always one of the best parts of these events—putting faces to names and picking up right where conversations left off.

At one point, I even jumped in to help Jim and Shellee at their booth while they grabbed lunch—and managed to sell a couple of Tourist Trap tees in the process. I was already wearing my Spooklight shirt, so I figured I was dressed for the job.

After browsing a few more booths, we stepped away to catch The Road Crew’s set, planning to circle back later.

The Road to Amarillo:

The festival itself was incredibly well done—especially for being just in its fifth year. Between the car show, artists and collectors exhibit, live music, local vendors, motorcycle show, and a kids’ area packed with bounce houses, there was something happening everywhere you looked. If we had brought our grandson along, we definitely would’ve needed to set some limits.

After the show, we made our way back through The Glass Place to catch anyone we missed earlier before heading back to the KOA.

Dinner became the next mission.

Thanks to a few Facebook posts, we quickly figured out where everyone was gathering—Colton’s. We headed over, got seated pretty quickly, and settled in with onion tanglers and steak. And for once, I made a responsible road trip decision: remembering I actually had a refrigerator this time, I saved part of my meal for later. Definitely the right call.

That evening, we made our way over to the Rail Haven, where many of the roadies were staying—and where The Road Crew was playing an acoustic set. Since we couldn’t stay for Sunday, this felt like a bonus show.

We arrived just after golden hour, but there was still enough soft light lingering to grab a few photos of the recently installed replica of the old Rail Haven Motel sign. It’s always great to see a property owner who respects the history and character of a place like that.

How awesome to have an owner who honors the past and the uniqueness of the original sign. Holiday Inn, are you listening?