When we arrived in Decatur the evening before, it was getting dark and was rainy. We were both intrigued by Decatur and decided to start the day with a tour of the sights.
We both liked the courthouse architecture.
The town has a small town feel to it even with a trendy main street that includes, a Mexican restaurant, a Thai-sushi bistro, and a trendy women's boutique.
The old Sinclair is past its days as a gas station, but it lives on as a commercial establishment.
The real gas station attraction in Decatur is the petrified station. The station has been closed since 1988, but it is well maintained by its current owner.
We moved on to Fort Richardson State Park after leaving Decatur. The park was a nice mix of historic army base and natural arees. I somehow lost most of my images of the old military sections of the park, but still have a few of the natural ones including the pie-billed grebes in the water near the park entrance.
One of the park volunteers noted there was a roadrunner spending time in the camping area. It was my first sighting of a roadrunner.
Our last big stop for the day was a late afternoon stop in Archer, Texas. Archer City has been in existence for nearly 160 years. It was the birthplace of author Larry McMurtry and has a place in history as the town setting of his book and later movie the Last Picture Show, the 1972 best movie Oscar winner.
The movie was a period snapshot of a small town declining in the age of growing urban markets. Archer City still exists and maintains its population, but distant highways and sprawl have created a place that is common throughout the country. The movie has stuck with me through the years as I have traveled. The same images dot the two-lane from Spokane to Wenatchee in Washington. We were near the town. I had to stop for the experience.
Sam's Cafe (far building on the right) is gone, but the road through main street is easily recognizable.
2017
The Royal Theater a focal point in the movie and in the real town of Archer City still stands today. Ironically, it had been heavily damaged and burned by a fire in 1965 many years before the filming of the movie. It stood in near destruction until the early 90's when an effort was made to restore the theater for performances. The building still functions in its restored state bu retains the damaged external wall of its past.
Royal Theater movie capture
2017
The old Texaco station which stood adjacent to the hotel still stands with just the pump island giving evidence of its past.
2017 Old Texaco
The Spur Hotel must have seen a few deals in its day as the hotel in the county seat especially when the local oilfields were booming. Our rental seems strangely out-of-place in a town where time has slowed so much.
I enjoyed our brief walk through this time capsule of the movie and a world that is passing.
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