Shamrock, Texas, is a town named by an Irishman, and it has never been shy about the fact. A homesteader called George Nickel, so the story goes, gave it its name in 1890, and the town now holds an annual St Patrick's Day festival with a parade, a Blarney Stone and a great deal of green. It sits on the old Route 66, in the Texas Panhandle, a country of flat horizons, grain elevators, cattle and wind. The population is under two thousand, and the nearest other town of any size, Wheeler, is a good half-hour away.
The pride of Shamrock is the U-Drop Inn, a gas station and cafe built in 1936 in the Art Deco style, with a green tower and curving glass, which was a roadside landmark on Route 66 for decades. It was restored in the 2000s and now serves as a visitor centre. It is said to have been the inspiration for Ramone's House of Body Art in the animated film Cars. Beside it, the old Tower Station and its neighbours keep the period flavour, and the whole block feels like a film set that people still use.
The ride along Route 66 in this part of the country is long and straight, with slow rises and gentle bends. There is a wide sky, a lot of wind, and not much shade. Headwinds and crosswinds can be strong enough to tire you out, and summer heat in the Panhandle can pass a hundred degrees. Cattle trucks and wheat trucks share the road. Storms can build up quickly, with hail and, in spring, tornadoes, so keep an eye on the sky. West of Shamrock, McLean has the Devil's Rope Museum, devoted to barbed wire, which is a lot more entertaining than it sounds.
Fuel is available on the main roads, and the old cafe is a fine place for a chicken-fried steak and a slice of pie. Shamrock is a place to fill the tank, take a photograph of the U-Drop in the light of late afternoon, and think about the people who drove here in the Depression, looking for a better life. Drink plenty of water, and wear sunscreen.