Slug Bug Ranch: The new Slug Bug Ranch in Amarillo has been open for about a year. The new ranch is owned by the Lee family, who also own the legendary Big Texan Steak House in Amarillo. The new ranch is just a few blocks west of the restaurant. This has proved to be a popular move for visitors. The area has become a ‘taggers paradise’. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Ranch in Conway: The original Slug Bug Ranch was located near I-40 in Conway, Texas. about 40 miles east of Amarillo. While the ranch definitely attracted attention, it was never a popular or well-known stop for travelers. The original ranch was more raw and unkept than the new ranch but that was part of the rural atmosphere and setting. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
I love finding “roadside oddities” or various quirky subject matter when we are traveling about in our van. One such example was discovered several years ago near I-40 in Conway, Texas.
What caught my eye were several Volkswagen Beetles buried in the ground nose (or frontend) first. We stopped and found five of the classic cars buried at a 45-degree angle along with a couple of other cars and about four buildings, which were tagged or spray painted with various names, messages, designs, etc.
The cars were reminiscent of the Cadillacs at Cadillac Ranch just west of Amarillo where several Cadillacs are buried at a 45 degree angle nose first. That display has become world famous as a travel stop on Historic Route 66 and other travel related publications have given the Cadillacs ample promotion and advertisements. I thought the Slug Bug Ranch was a clever idea given my love for the little rounded cars.
But what is a “slug bug”. That is a term originating in the 1960s given to Volkswagen Beetles. Slug Bug became a road game with children of various ages to yell Slug Bug when one was spotted on the highway. I think it was kind of corny but the name has remained with the Beetle.
I photographed the area and enjoyed seeing the various works of creativity displayed on about every surface on the lot. We continued on our way and I forgot about the Beetles until our next trip through the Texas Panhandle on our way from Denver to Houston where Marilyn’s parents live. I decided to take the route by the Beetles and there they here supporting a few more layers of spray paint on their bodies.
Then again passing through the area we stopped in Conway in November 2023, only to be amazed. The Beetles had been dug up and sat sadly on the lot awaiting their next move.
I did a little research and learned that the property had been sold and the new owner wanted the Beetles moved out. One group of people in Amarillo, Texas had plans to move the cars to Amarillo and “re-bury” them with hopes of more exposure to more people.
I learned that the original plans to establish a new Slug Bug Ranch in Amarillo did not happen. Enter the Lee family who own the legendary Big Texan Steak House on I-40 in Amarillo. They had already established a RV Park a few blocks from the restaurant and they acquired the five Volkswagen Beetles with hopes of a new Bug Ranch.
That did happen and the new Slug Bug Ranch is located a few blocks west of the Big Texan Steakhouse. In addition to the original five cars, five more Beetles were added to the collection along with several SUV style vehicles and even some grain silos and other ranch equipment.
The new Slug Bug Ranch opened in 2024 and it has brought new life and recognition to the Beetles. The day that we stopped there were several other groups of travelers who were visiting the site.
I liked the raw and unkept environment of the original site but I realize it never really gained popularity and was never that popular. The new site is far more visible and already more well known but it is also more commercialized. Overall I am happy that the colorful tagged and painted Beetles got a new life in the dirt of Amarillo. Now they sit buried nose first just like the famous Cadillacs a few mile west of the new location.
The Slug Bug Ranch is a fun and entertaining stop when traveling on I-40 through the Texas Panhandle. The new ranch is at 1415 Sunrise Drive in Amarillo, just a few blocks from the restaurant and next to the popular Big Texan RV Ranch. God Bless Texas!
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Waiting to Move: Much to our surprise, in November 2023, we stopped at the ranch in Conway only to see the Beetles dug up and sitting sadly for their next move. It eventually did work out for the colorful cars to be buried again in the ground in Amarillo. The new location offers much more visibility, and the stop has become much more popular. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
New Life and Color: The current Slug Bug Ranch in Amarillo gave the grounded Beetles new life in a more prominent location. The site has attracted many new fans who love to visit with their spray cans of paint to add another layer to the story of these cars. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Up Close: A detailed view of the Beetles reveals the stripped down shell of the original Beetle car. The ranch offers visitors a chance to add their touch to the colorful cars. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Taggers: This couple does not fit the average idea of taggers, but here they are visiting the Slug Bug Ranch and spraying away on one of the SUV-style cars at the ranch. The row of these vehicles is buried with the front of the vehicle pointed skyward, and the vehicles are buried vertically, not at an angle like the Beetles. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
No Spray Zone: A ‘No Spray Zone’ consisting of a store with spray paint supplies, drinks, snacks and other items for visitors who come to see the Slug Bug Ranch in Amarillo. Unfortunately, the facility was closed the day that we visited the ranch. This facility is about a block away from the ranch and is a no spray zone while at the facility. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com