This prestigious award goes to the stretch of U.S. 60 betweent Clovis, New Mexico and Amarillo, Texas.
When I was heading back to Interstate 40 from Roswell, I decided to head straight back up to I-40 through Amarillo rather than going through Lubbock, Texas. U.S. 60 picks up in Clovis and takes you all the way to Amarillo.
The stench that got to me? Cow shit. By the goddamn ton.
Now I’ve driven through areas where there are hundreds, even thousands, of cows before, but I’ve never smelled anything this wretched in my entire life. I think what probably happened is that I drove through shortly after all the farms in the area had fertilized their fields.
For city kids, if you’ve ever walked through a freshly mulched area, you know what I’m talking about. It smells like shit for about a week after the mulch is put down. However, for farm areas, the fertilizer is far more shit-intensive than urban mulch, so the stench is about 20 times more powerful.
My friend Joanna, who used to date a guy from a farm town in upstate New York, explained that she also found out the hard way that farmers all tend to fertilize at the same time, creating one horrific stench instead of an overall, seeping stench.
The worst part came from my own stupidity. When I first smelled it, I thought it was an isolated smell, so I rolled down my window to let some fresh air in.
Big mistake.
I almost threw up about four times during this hour and a half ordeal, but I knew if I pulled over, it was all over. I stepped on it and figured that no Texas Highway Patrolman wanted to sit in this shit stink trying to catch speeders, then step outside into it when they had to write a ticket.
I kept smelling it right up until I got just outside of Amarillo. I was so obsessed with getting away from it that I decided to get as far to the west side of Amarillo as possible, and ended up overshooting Amarillo completely.
I ended up driving an extra 100 miles or so before I stopped in Shamrock, Texas, just to get away from this smell. Well, actually, that’s not entirely true. I could have stopped in Groom, Texas, about 40 miles east of Amarillo, but for one thing.
They had a 100-foot tall cross, brightly lit up by about 50,000 watts of electricity, by the exit to get off the interstate.
Now I try not to be too stereotypical, but when you’re a) not christian, b) not straight, and c) in an area you know to contain many Southern Baptists, 100-foot tall crosses do not tend to make you think, “Wow, what an accepting bunch of people!”
So I decided, well, I feel okay driving farther, and I am definitely not staying here. Of course, it was not until after I made this decision that I saw a sign that showed Shamrock as being 60 more miles down the road. Whoops…
But at least it didn’t smell like shit anymore.
I couldn’t agree more! THE WORST SMELL EVER IN MY LIFE!!!
Oh my word, I just passed through and had to google. I just knew I wasn’t the only one wanting to give this award away. It was pure torture and I can’t imagine why or how anyone could choose to live by this place
Did you see the many head of cattle, living in their on excrement, in pens, on the side of I-40?
The owner should be extremely ashamed of allowing animals to live this way!
So funny that this was written back in 2003! We just drove through this area in our motorhome. It was really difficult not to throw up several times. I’ve never smelled anything as horrible as that. I had to google it to find more info. How could anyone live near that??
It’s pretty hilarious to me that somehow after 15 years something changed in Google to make this post come up way more often, and that it STILL smells that godawful.
We drove past this area too and I was appalled at the pen with cattle practically on top of one another. The stench is from these poor animals being treated so poorly. How is this owner getting away with such poor treatment of the cows?
Just driving by now. No change it’s disgusting
Doea anyone know what this place is called? i know it’s a butcher but i couldnt find the name. We just drove through it yesterday for the second time and those poor cows and how they live until they die makes me sick too.
I drove through this in 1976 six time back and forth from chicago to cali hasn’t changed at all worst smell for miles will be taking a road trip to st.louis from cali next month hope i can hold my breath!!!!!!
Omg we have just driven through this area and the smell hit the back of my throat instantly! I live in the UK countryside and smell farms etc all day long but ohh my this smell is unreal! I just had to Google it as its like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Absolutely rancid!!!
We just came through a stretch of I-40 west of Amarillo last night and as you can see, I am Googling around for answers. I thought maybe it was a fertilizer plant or a meat processing plant or something to do with helium. It was unreal!
Like everyone else, I had the misfortune of driving both west and the East on I-40 not too far from Amarillo. As others have commented as bad as the stench is – and it would not be possible to overstate this odor – the animals live in this shithole (literally) and this can be described as nothing but abject cruelty.
Well just drove past a stockyard with cattle off highway 40 and as you all say – could hardly breathe with the windows up . The cows looked horrendous. Some dead from the stench they are stuck in.
I notice many comments about the stench, but not much about the inhumanity of keeping any yard like that. Who can even work there without masks to save themselves. I’m shocked and this stench is just the backyard of sick people who act as if they dont have a brain . What is going on with stockyards? Get off your dumb evil duff and start cleaning up your character and your business . Texas – time to take your schoolkids on a field trip and dump them into the center of their state’ s choices . Maybe it’s time to mess with Texas .
Disgusting. I won’t eat steaks for a year.
Holy cow shit!!!! I can’t believe this came up when I googled it 17 years later. Still hoorid. Thought my kid shit his pants in his sleep.
OMG, my wife and I just drove pass this Slaughterhouse and at first she was blaming me for the smell. I noticed I didn’t have the ventilation on inside air recycling, switching it didn’t help at all. The smell stayed in the car for at least 30 minutes. 2 days later we traveled back and forgot all about where we were until the stench it hit us again. About 2 hours later we stopped at Wendy’s and we both got a Wendy’s double burger.
Those people that complain of the smell on I-40 have no idea of the stench on US-60 south from Amarillo. Multiply the I-40 smell by 10x. I will happily drive I-40.
Does anyone know what is the name of this ranch/butcher? I will write hundreds of letters to peta if I have to, and report those mofo’s for animal cruelty
March 2023, just drive through there yesterday. It’s horrible still. Couldn’t drive fast enough.
2022 here… still rancid…