Earth!

Northwest of Lubbock, Texas is a little place that everyone calls home: Earth! I was surprised to find that a town with such a monumental name could be so small. In fact, there’s not even a traffic light in town. An Earth without traffic lights… hmmmm… Maybe that’s not so bad! On second thought, maybe we should keep the traffic lights for safety’s sake. Earth is actually a good name for the town, as it is a town that supports a community of farmers. You can overhear the farmers discussing how many bushels of corn they planted or how well their tractors are running at the popular lunch spot. They till the soil and tend to the crops which spring up from the ground, depending on the Earth for their livelihood. What better way to honor that dependence than naming the town after the Earth? Just about ten minutes to the west is a slightly larger town called Muleshoe. Muleshoe, of course, being named in honor of the workhorse, err, work-mule, that helped to cultivate the surrounding fields. Also in the environs around Muleshoe are several cattle feedlots. In fact, this region of Texas has one of the most densely feedlot-populated areas in all of the United States. Cows upon cows upon cows are lined up at the feed troughs. If the wind blows just right, the scent that greets you makes you suddenly lose your appetite for beef products of any kind. This restaurant is in Earth and is voted to have the best burgers according to the sign. So does it have the best burgers ON Earth or the best burgers IN Earth? Burgers in Earth does not sound good. Flat Stanley is not a fan of dirt burgers, though he can make a mean mud pie! Earth: Population 1109 + ~ 6 Billion In between Earth and Muleshoe, there was a farm that was practically converted into a prairie dog city. All of those white patches of sand in the photo mark entryways into prairie dog burrows. In Muleshoe, this town mascot fiberglass Mule is famous for having been sent to the Whitehouse for George W. Bush’s first inauguration celebration.