Before departing Kerrville, TX, on the 28th, Dan learned that he had four day job for LSU in Ohio 11JUN. So rather then driving straight to the Seattle area just to catch a plane, we decided to take our time and Dan would fly out of Denver. We always enjoy driving the RV in Texas even on the two lane roads. Not only are the two lane roads in excellent shape, but often the speed limit is 65 or 70mph. And the state is now spending millions of dollars on what they call Texas Public Safety Rest Stop Areas. These facilities are not only on the interstates but on many of the other major highways throughout the state. Each facility is designed based on the local area architecture and uses native materials from that area of Texas; in addition, each facility contains small geographic and historical displays for that area. Lastly, each facility has free WiFi.
http://gorvtexas.com/reststop.htm
Since we were in no big rush, we decided to spend several days in the Amarillo area before going to Denver. Before we arrived in Amarillo, we spent the night in Big Spring, TX. The next morning we continued to head north to Amarillo. In about an hour we approached the town of Lamesa, TX, when Dan announced we needed to pull into town for a quick photo op? Turns out a local business has one of the original and very rare “Uniroyal Girls”. Although this uniroyal girl has been redone to resemble a local high school cheerleader, there is no doubt that it is a uniroyal girl! For more info, check out:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/set/unigal.html
As we continued to drive north and west to Amarillo, we continued to experience the record heat TX has experienced for the last several weeks. In fact the heat and continued drought resulted in several dust storms obscuring the road during the drive. As we drove this flat and treeless plains area we finally came to our first camp site in the Amarillo area without warning – Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon, after the Grand Canyon, in the USA. But let’s just say there is a big difference between number one and number two. But one neat thing is that you can camp in your RV at the bottom of the canyon; after you navigate the narrow, switch backed, two mile road that drops 800 feet with a 10% grade. The Park Rangers gave us no warning about the road, but luckily we had decided to disconnect the Toad before driving the road.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/palo_duro/
Although nowhere near as spectacular as Grand Canyon, the canyon walls are still beautiful. Plus many buildings built by the CCC remain. The Visitor Center (built by the CCC) has small historical display on the CCC in Palo Duro Canyon along with some of the handcrafted furniture they built. The State Park is also home to the musical drama “Texas” for the last 41 years. The play runs from early June to mid August. The cast was going through dress rehearsals while we were there and we got to see some of the light show on the Canyon walls that appears to be part of the grand finale.
http://www.texas-show.com/
The next morning, Friday, we drove the canyon floor inside the State Park enjoying the beautiful scenery. Since we had zero cell phone or computer connectivity in the bottom of the canyon, we headed into Canyon, TX, later that morning. After checking e-mails at the library it was time for lunch at the Ranch House Café. Definitely a local favorite as it quickly filled up with construction workers and ranch hands. Dan definitely enjoyed the heart healthy chicken fried steak sandwich.
Dan then took Corrie back to the RV so he could check out the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum (largest state history museum in TX). This is an excellent museum with displays covering panhandle paleontology, Native Americans, ranching life, panhandle geology, oil industry, the importance of windmills to ranches, a replica of early TX pioneer town, extensive firearms collection, and several art displays with Native American art and “cowboy” art. There was a special and moving display of a document called “A Kiowa’s Odyssey”; one of the few illustrated documents by a Native American as they were displaced by European settlers.
http://www.panhandleplains.org/
Unfortunately the museum was also displaying the firearm and art collection of Samuel Colt. Because of this the entrance fee was raised from $7 to $12. Dan felt the Colt exhibit was not worth it. Especially since the Colt security personnel would not let you photo anything, because everything was “copy righted”.
http://gorvtexas.com/reststop.htm
Since we were in no big rush, we decided to spend several days in the Amarillo area before going to Denver. Before we arrived in Amarillo, we spent the night in Big Spring, TX. The next morning we continued to head north to Amarillo. In about an hour we approached the town of Lamesa, TX, when Dan announced we needed to pull into town for a quick photo op? Turns out a local business has one of the original and very rare “Uniroyal Girls”. Although this uniroyal girl has been redone to resemble a local high school cheerleader, there is no doubt that it is a uniroyal girl! For more info, check out:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/set/unigal.html
As we continued to drive north and west to Amarillo, we continued to experience the record heat TX has experienced for the last several weeks. In fact the heat and continued drought resulted in several dust storms obscuring the road during the drive. As we drove this flat and treeless plains area we finally came to our first camp site in the Amarillo area without warning – Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon, after the Grand Canyon, in the USA. But let’s just say there is a big difference between number one and number two. But one neat thing is that you can camp in your RV at the bottom of the canyon; after you navigate the narrow, switch backed, two mile road that drops 800 feet with a 10% grade. The Park Rangers gave us no warning about the road, but luckily we had decided to disconnect the Toad before driving the road.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/palo_duro/
Although nowhere near as spectacular as Grand Canyon, the canyon walls are still beautiful. Plus many buildings built by the CCC remain. The Visitor Center (built by the CCC) has small historical display on the CCC in Palo Duro Canyon along with some of the handcrafted furniture they built. The State Park is also home to the musical drama “Texas” for the last 41 years. The play runs from early June to mid August. The cast was going through dress rehearsals while we were there and we got to see some of the light show on the Canyon walls that appears to be part of the grand finale.
http://www.texas-show.com/
The next morning, Friday, we drove the canyon floor inside the State Park enjoying the beautiful scenery. Since we had zero cell phone or computer connectivity in the bottom of the canyon, we headed into Canyon, TX, later that morning. After checking e-mails at the library it was time for lunch at the Ranch House Café. Definitely a local favorite as it quickly filled up with construction workers and ranch hands. Dan definitely enjoyed the heart healthy chicken fried steak sandwich.
Dan then took Corrie back to the RV so he could check out the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum (largest state history museum in TX). This is an excellent museum with displays covering panhandle paleontology, Native Americans, ranching life, panhandle geology, oil industry, the importance of windmills to ranches, a replica of early TX pioneer town, extensive firearms collection, and several art displays with Native American art and “cowboy” art. There was a special and moving display of a document called “A Kiowa’s Odyssey”; one of the few illustrated documents by a Native American as they were displaced by European settlers.
http://www.panhandleplains.org/
Unfortunately the museum was also displaying the firearm and art collection of Samuel Colt. Because of this the entrance fee was raised from $7 to $12. Dan felt the Colt exhibit was not worth it. Especially since the Colt security personnel would not let you photo anything, because everything was “copy righted”.
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