Panhandle Wildlife!

It is beginning to be a tradition on my blog that with every trip or adventure, I dedicate a special post to interesting wildlife. Well, this trip definitely deserves to have a separate post for it.

And I'll start with human wildlife.....Cindy and I went out to a bar and found some really interesting folks! She's somewhere in that crowd dancing with a guy.

Here we are, in a sea of 80's bangs and Garth Brooks shirts (circa 1993)....so funny!

OK, on to the 'real' wildlife - isn't this cactus cool????

And just when I thought that plants don't grow from rocks, I was proved wrong - here's a mini tree shooting out of a HUGE rock!

And this tree is in the process of falling over, but it's STILL HOLDING ON, even though it is at a 90 degree angle! Kathy even verified that the tree is still completely alive! There have been times in my life where I felt just like this tree - still alive, but barely hanging on!!

And on our way out of the canyon, we saw this group of cattle, just standing in a big group, staring at us, like we were intruding and being rude! In a way, they kind of looked like they were planning to stampede! But maybe because our vehicle was painted to look like a cow, they were just mesmerized by us.....

And this next bit of wildlife was something I had never seen close-up before: a cotton field!

This wasn't at the canyon, but rather in the field right next to where Cadillac Ranch is - on Route 66. And yes, I pulled right off the highway so I could take a closer look and see something that is foreign to me!

So for those of my readers that have never seen a real cotton field up close - here you go! I imagine there are lots of northerners like me that have never witnessed the snow-like plant! If I saw this up north, I would just assume it was covered in a layer of snow and not think twice about it, but that just wasn't the case in 85 degree Amarillo.

Canyon Adventures

So on Cindy's first day in Amarillo, we went on a 3-hour tour of Palo Duro Canyon via a Jeep Tour. The day before, I had made the reservation and visited this ranch. It was straight out of a western movie! An old man in Wranglers and a hat came out of an old house when I pulled up. He had an old dog laying on the ground by the door and when I said he was cute, the old man told me that the dog still had a bullet in him from being shot by someone! WHAT?!

Anyway, here's the view from the front of that house - out into the canyon below. GORGEOUS!

So the next day (Saturday), we drove out there and hopped in our "Jeep" - which was actually a converted Suburban, so it looked just like the ones above, but a little bigger.

Here's a shot from the top of the canyon - the beginning of our journey down.....

Our tour guide told us that this is where a waterfall forms when there are heavy rains coming through the canyon. You can see the water's path through the rock to the cliff. I bet it's so pretty when there's a waterfall here!

Here's our view from the back of the vehicle - we had REAL (I verified this) longhorns bolted to the hood as an 'ornament' of sorts. LOVE IT.

There were beautiful rock formations that we passed and Kathy, our tour guide, let us get out and take pictures and walk around at several locations. Here's me, surrounded by some Hoodoos (rocks that are suspended on top of eroding red rock)...

Absolutely breathtaking......

And here's Cindy - with our 'sweet ride' in the background....

The only down side was that earlier in the week, I had fallen on my tailbone (on the stairs in my house) and I had a VERY VERY bruised tailbone at the time. Let me just say that the Suburban ride down into the canyon on rugged, rock-filled gravel roads was ROUGH, but it was SO worth it!

Here's me 'taking the wheel'!

I loved the red rock - reminded me of Sedona, Arizona.

We even did some puddle-jumping. It was some pretty intense off-roading! I thought we were going to slide off the cliffs MANY times during the trip!

Here's a panoramic view of sorts......

Kathy (our tour guide) told us stories of the indians and explorers who made history here, as well as the story of the owner of this land. It is owned by a woman named Mary who inherited 3,200 acres of this canyon!

Got My Kicks.....on Route 66!

Well, Saturday arrived in Amarillo and so did Cindy! I was happy to pick her up at the airport so we could start the Thelma & Louise adventures on this, her first weekend of being single. Our first stop: Route 66 Historic District in Amarillo.

We were expecting an 'open road expanse of highway' version of Route 66, but we didn't see that until Sunday. For Saturday, we were in the historic part with tiny antique shops and the longest continually operating restaurant on Route 66 and the oldest restaurant in Amarillo - The GoldenLight Cafe!

It felt like the "Cheers" of Amarillo/Route 66 - apparently some of the same old men hang out here in the afternoons and have done so for years and years. So cool!

Everything was 'vintage' - but it is all of the original stuff from the many years it has been open (64 and counting)!

Here's Cindy, right before we left to go shopping.....

This is the historic Route 66 district in Amarillo.....

And here's my proof that I really did 'get my kicks' on Route 66!

A Trip To The Park

After lunch on my solo day in Amarillo, I decided to drive out to Palo Duro Canyon, which is about 25 miles south of Amarillo. It was an amazing drive - a huge blue Texas sunny sky, an open road and almost NO ONE ELSE! I loved it!

When I got to the state park entrance, I had to go in and get a map and pay the $5 entry fee. Here's the cute little state park building!

And just off of the state park parking lot, I saw a bunch of longhorns that were eating their lunch....They were so cute!

Apparently you can join them and they serve you lunch and you can watch the longhorns eat theirs. So funny!

Just like I promised when I received Paco on my birthday, here is a shot of Paco at Palo Duro Canyon with me. It's his first real trip and he loved it! lol

And here's me - courtesy of some nice fellow tourists that offered to take my picture by the canyon.

While I was there, I learned that this is the second biggest canyon - the first is the Grand Canyon. It was huge and VERY Texified!

There was hardly anyone on the roads through the State Park, so I had the luxury of going really slow and enjoying the scenery without feeling rushed. It was absolutely beautiful and the weather couldn't have been more perfect!

Here's my self-portrait down in the canyon!

I had all the time in the world (and some patience - not sure where that came from!), so I played around with the timer on my camera - how's this for a fancy-pants self portrait! I hit the 10 second timer and then crawled up that little hill with a bruised tailbone and got in place in time. A skill for sure!

Another self-portrait of me on the side of the road out of the canyon. So gorgeous and that windy road was exciting!

I thought I better get out of the canyon since the sun was starting to set and I didn't want to run into any of the nighttime wildlife (rattle snakes, scorpions, coyotes, etc.)....

And if you were ever wondering if Amarillo looks like what you imagine, IT DOES. I pictured dry, open land with cattle - and here it is! This is between the canyon and Amarillo....

Amarillo By Morning

About a week ago, Cindy and I embarked on a journey to Amarillo! But because of some last minute complications, she had to delay her flight a day, so I spent Friday exploring Amarillo on my own and then she arrived on Saturday morning. We had a blast!

So I started out my solo day at a restaurant that the airport advertising suggested: Blue Sky!

It has won the 'Best Burger in Amarillo' award for a number of years now.....and I would have to agree with the award committee! The food was fantastic.

It was kind of a weird place with all of the bumper stickers on the walls, but I loved reading them while I was waiting in line.....

It was a VERY "Texas" restaurant - even having a "Texas Proud" bumper sticker by the pop machine.

Here's the very first panhandle cowboy that I saw on the trip. He fit the stereotype of what I thought I would find in Amarillo!

I would highly recommend this restaurant if you're ever in Amarillo - I know, I know, "who goes to AMARILLO?" Well, the answer is: CINDY AND I!