Shamrock to Amarillo, Texas – 19 March 2024
As we continued westward, the geography became more and more desert. Our RV campground in Amarillo was the Big Texan RV Ranch. They obviously also owned the Big Texan Ranch Steakhouse as they had a limo to take you to the restaurant and there were signs everywhere that if you were able to eat their 72 oz steak within 1 hour you would have it for free. (A little pricey if you can’t manage as that is equivalent to about 7 steaks!)
The campground was just a wide open gravel area but nicely maintained. Next door to us and separated by barbed wire fencing was a large open field. I discovered later that there was an enormous bull living in the field when he came right up to the fence to get some water from a pool they had to one side. I got as close as I dared on my side of the fence to take a photo but the bull suddenly looked me in the eye and started drooling at the mouth and making grunting sounds – so I knew I had to get away from him quickly.
While staying in Amarillo, Texas we visited the Palo Duro Canyon State Park. This is the second largest canyon in the US after the Grand Canyon. It was a really hot day so we didn’t feel like climbing up the sides of the Canyon, instead we had a great hike along the floor of the Canyon. We even saw some Texan long horned cattle. Palo Duro Canyon’s name means “hard stick” in Spanish. It is quite stunning with dramatic geological features, including multicoloured layers of rock and steep mesa walls. It is roughly 40–64 km long and has an average width of 9.7 km, but reaches a width of 32 km at places. Its depth ranges from is around 800 to 1,000 ft.
On the way to the Canyon we visited a unique attraction along Route 66 near Amarillo, Texas. Cadillac Ranch was built by a group of art hippies from San Francisco who half buried 10 Cadillacs nose down in the dirt in a field (supposedly at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza) as an interactive public art installation. There was a trailer selling spray paint at the entrance to the field and people are encouraged to decorate the cars with graffiti as they wish.
While we thought it was a neat idea, we were shocked at the litter strewn all around the cars and across the field, in spite of garbage cans in full view. What a pity. Close to the Cadillac Ranch outside another RV park, we passed the 2nd Amendment Cowboy proclaiming the right to bear arms, standing at 22 feet tall. Behind his guns were 3 Cadillacs on display with Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson and John Wayne mannequins inside.
