Lots to see in and around Amarillo

If you are thinking of buying a horse, visit the Quarter Horse Museum. I thought I was just seeing a couple of exhibits about the horse and maybe some artwork. But if their secret goal is to sell you on the quarter horse, they certainly do a good job. Before you even exit the building, you’ll be saying, "SOLD"!

This is one of the most comprehensive museums I’ve seen. You start out with an orientation video explaining the history and development of the horse. The theatre is beautiful and the movie is well-made.

One gallery holds everything a horse requires in terms of equipment. It identifies each piece so that a novice could understand it. Again, these are explained in very simple terms. There are interactive displays as well as replicas of horses and saddles that you can sit on.

A whole exhibit describes looking for and purchasing a horse. It gives you hints on what to look for, where to find the horse, and then registering it. Videos show you what you need to know about grooming, feeding, and more.

There is a section that explains all of the activities a quarter horse is good for. Barrel racing, roping, being in a rodeo, and more are detailed with photos and an explanation of each activity. You can see the diversity of this horse and all that you can do in this section. There is also a full-size horse trailer containing the equipment used at shows.

Another gallery shows famous quarter horses and people who have been instrumental in developing this horse. The history of the horse is also described. There are factual exhibits showing where quarter horses are located by state and country, and you see where most are concentrated. Certain ranches are highlighted and ranch work duties are explained.

Rotating exhibits feature artwork, such as paintings and photographic exhibits. You won’t see a lot of artwork at this museum, like there is at a traditional art museum. This museum seems more geared to families, especially children. Most of the videos feature children, and there are numerous hands-on items kids can get on and play with. It is so interactive that if you looked at everything and watched all of the videos, you’d be there for a good couple of hours. It would definitely make for a good family day activity, although, as an adult, I was equally entertained.

Palo Duro Canyon is about 120 miles long and 600 to 800 feet deep. It is the second largest canyon in the United States. And I’ve never heard of it - neither had my friends from Boston. OK Texas, you need to work on your publicity. I mean the canyon WAS formed 1 million years ago and has been open to the public since 1934! It had good ratings in books, but I really had no idea what to expect since I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon. What a sight it was!

I was on my way to Amarillo and didn’t have too much time to spend here. Furthermore, I travel by myself and am overly cautious. For those reasons, I just took a driving tour and got out of my car only a few times for photos. If you don’t have much time, you can just drive through the canyon in as little as 45 minutes.

The driving tour and roads in the canyon make up about 16 miles. There is a welcome center and gift shop shortly after you enter the park, which gives you a nice view of the whole place and is great for picture taking. To enter the bottom of the canyon, you need to drive really slowly and descend down this very steep, winding road. It is a little scary, but doesn’t last long. I can’t imagine how they handle it in the winter.

Once you’re in the canyon, you follow the main road all of the way around. It will fork at one point, giving you the option of driving the ALT 5 road. I was a little confused here, but I followed the main road, which ended up running into ALT 5. Alt 5 loops around and brings you back to the main road where you can drive back out of the canyon.

Along the way you will get many different views of the canyon. There are easy spots along the road to pull off for photos. It is filled with lots of wildlife, different trees, wildflowers, and grasses. The rocks are enormous and are various shapes. They call one of them a Mexican dress because of the multitude of colors and the shape of the rock looks like a skirt.

The park has many places to camp, picnic, bike, and hike. There is a store for gasoline and other essentials inside the park. Also, I have heard great things about the amphitheater performances, but didn’t see one. Horseback riding is also available. Before arriving, keep in mind recent and future rainfall. There are six river crossings on the main road that are easily subject to flash flooding. We hadn’t had much rain recently and I had to cross over water.

For only 45 minutes, this was a beautiful trip. The colors were amazing and I would suggest you go on a sunny day if possible. The red rocks are breathtaking and it was amazing to see these rock formations.

This museum is located in Canyon, Texas, about 15 minutes west on Palo Duro Canyon and 15 minutes south of Amarillo. It is situated on the campus of West Texas A&M University and is Texas’ largest history museum exploring pioneer life, the Texas Oil Boom, transportation, Native American History, and more.

Their People of the Plains exhibit chronicles 14,000 years of human occupation and how the people of the southern plains survived. The Pioneer Town is a recreated small town with authentic items in buildings like a general store and blacksmith shop.

I especially liked the Petroleum Wing, which tells the story of the Oil Boom of the '20s and '30s. It describes the different jobs men held on location and their duties. It even has sample drill bits that are used and you can see how it actually operates. This display gives you a good overview of all the different parts that go into drilling oil, although I can’t say that at the end I really understood it all.

They had a special exhibit that chronicled the "Little Black Dress" over the years. You see how the materials changed, the styles changed, and how the dresses got a little sexier over the years. The owner and where it was purchased help identify each dress. This was a fun exhibit.

The museum has rotating art exhibits. I saw one on Albert H. Schmidt with paintings focusing on New Mexico Art. There were many mediums including pastel, graphite, crayon, and charcoal.

Additional exhibits include Paleontology and Geology, depicting Texas Panhandle life millions of years ago; a Windmill exhibit tells the story of windmills and their use; automobiles are exhibited in a recreated car dealership featuring some older cars; firearms; and a wagon and buggy collection.

I had previously attended the Cattle Auction, the largest in the world, in Oklahoma City. I wanted to see if there was any difference in how a smaller place operated. Basically, I discovered there wasn’t much difference.

This Cattle Auction is held every Tuesday beginning around 10. The cattle are brought into the auction room in varying groups and sold to a variety of buyers. As opposed to Oklahoma City, you can’t watch the cattle get sorted or weighed prior to auction. All you can really see here is the actual auction process. Because of that, you really miss out on a good learning experience. The auction part is fun, but I liked to see what really goes into the whole event from start to finish. I would suggest attending the one in Oklahoma City if you have the option. You learn a lot more.

However, one great part of this place is the Stockyard Café located in the auction building. They have fabulous steaks that are served with salad, rolls, and dessert. The price is under $10, so it is very reasonable. The place is always very crowded and everyone raves about the home cooking. I’m not sure they serve any diet plates however!