The Yellow Rose of Texas

Amarillo is a small city located in the panhandle, and is the original "yellow rose of Texas" (Amarillo is Spanish for yellow). It is a very laid back town. Although it is small, for a city, Amarillo has many hidden treasures. Historic Route 66 runs though it, and if you are in the mood for steak be sure to stop off at the Big Texan; home of the free 72oz steak. The Cadillac Ranch, located just a few miles outside of town is a famous spot that shouldn't be missed. It's easy to view from the road.

Quick Tips:

Stop by the Big Texan. Often referred to as "the biggest tourist trap" even the locals are attracted to this place. It's famous for its free 72-ounce streak (it comes with the catch that you have to eat and the side dishes that come with it and include shrimp cocktail, a baked potato, salad, and, a roll. Oh, and all of this all has to be eaten in under and hour). To date only 15% of the 29,000 people who have attempted this have finished. In the morning they serve the Big Oprey Breakfast. This is an all you can eat buffet the is served with all the grease that you ever want to eat.
Even if you don't eat there it's worth the stop to take a few pictures, and eat a buffalo burger. They are similar to a hamburger, but there is a noticeable difference in taste. Stop at least one of the Indian shops on the side of the road. They are a fun way to find quirky gifts; however don't stop at them all because it is the same thing everywhere.
The Amarillo Museum of Art located on the Amarillo College campus (2200 S. Van Buren St). They maintain a permanent collection of O’Keeffe’s, de Kooning’s, and Kline’s in three buildings. They rotate exhibits as well. Check before you go because the exhibit I saw wasn’t worth the price of gas to get there. There are also sculptures located around the campus. The exhibit is free and parking is horrible especially when class is in session. They are open Tuesday-Friday from 10am-5pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 1pm-5pm. They also have special extended hours on Wednesday from 7pm-9: 30pm.

The Cadillac Ranch located five miles west of Amarillo on I-40 is a must see. The cars are 1949-1963 models and were buried in 1974. Every so often the cars are repainted to be used in a movie or a music video, but most of the time the are covered in graffiti by tourists traveling thought. Surprisingly enough this is encouraged. So bring a marker, pen, or spray paint and add your initials.

Best Way To Get Around:

There is no other way to get around Amarillo other than driving. Before heading out make sure you have a really good map and possibly directions from people who live there. I found that most places are poorly marked and really hard to find.
I-40 is the main road heading through the city. If lost head back to the highway and get your bearings.

The Big Texan is a great place if you are looking for something a little out of the ordinary. The people at the front desk are very friendly and very helpful if you need to get directions anywhere. Upon check-in you are given a coupon for breakfast at the Big Texan Steak Ranch.

The outside of the hotel is brightly painted to look like a frontier town. There is a huge, neon cowboy sign outside that makes The Big Texan visible from the road. The rooms are very fun, but a little run down. The calls are concrete blocks painted yellow and there is a fly swatter in every room. The rooms are a decent size. I ended up with a double since a single wasn’t available. The beds were decent and had cow print blankets, and the bedside lamps were cattle horns with lampshades on them. The entrance into the bathroom was a saloon door, and the shower curtain was a giant flag of Texas.

My biggest complaint about the place was that there weren’t curtains on the window. Instead there were wood doors that you would shut. The best part was the pool; it was shaped like Texas.

Behind the pool is a horse hotel, so if you are traveling with your horse here is a place for it to stay. The hotel has a free limo service that will pick you up at the airport and drop you off. The limo comes equip with cattle horns on the front.

The Big Texan Steak Ranch, yes the one home to free 72-ounce steak, is a place to eat just to say that you ate there and nothing more. Inside the place looks like a hunters fantasyland. The seating isn’t very comfortable and is a little cramped. There are also dozens of animal heads mounted on the wall. For dinner I got a buffalo burger. Is interesting to try, but not something that I would want to try again; however the had the best Raspberry ice-tea that I ever had. Also got a side of chili with it that was very good. Dinner cost me about $13.00, which was the cheapest that you could spend. Breakfast was “cowboy” style, meaning that it was greasy and heavy. I ate the buffet. Mostly there were breads and some eggs and pancakes sitting out. Again it wasn’t great but it was filling. The one thing that I hated about the Big Texan was the service; it was slow. At breakfast there was a least 5 servers walking around, only 8 people there eating, but it took me 25 minutes to get waited on. Not only that, but the waiter decided to add his own $5 tip to my check after I paid. My receipt said one price, but when I got my bank statement I was charged more.
There is a gift shop attached to the restaurant. It is highly over priced. The one fun thing is that there is a snake in a huge tank in the back of the store.

The Cadillac Ranch is a very fun place to visit. It isn’t that far out of Amarillo. It’s very hard to miss unless you are me and looking in the wrong direction. If you are heading west on I-40 it is on the left side of the road. Just stay on 1-40 and get off at the next exit. Then take the service road heading east back to the cars.

If you go I highly suggest that you take spray paint or some kind of permanent marker so that you can add your own graffiti to the cars. Don’t worry about getting in trouble it is encouraged. Every so often the cars are repainted by rock stars that want to use the cars as a backdrop for their music video or by a charity.

Amarillo doesn’t bring to mind world class museums, Renaissance masters, or elaborate artistic galas, but in order to bring culture to the city the Amarillo Museum of Art, AMoA, was created. By no means is the gallery impressive. Housed in the northeast corner of the Amarillo College Washington Street Campus, the exhibit covers three floors, which include both a permanent collection as well as a rotating exhibit.
Fist the basics; the admission is free, which is a good thing because it really wouldn’t be worth the price to get in if there was a fee. Its hours are Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm, Thursday from 10am-9pm, and Saturday-Sunday 1pm-5pm. The building itself is located on 2200 S. Van Buren. One suggestion that is to go during the evening hours; during class time parking is horrendous to find.
Once in the museum a sleepy guard offered me guide explaining the current exhibit and left me to explore on my own. Being a lover of art, especially for photography the photos held the most interest for me. Mostly contemporary photos that look like anything that could be found produced by any college student there was one artist that stood out. Russell Lee of the Farm Security Administration gave a unique look at life as a farmer during the 1930’s. Maybe it was my trip down Route 66 that sparked my interest in his work, but he was able to capture raw glimpse into the average Joe’s life in the 30’s that left me wanting more. The rest of the permanent exhibit includes other paintings and drawings, a few by Georgia O’Keeffe (always beautiful, but nothing notable).
The rotating exhibit that I saw was ‘Material Terrain: A Sculptural Exploration of Landscape and Place.’ Not to get into get too much into my politics regarding art, but this was an over glorified, pretentious hoopla hopelessly trying to pass itself off as art. Now I enjoy modern art and count those such as Warhol and Picasso and love Dadaism, but this was bad. To me good art requires technique, skills, and a point of view; all of which this lacked. The exhibit was nothing more then oversized sculptures whose only goal was to take up the most room possible.
Looking at the museums website it seems that most of it’s exhibits are along these lines; D-list art that isn’t impressive; however this isn’t to say that they don’t have decent art sometimes. One exhibit, by Jasper Johns, did find its way to the AMoA. Overall the museum can be missed, but if you are looking to fill an hour or two then stop by to browse the current exhibit.