Amarillo, TX

For Valentine’s Day 2015 we decided to check out the little town of Amarillo, TX. It was a whirlwind two-night trip, but we had a wonderful time exploring a new city together. The first thing I noticed was the wind. It was crazy and it didn’t stop the whole time we were there. Other than that, it seemed like a nice little town. Much slower pace than here in Denver, but still has all the amenities anyone could need. I did notice a lot of banks for some reason, lol.

After lunch we headed to The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum. It is really well done and brought me back to the summers I spent on a ranch. I enjoyed looking at all the saddles and other tack. They also had a great bit of history on the Quarter House and some of the more famous studs. According to their website, their museum beautifully showcases the dozens of horses and people who have earned the distinction of becoming part of the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame. To be part of the Hall of Fame, horses and people must have been outstanding over a period of years in a variety of categories. They must have brought exceptional visibility and/or contribution to the American Quarter Horse.

The only thing this disappointed me was that they didn’t have any live horses around. Oh well, maybe some other time. I did take a lot of pictures and we watched a few videos they had running. I enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who is visiting the area.

After we left the museum we drive up and down Route 66 for a while. Ww had wanted to stop and walk around a little but, being Valentine’s day weekend, and a Saturday), it was crazy busy. We decided to go back the next day when it wasn’t so busy. In the meantime, we decided to drive around more and see a little bit more of the town. It is a small little town, but like I said before, has all the amenities one could need.

Eventually we ended up back at our hotel and got ready for dinner. We went to The Big Texan Steak Ranch. This is a really cool restaurant, but it is so much more than that. They also have a motel, gift shop, and brewery. They are on Historic Route 66 and have a 72 oz steak challenge. If you can finish the whole steak and sides within an hour, it is free. Of course most people are not successful. You can’t miss the HUGE cow out front, lol. It definitely draws people in. The motel is designed to resemble a main street in an old west town. It even has a blacksmith shop attached to it. Right in between the hotel and the restaurant is a caged in area for dogs, including a fake fire hydrant, lol. Our dogs had a great time running around. It was nice to have a place where they could run and be safe. Kudos to the Big Texan. We took a lot of good pictures as well as some silly ones.

As far as the restaurant goes, it was bigger inside than I expected, and has two levels. The other thing I didn’t expect, was how thick the steaks were. I had them butterfly mine and it was still thick. I usually like my steak thin, but it was ok, I will have to try something else next time we are there. However, I do have to say that the BBQ was delicious, the rolls were great, and the waiter was very helpful. I would love to go back again if we are in Amarillo.

The next morning we got up late due to a late night out, but wanted to hit a restaurant for lunch on Historic 6th Avenue (part of Route 66). We ended up at a place called Smokey Joe’s. It was pretty good and I liked the bar ambience. It would have been nice to have set outside, but it was too cold. I don’t think it was even 40, not to mention the wind factor. Brrrr. Anyway, we did brave the cold a little bit and walked around the historic street. All I can say is that if you are into antiques, Amarillo is the place for you. There were so many antique shops and stores that I stopped counting. Being a Sunday most of them were closed, but it was still nice take a peek through the windows. Lol After taking some more pictures, we headed over to what they call the Cadillac Ranch. It is an art sculpture which consists of what were either older running used or junk Cadillac automobiles from 1949 to 1963, half-buried nose-first in the ground, at an angle corresponding to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Writing graffiti on or otherwise spray-painting the vehicles is now encouraged, and the vehicles, which have long since lost their original colors, are wildly decorated. It is a really cool thing to see and I think a great idea for people to express themselves in a constructive way.

We didn't do anything too exciting until dinner that night which turned out to be at Joe Daddy’s. We only had a couple of days in Amarillo, but we had a nice time. I really enjoyed the area. Here are some fun things we would like to do the next time we are in the area.