My goal was to see Abernathy, as it was next on the list of cities to see in alphabetical order.
I passed through Abernathy on my way and marked that off my bucket list of cities to see. It was a small town with a very small population. Downtown looked dead. But, I made my way to the City Hall and took a picture of the historical marker to share with my friends and family on Facebook:
Then, I made my way on up to Amarillo.
Amarillo is a one hour and forty minute trip from Lubbock. There was nothing but desert on the way. No trees, just dust, and grass and fields of cactus and scrub.
About twenty minutes before entering Amarillo, there was a sign pointing the way to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. I was weary from the drive, but it was Saturday, and it was already 2:30 in the afternoon. I didn't figure I would be able to drive too much for Uber when I got there, anyway, so I made the turn to drive another ten miles to see the canyon. Besides, a lot of people in Lubbock had said that I should.
As I said, there was nothing but grass and desert, and then...there was THAT!
It was as if the whole terrain had changed in the blink of an eye!
It was beautiful.
I was blessed, because when I drove through the gates of the park, the lady at the gate told me that they had just finished the cattle drive, and because of that, everyone was allowed in for free all day!
I drove around in the park, stopping to take pictures and do a little hiking and viewing the creeks and ledges and gift shops and horse trails and camping areas along the way. I learned that, back in the day, the Comanche Indians had used the area as a hideout.
Then, I headed on to Amarillo. I was hungry.
Another big thing the locals told me about was the 72 oz Steak Challenge at The Big Texas restaurant in Amarillo. So, I went there to check it out.
I asked about the challenge, and was told that if I failed to eat the steak AND all the sides and dessert within an hour, I had to pay $72 for the steak. I decided against taking the challenge, and got a chopped steak dinner for $19.99 instead.
I enjoyed the dinner! It was crowded, and there was even a cowboy doing serenades at tables with a guitar.
Then, I went to work, picking up passengers for the next few days.
Amarillo's atmosphere was a lot different from Lubbock's. It was a cattle town, but it was busy enough. And, it was a big town that acted small, a lot like Lubbock. I told my story to a lot of people there, and was also directed to eat at the Big Texan, which I had already done. Then, everyone who did so also told me that Will Ferrell, the famous actor, had tried the challenge just two weeks before.
"Did he do it?" I asked.
"No, but he tried!" I was told.
The money wasn't as good as Lubbock was, and I was still reeling from the transmission situation, so I decided to go back to Lubbock to work until the end of the month, but not before I went to view the Helium Monument at the Discovery Museum in Amarillo.
Then, I went back to Lubbock. As I said, at the end of the month, I left Lubbock with tears in my eyes.
No comments:
Post a Comment