AMARILLO LIVESTOCK AUCTION

Tuesday, May 17 - Paul forgot to mention on Sunday upon our arrival to Amarillo we decided to top off our MH diesel fuel tank. Loves Gas Station, at the exit for our RV Park, advertised Diesel for $3.99. We topped-off the tank then noticed $3.99 was the “cash” price.....we paid by debit card, price $4.05. That was the first time we paid over the $4 per gallon price.....DARN!!!

What the heck is with this wind? We had to get up in the middle of the night and run in our PS Slides because of all the racket from the slide awnings flapping in the wind. We were afraid they would blow away! You could feel this 30K+ vehicle rocking in the wind. That's the first time we had to bring in the slides due to wind noise since the Quartzsite storm (or was that a hurricane) in 2009. Holy Cow!!!

To our family in friends back in Ohio…We are so sorry you are having sooooo much rain. We wish we could send you some of this dry weather, and you send us some of that rain.

The Amarillo Livestock Auction was our first stop this morning. It is one of the largest privately owned cattle auctions in the United States. More than 100,000 head of cattle are sold in the auction ring each year. The total head expected today was between 1500-1700 cattle. We left before they knew the exact number.

We were one of the few attendees that weren't wearing cowboy hats and boots or that didn't have a wad of chewing tobacco in our mouth.

They even provided spittoons for the cowboy bidders. These were real cowboys and ranchers buying this cattle. They were buying younger cattle to raise on their ranches. We weren't real sure of the prices being paid. Some seem to be sold by the pound and some per animal. There was no way we “Yankees” were going to ask these cowpokes to explain it to us.....LOL

The cattle were brought into the auction ring for the sale.

Those cowboys in the auction arena were swatting and poking those animals to show the bidders what they were made of!

Of course, some of the cattle kicked, bumped and tried to gore the workers with their horns.

After the bidding they were then sent out another gate for sorting in the livestock yard.

This sorting was neat to see. Each bidder had a number that corresponded to a sorting pen.

When the cattle came out of the arena, cowboys on horse back lead the cattle to the correct pen of the buyer. This was very interesting!

Marsha waiting to see them bring down the cows.

As luck would have it, the cowboy unlatched the pen right in front of us.

Here come the cows.

They looked so happy to be out of there.

We really enjoyed this Auction. One of those unusual stops that turned out very interesting and one we recommend for others to see. If in Amarillo on a Tuesday, the only day of the sale, stop in for a short visit.

Of course that isn't all we did. Marsha is working on the pictures from our visit to the Panhandle Museum. Should have those for you tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

GRAND CANYON OF TEXAS

Monday, May 16 – We headed off to Palo Duro Canyon State Park this morning. We used our Texas State Parks Pass to get free entry, a $10 savings.

 

We considered staying in the park, but decided to wait and see what the entry road, a 10% grade, looked like. Not bad. You would have to take it slow going down the serpentine road, but it would be fine.  One drawback is NO cell phone coverage, and NO internet….YIKES!   Coming out would be slow and a big fuel burner...LOL

Going down.

Going up.

Palo Duro Canyon, is Texas' second-largest park. It is 120 miles long and 800 feet deep, and is the second largest canyon in the United States. The canyon was formed less than 1 million years ago when the Red River first carved its way through the Southern High Plains. It's amazing to come upon this canyon in the middle of the huge, flat, Texas Plains.

Park visitors can find coyotes, sheep, bobcats and western diamond-back rattlesnakes. Bird watching is a popular park activity. We enjoyed seeing wild turkeys strolling through the campground and watched a dear feeding on a berry bush.

A very proud male!

Ridiculous women chasing after him. Come on girls…have some dignity.

There were many neat lizards along the trail and an especially colorful turquoise one provided a great “Kodak moment.”

“Palo Duro” is Spanish for “hard wood” in reference to the Juniper trees common throughout the canyon. There are also mesquite, cottonwood, cedar, willow and hackberry trees. Wild flowers and grasses also dot the canyon floor.

Watch your head, Paul.

There are three campgrounds in the park and several day use areas. Hiking trails from easy to strenuous, horse trails, bike trails, a visitor interpretive center, playgrounds, and an Amphitheater with live performance every evening beginning in June (darn, we were too early to see what people say is a wonderful show).

Today, we chose to hike the Lighthouse Trail.

This trail leads to the Lighthouse formation which is 310 feet high and has been designated a National Natural Landmark. The trail is rated as “moderate” in difficulty, but the last half-mile is climbing the mountain and is considered strenuous.

Going up.

Going down.

The Lighthouse…awesome.

It is a total round trip distance of about 6-miles and takes about 3-hours to complete the hike.

For the first .2 tenth of the 6-mile hike, we both agreed that we could ride our bikes next time we come back…then reality set in! NO WAY could we go any farther with our bikes. But we saw several BOYS (Possibly the ones that could do the ride.) pass us by. Our legs just hurt watching them.

Notice all the equipment he has on. We have none.  Get out of the way, Paul.

On our way out, we saw these lovely longhorns eating their dinner. "Smile for the camera, Cutie."

A wonderful, long day in Palo Duro.

If you would like to see more pictures of Palo Duro, follow this link.

Having worked up a thirst and an appetite, we stopped at the famous Big Texan Steakhouse on the way home.

They advertise a FREE 72-ounce steak dinner.

You must eat the four and a half pound steak (72 oz.), shrimp cocktail, salad, baked potato, and bread in 1-hour to get it free.

Bill Klondike, a professional wrestler, downed 2 of the dinners in the hour time limit back in 1963. The oldest person to eat the steak was a 69 year-old grandmother. The youngest person to eat the steak was an 11 year-old boy. The current champ is Joey Chestnut, the World Hot Dog Eating Champ, who ate the meal in 8 minutes and 52 seconds on March 24, 2008. A 500 pound Bengal Tiger ate the steak in 90 seconds – GULP!

Everything is bigger in Texas.

The place has a huge restaurant with all the walls decorated like this…

They have an arcade for the kids, gift shop, western bar, and just what Marsha was looking for.

Oh, let us not forget Paul's "want some day for the motorhome" purchase. Not if Marsha has anything to say about it.

They also have the Cattlemen's Hotel right next door.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!