Visiting Palo Duro and Amarillo this Spring Break (from Austin) (Dumas: shop, places to eat)

[cBach]

Folks up in Amarillo,

I'll be visiting Palo Duro Canyon with my gf and son this Spring Break for a few days. I would like some ideas of which trails would be best for a 7 yr old son and also point me to a couple of things to see in Amarillo. I've never been up there. So far, we plan to drive the first day from Austin (8 hours) then see Palo Duro the next day and then Cadillac Ranch and whatever the next day and then head on back to Austin to catch the rest of SxSW. I'll need to figure out the "whatever".

Also, I see the weather is supposed to be all over the place, from snow flurries in the 30's tomorrow to 70's on Sunday. What's up with that? Will the weather be "hiking weather" next week, it's supposed to be 79 (very nice), can it warm up that fast? We are in full spring mode here.

Thanks in advance!

[CptnRn]

Amarillo is at elevation 3605', quite a bit higher then Austin. It is supposed to freeze there tonight. Which is not unusual this time of year, its still early March.



Watch for the Dynamite Museum signs while you are in Amarillo. See posts 1575-1581 here. http://www.city-data.com/forum/texas...rivia-158.html

Also the Floating Mesa (half way down this page): http://neuronurse.wordpress.com/2008...ck-in-the-day/

Location map here http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/TX3233/

[die Eichkatze]

Originally Posted by cBach

Also, I see the weather is supposed to be all over the place, from snow flurries in the 30's tomorrow to 70's on Sunday. What's up with that? Will the weather be "hiking weather" next week, it's supposed to be 79 (very nice), can it warm up that fast? We are in full spring mode here.

Thanks in advance!

That sums up the weather in the panhandle perfectly. I remember one day when I was up there it started out around zero with snow and ice, and by the afternoon the dryline swept through and warmed things up into the 50's with wind gusts of 78mph blowing dust around.

Caprock Canyon State Park is near by, but it would be similar to Palo Duro. The massive amount of wind turbines in the Sweetwater area is pretty cool.

[catman]

It can warm up that fast! Today in DFW, it's about 50 degrees and raining, and supposed to be 80 degrees by Monday. The Panhandle is even more quickly changeable.

[Saintmarks]

Does the outdoor drama "Texas" run only in summer months? Best thing about the Palo Duro State Park...

[elan]

Floating Mesa?? So, that's what they call that thing. I could do without, even though it could be worse. At one time I think they were going to do hot pink drape/things on three mesas out there. If I remember right, the wind ripped it up (thank goodness). That is a favorite drive of mine however (and shortcut). Rather than going through Dumas, from 287 / 40 I take the Bell Street exit, go down by the Walmart and get on the Tascosa highway, to the Camel Rock, then past Farley's Ranch to Channing, etc. Just thinking of it makes me want to go on a road trip.

[losttechnician]

Hope I did not catch you too late. Take the Lighthouse Trail, a great hike good for a couple of hours. Make sure and bring plenty of water too, it is awful dry. I took this trail a couple of weeks ago, and it was much warmer on the trail than it was up top at the park entrance. There are other trails around that are fun to take as well. If you have a sec, make sure and see the Charles Goodnight dugout (I think is the name of it). Anyhow, a cool little dugout right on the road, so it only takes a minute to get to it. Make sure and spend a minute and go through the gift shop as well. Take a jacket with you, but be prepared to put it in the daypack sometime on the hike. Everytime I have hiked in the canyon, I ended up overdressed.

The drama TEXAS runs only through summer months, and I don't think it is fired up yet.

If you have the time, make sure and see the Panhandle Plains Museum at West Texas A&M campus in Canyon. Driven past it oodles of times, but until last Christmas had not made it in to visit. I was way impressed, it is worth spending several hours going through. Lots of oil related stuff, some Native American stuff, and lots of old west and historical types of guns.

If you have a few more free minutes in the town of Canyon, walk through the campus of WTAMU. It is a nice little campus.

There are some BRAUM'S ice cream places in Amarillo, and one in Canyon. If you are in the mood for food, they are pretty good too. Even serve breakfast. In Canyon there are a number of other eateries too. Right around the corner from the museum is "Pepito's", a local fave for Mexican food. If you want Mexican, but want it in Amarillo, there are a number of really good places to eat. A fairly new fave in Amarillo is The Plaza, right behind the Drury on I-40 and Soncy. You will pass close to it if you are heading out to the Cadillac Ranch. Also note a large wind farm just past the Cadillac Ranch. Nothing to tour, just can see bunches of wind turbines.

If you have even more time, try the Alibates Flint Quarry NE of Amarillo. I have never been there, but will be visiting in a couple of months. I hear it is a pretty neat place to spend some time, but can't say firsthand.