Is Amarillo a good place to take a vacation? (Dallas: amusement park, high school)

[calimama]

My husband and I are taking a 4 day vacation in August and we are looking for a Texas city. When we think of Texas, we think cowboys, friendly people, good food, etc. and we want to be in a city that embodies that. Is this a good choice or is it too boring for a vacation? The only Texas cities I have been to are Midland and El Paso, and my husband has been to Dallas, so we were going to try to find another place. Any ideas?

[JamesAbilene]

I like Amarillo since I grew up in the area, but I have never thought of it as a vacation destination. What are you looking for? There is a quarter horse association museum, Wonderland Amusement Park (No Disneyland, but a nice amusement park if you have kids), lots of places to eat including the Big Texan--which is kind of a touristy thing. The Palo Duro Canyon is worth a visit (south of town), if Texas is showing at the canyon, it is really worth a visit. There is a good museum at West Texas State University in Canyon. That might be enough to kill four days. If I had four days and had only been to Midland, El Paso, and Dallas, I might choose Austin or San Antonio since both are full of things to do. Truthfully, though, Amarillo has more of the cowboy culture.

[hellpaso]

san antonio would be a better choice, if only for restaurants. (my thing)..

[Cowboybootnut]

JamesAbilene has some good insights on Amarillo. I think Palo Duro could take a good day itself.

But I would also put in a word Abilene or Fort Worth on the list for cowboy culture too. Ft Worth would be good if you stayed at the Stockyards.

[JamesAbilene]

Abilene does have some interesting cowboy culture and is only 2 1/2 hours from Fort Worth if you wanted to make both.

Frontier Texas, a museum in Abilene, celebrates the cowboy culture and has good reviews from folks including the New York Times.

There is a dude ranch north of town, but I have never been there.

Perini Ranch and Buffalo Gap are interesting for the Cowboy Culture and good food--just south of town are interesting. They are 8 miles south. Albany, just north of us, is currently having the annual production of the Fandangle which is a history of the cowboy culture of the area. I don't know when that ends. Too bad you just missed several rodeos--including the Texas High School Championship Rodeo--and Western Heritage Week was last month with lots and lots of things cowboy going on.

You could probably spend one or two days here and then two or three days in Fort Worth. That might be a better trip.

[JamesAbilene]

Here's a link to Abilene tourism. It looks pretty cowboy!

Abilene Texas Convention and Visitors Bureau - Official Tourism Web site - Visit Abilene TX

[Cowboybootnut]

I've been to Frontier Texas at least 4 times since it opened. It is a GREAT place if you want to get an idea how life was in the Abilene area from the 1700s-1900.

[GayleTX]

Well, some of my best friends are Amarillans, as the saying goes. but I can't see flying from California to Amarillo for a vacation! If it's cowboy culture you are looking for, you'll see more in downtown Ft Worth at the Stockyards....and there are lots of things to do there, a longhorn cattle drive every day, a train to ride, great food and shopping. It's pretty different from Dallas, especially considering that it's next door to it.

[calimama]

We aren't going to have the kids with us, so we were thinking about maybe a rodeo, find some good country bars, good restaurants, and just kind of get a feel for the area. We are thinking seriously about moving to Texas but haven't decided on a city, so it is more like checking the place out rather than taking a vacation. But we do want to have fun while we are there. Maybe we could see Amarillo, Abilene, and Ft. Worth?

[Cowboybootnut]

Originally Posted by calimama

Maybe we could see Amarillo, Abilene, and Ft. Worth?

That could be a lot of travelling for four days.