Amarillo. 26th October 2025.
Last night a thunderstorm passed over Amarillo giving us our first sight of Texan rain and this morning the skies were still quite overcast, at least it washed the dust from the car.
Today our first visit was to the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum, a short drive along the freeway outside the hotel.
Having had no experience of horses I had no idea what a quarter horse was and had jokingly said I thought it might be a very short horse. I was a little surprised that the models of horses on arrival were full height.
It appears that quarter horses were breed from English and Spanish horse stock especially for racing over short distances, specifically a quarter of a mile, hence the name. The horses were also found to be very trainable and responsive and became the favourite horse used on the cattle drives. A real cowboy horse.
Due to their easy going nature and ability to be trained they areoften used in movies and TV, in fact many of the famous movie horses such as Trigger and Joey in the movie Warhorse were quarter horses. An exhibition inside the museum highlighted the history of the horse in movies. One of the few westerns that have recently appeared on TV screens is “1883” the prequel to Yellowstone, which was filmed locally. Some of the costumes from the show were exhibited along with some of the original scripts and production notes.
In the next room is an exhibition aimed at children or our case adults who behave like children. Here Sylvia was able to relive her childhood by riding in a saddle……..
…..where as I made a fool of myself in the stable.
Upstairs the Hall of Fame celebrated famous horses and riders with memorabilia commemorating their lives.
In honesty I didn’t recognise any of the people or their mounts but it was very interesting nevertheless.
Throughout our visit we were the only people in the whole museum although three more people arrived as we were leaving.
The Big Texan Steak Ranch was opened in 1960 on Route 66, ten years later Interstate 40 opened and Route 66 was bypassed. Immediately business fell away so the decision was made to move the restaurant to its present location alongside I40. One of the major selling points of the restaurant is that it offers a FREE 72oz steak, all you have to do is to eat it along with the sides and bread within an hour!!
According to their website nearly 100,000 people have attempted the challenge with only 10,500 leaving without paying the bill. As I had had a big breakfast this morning I decided not to take on the challenge settling instead for a mixed plate of brisket and ribs while Sylvia had a fish sandwich.
Both were delicious and the atmosphere in the restaurant was brilliant, well worth the visit.
The next stop was the Kwahadi Museum of American Indians a small museum that I had read about in some of the leaflets I’d picked up. We arrived just as it was being opened and had a guided tour with one of the volunteers that run the place. It was started during the war by a Boy Scout troop who took up Native Indian Dancing to take part in a campfire competition.
This inspired the children to learn more about the lives and culture of the indigenous natives which eventually lead to the creation of this space. It is primarily used as a rehearsal and performance hall for the dances which have continued to this day but now also houses a magnificent collection of Native American art.
The artwork on display was fascinating with vibrant colours and interesting stories alongside to bring them to life.
A absolutely amazing museum and once again we were the only visitors.
As we were now on the East side of town we took the opportunity to once again visit Buc-ee’s, for this visit we were not alone.
Originally Route 66, the mother road, ran through Amarillo but as previously stated it was re-routed in the 1970s, a strip of original shops still exist in the city and they were our next port of call. An interesting mixture of antique shops, old book shops and restaurants. A little bit on the seedier side but worth visiting just for the experience.
