They both turn to look at me with “deer-in-the-headlights” stares. “But, but Mom, we just were on a road trip for the past two days!”

After talking them into riding along with a treat once we got there, Howard and I loaded the car with snacks, water, doggie treats, binoculars, cameras and jackets. Who knows when one might need a jacket.

We were headed to Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo, Texas. We have never visited this beautiful state park before and were looking forward to this side trip. I invite you to read about this gorgeous area here: Palo Duro

As our way of enjoying an area, we took “the back way” traveling farm-to-market roads, which twisted and turned through agriculture and cattle country. It was a pleasant and scenic drive.

Upon arriving at the state park, we stopped at the visitor center to check on the status of our annual Texas State Park pass. Our pass had expired so I renewed for another year. We love staying in and visiting Texas State parks. The friendly rangers processed my request and we were on our way – traveling the ridge of the canyon to its base. I was driving while Howard was navigating.

We passed many pullouts, hiking trailheads, another visitor center, the beautiful amphitheater where the musical “Texas” is performed, thinking we would stop at some of these places on our way back.

Please check out the web- site for the musical. We have heard it is spectacular!  “Texas”

We finally reached a parking lot with a restroom and because of construction, this was as far as we could go. We pulled into the lot, thinking we would walk the girls and just enjoy the beauty of the area. As we pulled up and shut the engine off we smelled a strong, burning scent. I said to Howard, “someone must be cooking lunch”. One of the parks RV campgrounds was near by. Well, no one was cooking lunch; we noticed smoke coming out from under our car.

“Oh my gosh what is going on?”

Upon further inspection we noticed a pool of liquid under the front hood, which turned out to be the power steering fluid. It was spattered all over the ground. The power steering reservoir was empty.

Let me just back track a bit here. Before we left Loveland we had our car at the Loveland Ford dealership to fix what Howard thought was a small leak in the power steering system. They also fixed the brakes, again leaking fluid. We paid them a good sum of money for their service!

As we stood by the car, probably looking at it as if it has just landed from outer space, a very nice couple, David and Nancy, stopped to see if they could assist. They provided us with friendly conversation, smiling faces, RV stories, tools, and finally a ride to the entrance of the Canyon visitor center. No cell service where we were, nada.

They also loved the girls stating that they left their two labs at home for their four day trip. They are from the Dallas area and were missing their “boys” terribly. They had just purchased their first RV back in July and were trying to make at least one trip out a month. They were staying in the campground near where we were parked. “Thanks so much for your assistance, it was truly appreciated.”

At the visitor center Howard spoke with the rangers asking them if they could recommended a towing company; they gave him a phone book and he selected Canyon Towing. Nice name and how appropriate. Canyon Towing told us that a tow truck would be along in an hour. True to their word the tow truck showed up right at an hour.

It didn’t take long before our car was loaded onto the flat bed truck. The girls had to ride in the back of our car, which was on top of the flat bed tow truck. We made sure all four windows were rolled down enough to give them plenty of air. I hope their experience wasn’t to0 traumatic.

Howard and I rode up front in the cab with Chip, a very nice young man originally from a town on the Idaho/Utah border and his cute little doggie Poncho. Chip drove us to a Ford Dealer between Canyon and Amarillo, where we left the car, received a courtesy ride back to the RV park, made an additional reservation for Wednesday night, and de-stressed by eating what was left of the chocolate cake from our dinner last night at The Big Texan.

I did manage to take a few photos from the parking lot while waiting for the tow truck. I hope one day we get to return to Palo Duro Canyon State Park to enjoy its unique beauty.

In the wee hours of the night….

Last evening before bed Howard tells me, “I don’t think I am going to disconnect the water hose.” Well guess who gets up to go outside to disconnect the hose in the cold, wee hours of the night?

I feel him get up out of bed, I hear him moving around putting on layers of clothes, and as he heads out the door I see his light, which is strapped to his forehead, shining like a beacon in the darkness.

In my hazy, sleepy mind  I wonder, “where is he going?” I don’t remember asking. LOL!  He tells me this morning, ” it was so foggy when I went out to disconnect the hose, I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.”

Note to Howard, if you even think there might be a need to disconnect the water hose do so before going to bed.

Sportsman RV Park in Lamar, CO….

We woke to fog, so thick we felt we were sitting in the clouds.  We delayed getting on the road making sure the fog  had lifted enough to drive. After a couple hot cups of coffee and a walk with the girls, we were ready to continue our journey  south.

We traveled Highway 287 all the way from Lamar, CO to Amarillo, TX. Long drive eh [grins]. Again we drove through prairie lands, except today we enjoyed rolling hills and blue skies with white clouds.

Well maintained roads on 287 took us to the Colorado/Oklahoma state line. The roads deteriorated from there. Oklahoma has some of the worst highways, they are so bad.

We rattled and shook all the way to the Oklahoma/Texas state line.  Once in Texas the roads were great again. Thank goodness.

We are staying at Amarillo Ranch RV Park off of Interstate 40 in Amarillo, Texas. It is a nice RV park, clean and well maintained with large sites and lots of green grass to walk the doggies.

We decided when we got to Amarillo, we were going to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at The Big Texan Steak Ranch and handcrafted Brewery.

This place is legionary, known around the world for its free 72oz steak given to the person who can eat the steak with all the fixings in under 60 minutes. The World Record is 4 minutes 58 minutes. You can watch her eat this dinner by clicking on the link below.

World Record

We enjoyed our meal along with the quirky atmosphere in the dining room. Howard had a filet steak and I had grilled Salmon. We each had a Pecan Porter brew and split a huge piece of Chocolate Cake.

Gosh, we need to exercise this off!

For so many years we have driven straight through Amarillo from Colorado on our way to visit family in Louisiana. Never stopping to visit, we decided to stay here for two nights to take in a few sights around the area. More on that tomorrow.

 Goodbye my beloved mountain time zone.

 The Black-necked Stilt – a striking black and white shorebird with long red legs

These photos were taken last year in April as we headed toward Colorado.  We stayed at Bottomless Lakes State Park in New Mexico and drove to Bitter Lakes National Wildlife from the campground. I previously posted a few photos from this area last year, but none of the Stilt. This year we cut our trip back to Colorado about three weeks short, so we didn’t get to stop in New Mexico.

Black-necked Stilts like shallow still bodies of water with muddy bottoms and grassy shorelines.

I watched this beauty as she headed for the shoreline looking for food until she flew away.

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If you would like to know more about Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, please chick here: 

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