Captain’s Log --- Star Date 07012009
Location – Amarillo Ranch RV Resort, Amarillo, Texas
Trip Miles – 1384.2
Report from Engineering – All systems operational; Star Ship Wolverine cleared for transit to Galaxy of Oklahoma
Diesel Fuel Price -- $2.50 per gallon, 29.0 gallons loaded
Weather conditions – Violent (Scary!) thunderstorm in evening of Star Date 06302009; Clear and Hot on 07012009; Maximum outside temperature – 95F

I was barely out of bed when The Commodore snarled in my ear, “I want YOU to be a MAN! I want you to start to talk like a TEXAN!!” So…Ah gritted mah tayth (teeth) and Ah SAYED (said), “Ah’m a TEXAN and Ah eat NAILS fer BREAKFAST!” The Commodore grunted her approval and we’ve had a fine (fahn, in Texan) day here in Ammarillah! O’course , Amarillo means “yellow” in Spanish and is actually pronounced AH-MAH-REE-OH. But, no matter … we do what we DO here and we SAY what we SAY here! Actually, the town was founded back in the 1800’s by Mexicans who named the town after the yellow dirt they found around here.

Amarillo has been a real surprise to us! We expected it to be a miserable layover spot that we couldn’t wait to leave. We were DEAD WRONG! One of my great joys is to shed my prejudices about a place when confronted by the truth about it. Amarillo is a gracious city, with interesting things to do and an abundance of good restaurants and civic attractions.

Today has been gorgeous, weatherwise…sunny and clear all day! In the early morning, we did some geocaching along Julian Street, a beautiful district of lovely homes and green parks. I emphasize the word GREEN since, having lived in a desert climate for many years, Barbara and I had not expected the intensity of the green in the parks, lawns, shrubs and trees. LUSCIOUS was the word for it!

To an eclectic mishmash of music over High Plains Public Radio, Barbara and I drove 25 miles south to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Palo Duro Canyon came upon us as an utter surprise, suddenly yawning forth from a seemingly endless plain. It’s the second largest canyon in the U.S., exceeded in size only by the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The park entrance is patrolled by two ancient and enormous Texas Longhorn steers named Biscuit and Gravy. We drove the winding road to the canyon floor, red rock walls standing in sharp contrast to the green of the trees by the stream beds on the canyon floor.

We were HONGRY and nuthin’ but BBQ would do fer lunch! As if directed by Divine Guidance, Ol’ Edna…our Garmin navigation system…led us over to Doug Henk’s Pit BBQ! This is the eating place to go to when in Amarillo! Succulent pulled pork and turkey, served with true Texas hospitality! Nuthin’ but GOOD!

We spent the hot afternoon at Splash Amarillo Water Park, acting like two kids on a summer day! We rented ourselves an inner tube, rode the Lazy River twice, then the Wave Pool twice, and then climbed and rode the three Slides! What FUN this romp was…it was also the “official” kickoff to Barbara’s birthday celebration! Her actual birthday is July 4th. Oh, by the way, them young lifeguard ladies were shore purty…a true Texan man must voice his appropriate word of appreciation here!

A REAL TEXAS MAN, of course, will take ten Cadillacs , bury their noses in the dirt of his immense farm, and then paint the exposed portions as works of modern art! Fantasy! NO! Welcome to Cadillac Ranch, about 10 miles west of Amarillo! It’s weird here! It’s also a top attraction in Amarillo.

We have had visitors at our trailer….Marvin and Florence Kopf, fellow square dancers from San Diego, who are “On the Road” like us and who happened to pull into the RV site next to ours! These are friendly folks we hadn’t seen in ten years!

What a GREAT DAY this has been, I tell you WHAT!

Well, Friends and Neighbors, we got bidness (business) to do in Oklahoma…better git movin’! Y’all have an excellent day!


Yours Truly,
Captain Bobby Jim