Amarillo
Visit Us Big Texan Steak Ranch, Opry & Horse Hotel
Enjoy a restaurant that is known around the world. Eat The Big Texan’s famous 72 oz. steak dinner with all the trimmings (appetizer, salad and potato) in one hour and it’s FREE! Almost 35,000 people have tried and 5,500 have succeeded. The menu is packed with other taste-tempting grub, from prime Texas beef to buffalo steak, rattlesnake, calf fries, and the popular chicken fried steak.
Every Tuesday night during the summer 2006, enjoy the award-winning Big Texan Opry featuring a variety of great regional country western entertainers. Reservations are recommended for these lively western shows with down-home Texas fun. The buffet starts at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8:05 p.m. Admission, which includes the dinner and the show, is $13.99 for adults; $11.99 for seniors 55 and over; and $9.99 for children 10 and under. Groups of 30 or more are $11.99 a head. Those preferring to order from the menu may eat in the main dining room and then present that night’s receipt at the Opry door for admission.
Traveling with your steed? The Big Texan Horse Hotel now has over 20 stalls available for nightly rental, including all the bedding and feed your steed needs. Best yet, you can keep an eye on your valuable horse through closed-circuit television. Wake up in the middle of the night and take a peek at your steed, all without leaving your room at the Big Texan Motel. Fees are $25 per stall, per night; for $5 more a night you can sign up for the closed-circuit television option. Just call 800-657-7177 to book a room at the Big Texan Motel and reserve your horse a stall at the Big Texan Horse Hotel.
I-40 East at Lakeside. Bus parking is available, and handicapped is accessible. (806) 372-7000 or (800) 657-7177.
Amarillo and beyond
Tomato Graphics Tomato Graphics Design Studio
Tomato Graphics specializes in developing print marketing materials for small businesses, including the travel and tourism industries. Small town? Remote location? No problem. We work with clients and printers at a distance as a matter of course. Our goal is to meet your needs by locating the proper vendors and working within your guidelines.
We also have green graphic design services available. We’ll work with you from concept to delivery, satisfying your desire to have not only beautiful printing but also a beautiful planet. So we’re not just Tomato Graphics, we’re also Green Tomato Graphics.
Amarillo (30 mi. north)
Friends of Lake Meredith National Recreation Area & Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
The Friends of Lake Meredith National Recreation Area & Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument work to support, promote and raise funds for Lake Meredith and the Flint Quarries in partnership with the National Park Service and other supporters who value the unique qualities of these national resources.
The Friends work closely with local communities to promote Lake Meredith and the Alibates Flint Quarries, provide grassroots support in tourism, visitor services, and resource protection and encourage volunteers to support tourism in the Alibates Flint Quarries. The Alibates Contact Station which opened in 2007 came about as a result of the partnership between the Friends group and the National Park Service. The latest Friends project is the landscaping of the site with native trees and grasses.
Clarendon
Saints’ Roost Cottage B&B
620 E. 4th. Bed, Supper & Breakfast in this newly refurbished historical home moved on skids from old Clarendon in 1869 when the town relocated.
If you’re going to attend Bob Wills Days in nearby Turkey, Texas, be aware that there are no accommodations available in Turkey. The only hotel is filled with old Playboys this weekend, so if you don’t bring your own lodging, consider reserving Saint’s Roost.
Relax on the front porch, and enjoy the rustic décor and grandma’s house nostalgia. This unique sleepover will charm you. Open seasonally. Call for details. Owner/chef: Judy Burlin. 806-677-8596
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Palo Duro Canyon State Park opened on July 4, 1934 and contains 26,275 acres of the scenic, northernmost portion of the Palo Duro Canyon. The Civilian Conservation Corp of the 1930’s constructed most of the buildings and roads still in use by park staff and visitors.
The Canyon is 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles wide, and has a maximum depth of more than 800 feet. Its elevation at the rim is 3,500 feet above sea level. It is often claimed that Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States. The largest, the Grand Canyon, is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and 6,000 ft. deep.
Palo Duro Canyon was formed by water erosion from the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. The water deepens the canyon by moving sediment downstream. Wind and water erosion gradually widen the canyon.
Early Spanish Explorers are believed to have discovered the area and dubbed the canyon “Palo Duro” which is Spanish for “hard wood” in reference to the abundant mesquite and juniper trees.
Humans have resided in the canyon for approximately 12,000 years. Early settlers were nomadic tribes that hunted mammoth, giant bison, and other large game animals. Later, Apache Indians lived in the canyon, but were soon replaced by Comanche and Kiowa tribes who resided in the area until 1874. At that time, Col. Ranald Mackenzie was sent into the area to transport the Native Americans to Oklahoma. Col. Mackenzie and the 4th Cavalry were able to capture over 1,400 horses belonging to the tribe. After keeping some of the best horses for themselves, the remainder were taken to nearby Tule Canyon and destroyed. Cut off from their only means of transportation, the Native Americans soon surrendered.
In 1876, Charles Goodnight entered the canyon and opened the JA Ranch. At its peak, the ranch supported more than 100,000 head of cattle. Goodnight operated the ranch until 1890. Although only a fraction of its original size, the JA Ranch remains a working ranch today.
City Drug Bed and Breakfast Hotel
Charming and historic City Drug Store in Wheeler, Texas, was re-built in 1924 after the original wooden structure burned. The cement block structure served the community as a “drug store” and “soda shop” for the next fifty years. In the early 30s the first floor was enlarged for doctors offices and The second story was added to serve as the town’s first hospital. In the 40s a new hospital was built and the second floor was converted into apartments. Many couples began married life on the second floor of the City Drug Store.
In the 50s the apartments were abandoned and the second floor remained unused for fifty years. The City Drug Store continued in business until 1973. The building was vacated in 1993 and remained empty until new owners bought the building and began remodeling the building for the “City Drug Bed & Breakfast Hotel.
400 Main Street • P. O. Box 552
Wheeler, Texas 79096
Toll Free: (888) 826-3790 • Phone: (806) 826-3790
