Dains Traveling Days: April 2019

Texas, Home Again!

You guessed it, our next stop was Amarillo, Texas. We stayed at the Amarillo RV Ranch. It's just off I-40. Your GPS tells you, from the West, to use Exit 73. But, it's a little easier to get to if you use Exit 74.

You've most likely heard ... Everything's bigger in Texas. Well, if you're looking for a BIG STEAK, then Amarillo is the place to go. Specifically, the Big Texan Steak Ranch. They are famous for their 72 oz steak that's FREE, IF you can follow ALL THE RULES, and eat the whole thing in house. If you think you're up for the challenge and are staying at the Amarillo RV Ranch you don't even have to drive, a limo from the RV Park will pick you up at your rig and drive you over and back. It's a "Touristy Thing," and because David and I like a real great steak, we go to Saltgrass Steak House.

There are several good museums worth your time. We went to two, and enjoyed them both.

The first was Jack Sisemore's RV Museum. It is on the back lot of Jack's RV dealership. It represents years and years of Jack collecting antique campers, pop-ups, motorhomes, trailers, camping gear, motorcycles and other nostalgic pieces. It truly is a terrific collection that is beautifully organized and displayed. There is no fee. We took hundreds of photos, but here is a sampling:

In addition to all the early model RV's there are also additional historic items you may or may not recognize.

"Is this the one we should rent?"

If you love old motorcycles, there's a section for you as well.

In addition to the RV museum, Amarillo is home to the America Quarter Horse Association & Hall of Fame Museum. There is a fee to tour the museum, $6.00 for Seniors. If you love horses and their history, this is a must see museum.

We came across a group of young "punchers" (cowboys) touring the museum.

On the road to Wichita Falls, we ran into a lot of bad weather.

Thanks to our friend, Wayne Sage, David has a train whistle. He gets it out every time a train passes by. David's uncle, Robert Dains, was an Engineer on the Southern Pacific passenger train that used to run between Phoenix and Tucson when David was a boy. His grandfather, Charles Dains, was a retired Conductor on the same line. David apparently has train blood running through his arteries and veins, because he has always had a deep fascination for them. He almost becomes "childlike."

The winds got up to speeds of 30 mph by the time we arrived at the Wichita Falls RV Park. There were reports of tornado's in Texas. Thankfully we didn't see any, but it sure did feel like they were very close. The days following were all beautiful. We even managed to get to church on Sunday, Life Church. After church we did some site seeing and found an old train in the downtown train yard.

One of the Top 10 Places to visit while in Wichita Falls is Lucy Park. Our RV park and Lucy Park are located along the Wichita River, which is part of the Red River watershed. Visitors come from near and far to visit the Falls at Lucy Park. There is not a real waterfall anymore in Lucy Park, but, because visitors have been coming so long, nearly 100 years, to visit the non-existent falls, an artificial waterfall was built beside the river in Lucy Park.