Day 11 - Palo Duro Canyon to WaKeeney, Kansas
    
 
 
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
 
I sat out the evening before under the stars, then slept like a baby. I woke up early and eager to get outside for the sunrise...
 
day11_001.JPG (1152287 bytes)  day11_002.JPG (150652 bytes)  day11_003.JPG (100190 bytes)  day11_004.JPG (159696 bytes)
 
 
 
After coffee and a batch of biscuits I headed north toward Amarillo...
 
day11_005.JPG (170888 bytes)  day11_006.JPG (170597 bytes)  day11_007.JPG (208836 bytes)  day11_008.JPG (216379 bytes)
 
 
I would have my lunch in Amarillo at The Big Texan then continue north to Dalhart, the Oklahoma Panhandle, and Kansas. But first, upon reaching Amarillo, I drove 20 miles west on I-40 in order to take-in the Cadillac Ranch.
 
day11_009.JPG (126753 bytes) day11_010.JPG (172233 bytes) West on I-40 through Amarillo...
 
day11_011.JPG (136323 bytes) As I was going west on I-40 in Amarillo I passed the Big Texan where I would soon be enjoying my lunch. Those early morning biscuits had about worn off and a powerful hunger began to take shape as I was passing by Big Tex. But I pressed on toward the Cadillac Ranch...
 
day11_012.JPG (184145 bytes) day11_013.JPG (151505 bytes) day11_014.JPG (124425 bytes) Continuing west from Amarillo on I-40...
 
day11_015.JPG (53425 bytes) day11_016.JPG (131446 bytes) I turned back to the east at the first junction past the Cadillac Ranch then pulled over at that place...
 
 
The Cadillac Ranch. No need to say more, just look at the pictures...
 
day11_017 (1).JPG (202726 bytes)  day11_018.JPG (224124 bytes)  day11_019.JPG (177044 bytes)  day11_020.JPG (341822 bytes)  day11_021.JPG (210677 bytes)
 
day11_022.JPG (269672 bytes)  day11_023.JPG (187971 bytes)  day11_024.JPG (184436 bytes)  day11_025.JPG (192951 bytes)  day11_026.JPG (359928 bytes)
 
 
Back to Amarillo and the Big Texan!
 
bigtexan.com
 
day11_027.JPG (139374 bytes)  day11_028.JPG (182163 bytes)  day11_029.JPG (171761 bytes)  day11_030.JPG (234436 bytes)  day11_031.JPG (201507 bytes)
 
day11_032.JPG (261661 bytes)
 
day11_033.JPG (173385 bytes) I'm very fond of this work by Fredrick Remington entitled "An Old Time Plains Fight," hanging in the Big Texan.

Another painting that I'm quite fond of (not hanging in the Big Texan) comes to mind when I see the Remington above -  "Breaking Through The Line" by Charles Schreyvogel...
 
day11_035.JPG (221264 bytes)  day11_036.JPG (196910 bytes)  day11_037.JPG (187839 bytes)
 
day11_038.JPG (266388 bytes) Rachel took care of all my luncheon needs...
 
day11_039.JPG (199503 bytes) I went with the puny little 36oz. "Houston Cut"...
 
day11_040.JPG (238245 bytes)  day11_041.JPG (158823 bytes)  day11_042.JPG (201569 bytes)  day11_043.JPG (230256 bytes)
 
day11_044.JPG (297808 bytes) I purchased Singing Cowboys by Douglas B. Green in the gift shop. Douglas B. Green is better known as Ranger Doug, of Riders in the Sky. This is a beautiful book and I keep it proudly displayed inside Bigfoot...
 
day11_045.JPG (205410 bytes) The view from out back. The Big Texan is my #1 favorite restaurant.

Click here to see photos from a visit to the Big Texan on April 16, 2005...
 
 
Continuing northward from Amarillo...
 
day11_046.JPG (177560 bytes)  day11_047.JPG (156541 bytes)  day11_048.JPG (207863 bytes)  day11_049.JPG (203583 bytes)  day11_050.JPG (216450 bytes)
 
day11_051.JPG (378127 bytes)  day11_052.JPG (356190 bytes)  day11_053.JPG (317325 bytes)  day11_054.JPG (170063 bytes)  day11_055.JPG (167560 bytes)
 
day11_056.JPG (140052 bytes)  day11_057.JPG (188848 bytes)  day11_058.JPG (185044 bytes)  day11_059.JPG (208089 bytes)  day11_060.JPG (225551 bytes)
 
day11_061.JPG (152119 bytes)  day11_062.JPG (172574 bytes)  day11_063.JPG (171395 bytes)  day11_064.JPG (178162 bytes)  day11_066.JPG (212082 bytes)
 
day11_067.JPG (110392 bytes)  day11_068.JPG (180508 bytes)  day11_069.JPG (206247 bytes)
 
 
 
Dalhart. Michael Martin Murphey's compelling song "Long and Lonesome Ride to Dalhart," from the Heartland Cowboy album, had played often on this trip...
 
day11_070.JPG (128418 bytes)  day11_071.JPG (167301 bytes)  day11_072.JPG (170504 bytes)  day11_073.JPG (176564 bytes)  day11_074.JPG (233736 bytes)
 
day11_075.JPG (258621 bytes)  day11_076.JPG (176169 bytes)  day11_077.JPG (196636 bytes)  day11_078.JPG (186267 bytes)  day11_079.JPG (246054 bytes)
 
 
 
Proceeding northeast on Highway 54 toward Texhoma and the Texas / Oklahoma border...
 
day11_080.JPG (148186 bytes)  day11_081.JPG (175543 bytes)  day11_082.JPG (155804 bytes)  day11_083.JPG (217057 bytes)  day11_084.JPG (239111 bytes)
 
day11_085.JPG (178095 bytes)  day11_086.JPG (202867 bytes)  day11_087.JPG (212950 bytes)  day11_088.JPG (200516 bytes)  day11_089.JPG (185924 bytes)
 
day11_090.JPG (150794 bytes) Stratford...
 
day11_091.JPG (161547 bytes) Proceeding on across the Texas Panhandle...
 
 
Highway 54, between Stratford and Texhoma. The wonders of Texas never cease...
 
day11_092.JPG (217543 bytes)  day11_093.JPG (173752 bytes)  day11_094.JPG (330335 bytes)  day11_095.JPG (241806 bytes)  day11_096.JPG (423902 bytes)
 
day11_097.JPG (1268849 bytes)  day11_098.JPG (1304713 bytes)  day11_099.JPG (342458 bytes)  day11_100.JPG (463849 bytes)  day11_101.JPG (1551807 bytes)
 
day11_102.JPG (589012 bytes)  day11_103.JPG (760296 bytes)
 
At this point I was about ready to call off the rest of the trip and and stay in Texas. Texas is like no other place. Now, I love my home state of North Carolina, but I've got Texas in my heart and that's a plain fact.
 
 
day11_104.JPG (133726 bytes) Approaching Texhoma, Texas on the Texas / Oklahoma border...
 
 
Oklahoma...
day11_105.JPG (181432 bytes)  day11_106.JPG (154622 bytes)  day11_107.JPG (141501 bytes)  day11_108.JPG (187133 bytes)  day11_109.JPG (119636 bytes)
 
day11_110.JPG (194071 bytes)  day11_111.JPG (152759 bytes)  day11_112.JPG (168023 bytes)
 
 
day11_113.JPG (121087 bytes) Entering Kansas...
 
day11_114.JPG (126733 bytes)  day11_115.JPG (135855 bytes)  day11_116.JPG (128132 bytes)  day11_117.JPG (135844 bytes)  day11_118.JPG (106887 bytes)
 
 
day11_119.JPG (323931 bytes) day11_120.JPG (210728 bytes) Passing by the Dalton Gang Hideout in Meade, Kansas. I wanted to go in but it was too late in the day. I walked around for a bit then pushed on toward Dodge City...
 
The Dalton Gang...
 
 
 
I rode into Dodge City, Kansas after dusk...
 
www.americanwest.com/pages/dodge.htm
 
day11_122.jpg (124766 bytes)  day11_123.JPG (125519 bytes)  day11_124.JPG (87981 bytes)  day11_125.JPG (106075 bytes)  day11_126.JPG (228762 bytes)
 
day11_127.JPG (283396 bytes)  day11_128.JPG (215514 bytes)
 
There was a lot that I would have liked to see in Dodge City, but most everything was closed for the day. I walked around for a while but soon started feeling like pushing on with a night drive. From Dodge City I took Highway 283 north across the Kansas prairie. Somewhere north of Ness City in the middle of the great wide open I pulled off the road and beheld a magnificent sky filled with a million stars. The land was flat, and with no ground lights visible in any direction, stars were strewn almost down to where the horizon met the ground, in all directions, forming a starry dome as awe-inspiring as the one observed back at the Palo Duro Canyon in Texas the night before. I had called my friend Hong in Seattle before setting off on this trip and she asked me to call her from some interesting place along way. This was that place.
 
I then proceeded on across the vast plain, making it to WaKeeney by midnight. In WaKeeney I parked in front of an F-14 Tomcat fighter jet and made my camp there...