Quick! What are the top 5 things you think of when you hear Texas!? Personally my 5 are oil, cowboys, steak, horses, and Mexican food. Now if something cowboy/western related didn’t pop into your mind, than you don’t know Texas very well!
Texas will give you the western experience you see in all those John Wayne movies as long as you visit the right towns. The most true blue Texas experience has gotta be in Amarillo, Texas!
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American Quarter Horse Hall Of Fame & Museum
If you are a horse fanatic like I am you will LOVE this museum! There are videos of all events horse from showing, barrel racing, reigning, bronc riding, racing, dressage, etc. Which I could have sat and watched forever! This museum was built for horse lovers!
It isn’t really a kid museum, and like I said if you are not really a horse person you probably won’t appreciate it much. The only really interactive thing you can do is sit on a saddle or watch a movie, other than that you are reading articles, appreciating decorative saddles, viewing artifacts from horse history, and looking at pictures.
Location: 2601 E Interstate Dr, Amarillo, TX 79104
Hours: Tues-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat 9am-5pm, CLOSED Sun-Mon
Admission: $10 adults, $8 seniors, $5 military/kids (6-18), FREE kids 5 and under
Tri State Fair and Rodeo
Texas is a state full of fairs in the months of September-October. There are carnivals and 4H livestock showings popping up right and left. Of all of these fairs though the best one is in Amarillo, Texas! Of course, it has the regular fair fun like fresh lemonade, rides, games, and animals. What makes this fair so unique is the extra shows they host. Shows like pig races, lumberjack shows, stunt shows, and monkey jockey’s riding dogs and racing! So much fun!
Not only did their petting zoo have goats and donkies; but also kangaroos, zebras, and camels! Amarillo takes a normal fair and bumps it up to a whole new level!
And what Texas fair doesn’t end with a rodeo!? So while you are chowin down on a turkey leg you are standing in a sea of cowboy hats as everyone preps to what some buckin broncos! The rodeo is a PRCA which means it is pro and really intense!
Big Texan Steakhouse
One of the items on my bucket list is to attempt a man vs food challenge, and Amarillo has one!! If you are crazy enough you can try to devour a 72oz steak, shrimp cocktail, baked potato, a salad, and a roll; in 1 hour!
Or you can save yourself a bellyache and just come on by for a delicious regular sized cowboy feast! All of your waiters and waitresses are dressed in cowboy get up and you will eat in a dining hall surrounded by all kinds of taxidermy critters. We even got serenaded by an older cowboy with a guitar singing Texas classics.
The steaks are delicious and each are served with a Texas size jalapeño on the side! If you think you can handle it than try yourself some Rocky Mountain Oysters (fried bull testicles)! Only in Texas am I right!? Haha! Actually it tastes just like fried gizzards, not too bad.
Half of the experience isn’t just the food, but the experience. There are taxidermy animals all over and all kinds of western gear. The gift shop is all things cowboy and you can even get yourself some suckers with a little surprise dried scorpion in the middle! Stop and try your luck at the laser shooting range to let out your inner gunman. Definitely fun for all ages, plus some delicious food.
Location: 7701 I-40, Amarillo, TX 79118
Hours: everyday 10am-10:30pm
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Amarillo is home to one of the most iconic hikes in Texas; the lighthouse in Palo Duro Canyon State Park! This state park is literally the Texas version of the Grand Canyon, it is simply breathtaking! This canyon is desert, but not the bland desert Texas is so famous for this is a red rock desert of pure beauty!
Minus the cactus and rattlesnakes that hikes are so family friendly and each hike is so unique! Our absolute favorite hikes are hiking to the Palo Duro Caves and hiking above the TEXAS Outdoor musical amphitheater. Both are super easy hikes with incredible views!
If you are visiting around summer than you can actually watch the historic TEXAS outdoor musical right there surrounded by red cliffsides. It is an incredible experience to see man, horse, and cow make a show together to teach the story of Texas!
Location: 11450 Park Road 5, Canyon, TX 79015
Admission: $8 adults, ages 12 and under FREE
Hours: 7am-9pm
Amarillo Zoo
No matter where we go I always love to go to the zoo! So you can bet we made visiting the Amarillo Zoo a priority. It is a smaller zoo, but even for being small it still has quite the variety. A good portion of the zoo is actually exhibits of Texas native animals. From camels to longhorns to turkeys to donkeys!
They also have quite the exotics exhibits. Our favorites were the tiger, lions, and the spider monkeys!
Locations: 700 Comanchero Trail, Amarillo, TX 79107
Admission: $4.50 adults, $3.50 seniors (62+), $2.50 kids (3-12), FREE ages 2 and under
Hours: everyday 9:30am-5pm
Cadillac Ranch
Only in Texas is it considered amazing to see a bunch of half buried cars in the middle of a pasture covered in spray paint. Welcome to Cadillac Ranch! Okay jokes aside, it is a super fun place to visit. My kids loved and I mean LOVED spray painting these cars. Be sure to bring spray paint as the vendors that sell cans are not always there.
After visiting the cars be sure to drive down I-40 Frontage Rd to the Cadillac Ranch Gift Store! Its kinda hard to miss with the giant cowboy standing out front. There are some fun photo ops and a couple more Cadillac’s.
Locations: 13651 I-40 Frontage Rd, Amarillo, TX 79124
Admission: FREE
Hours: open 24/7
Texas Air and Space Museum
Another free activity, though donations are heavily encouraged. This really cool museum is all about airplanes! Though you have the option to self-walk through, the tour is completely worth it. By taking the tour you will have the opportunity to go into some of the planes.
I thought the coolest one was an old world war II plane that was used for transporting parachuters. We got to walk through the plane and sit in the cockpit. Though kids might have a hard time standing still to listen to the tour I can assure you they will definitely enjoy going into these giant airships.
Location: 10001 American Dr, Amarillo, TX 79111
Admission: FREE
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-4pm, CLOSED SUN
Things To Do In Lubbock, Texas:
Feed wild Prairie Dogs at Prairie Dog Town
Walk amongst dinosaurs at the Museum of Texas Tech University
Smell The Roses At Helen Hodges Rose Garden
Walk By An Active Archeological Site At Lubbock Lake Historic Landmark
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Amarillo looks amazing!!!!