Spring Trip to Austin Day 1
Spring Trip to Austin
Tuesday, February 25, 2014 - Spring Trip to Austin, Texas - Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum; Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge; Lubbock
We began our Spring/Winter trip to Texas at 4:45 am. We had worried about bad weather coming in during the night, but when the alarm went off, all we had was dark and foggy with beautiful frost on all of the trees.
The highway was clear and there were hardly any cars until we were south of Colorado Springs where we got into all of the early Fort Carson traffic.
Gennie and Buddha, our cat, snoozed while Vic drove through to the rest area on the 64/87 diagonal from Raton, NM to Texline, TX. This route cuts off miles and it is usually very calm.
Taking the short cut our neighbors told us about, we got gas and a breakfast sandwich at Dalhart and then proceeded south from Hartley through Channing and past the famous Cal Farley Boys Ranch.
We took the 335 Loop around Amarillo and went directly to Canyon, home of West Texas A&M University, formerly West Texas Normal School. Our goal was to find the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum.
We truly stepped back in time learning more about the history and culture of the Texas Panhandle. From the dinosaurs, to the fight for Texas Independence, through the days of the cowboys and cattle drives, to the boom days of Texas oil, this museum has it all.
There is an incredible Prairie Town, an art collection of Southwest scenes and by local artists, and a gun collection sponsored by the National Rifle Association, that is presented in a unique manner.
All in all, the three hours we spent there rivaled many of our visits to larger and more famous museums. As we drive through the Panhandle and the Texas Plains now, we see a depressed economy. Days gone by on the Panhandle were truly exciting and interesting.
We left Canyon at 2:00 and continued on Highway 60 to the tiny town of Umbarger where we saw the dam on a tributary of the Red River. There was a small private herd of buffalo trying to eek out any sustenance from the dry dusty ground.
Buffalo Lake was the home of grazing herds of bison and the marshlands were an important stop for migratory birds along the Central Flyway.
Now the Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge is under the direction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The lake is dry but many species of birds, deer, prairie dogs, and other wildlife call this home, or stop by on their fall and spring migrations.
We had our picnic lunch in the car as the winds were blowing on the prairie and the temperature was only 39°. As we ate, we watched the hawks also hunting for lunch in the prairie dog town.
We continued south to Lubbock where we stayed the night at the Best Western on I-27. We had dinner at Abuelo's, one of our favorite places on the route to Austin.
Comments
Good food ay Abuelo's -- we have one here, and I love that place!! Many relatives in this area and Fredericksburg and Round Rock. Have fun! Keep me posted.
Post a Comment!Randy and I camped at Palo Duro Canyon early in our marriage. It started blowing something fierce, and we couldn't sleep at all. We finally took our tent down in the middle of the night and continued on our trip!
Abandoned Homestead NM
Entrance to PPHM Museum
Guns of the West PPHM Museum
Vanishing Breed
Common Black Hawk
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