Tuesday, July 13, 2021

 July 12, 2021 Amarillo to Canyon and return to Albuquerque 


We left our Air BNB at 1909 Harrison around 9:30 and drove to the town square in Canyon, where Suzette ordered a coffee at the Palace Coffee House and inquired about breakfast restaurants. It was almost 11:00 and we were hungry.




The barista recommended The Ranch House, so we went there.  It is a traditional Texas diner. Ssince we were at the epicenter of Country Fried Steak country, I could not resist ordering Country Fried steak with eggs, hash browns potatoes, and a biscuit.  Suzette ordered eggs, patty sausage, country fries potatoes, and a biscuit.  We decided to eat a big meal before hitting the road back to Albuquerque.



                                                            Suzette’s breakfast



                                                        My breakfast


I enjoyed the big breakfast, but Suzette could not finish her breakfast.

The country fried steak was tender and hand breaded, so very enjoyable.


We then drove the six blocks to the Panhandle - Plains Historical Museum on the campus of West Texas A & M University.  It is housed in an impressive Art Deco building but its art collections are second rate and very thin. We looked at the Southwestern art and decided not to waste any more time looking at the museum, but instead to visit Palo Duro Canyon State Park.












Some belongings and a bad painting by Georgia O’Keefe, who taught art at this university around 1916.


We drove the additional 13 miles east of Canyon to the park and drove the 45 minute loop road through the bottom of the canyon and stopped at the Trading Post so Suzette could buy a new visor.  The Canyon is impressive, but is what is most impressive is the construction of the roads and buildings by the CCC during the Depression.  The Park prides itself of the fact that all three divisions of the CCC worked on this massive project, the Veterans, the juveniles, and the Negroes.


It was hot and dry in the Canyon and it covers a large area but is not as big or as impressive as the Grand Canyon. It did have lots of stacks of rocks that were interesting but nothing as impressive as the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon or the expansiveness of the Grand Canyon.


When we left Palo Duro we returned to Amarillo and gassed up and drove the 300 miles back to Albuquerque.


We returned home at 7:00 and decided to grill a steak to eat with the PPI Ratatouille.  Suzette defrosted and grilled a big bone in rib steak and I fetched and heated the Ratatouille.  I opened a bottle of Calstar 2018 Zinfandel and it was soft and smooth on the palate.  I liked it and was glad Rick had recommended it.


                  Steak and ratatouille garnished with truffle buttera


We were tired and Suzette went to bed after dinner, but I stayed up to watch the replay of Stage 15 at 10:00.  I watched to the ens at 12:30 because an American cyclist named Sepp Kuss from Durango, Colorado won.


Bon Appetit



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