High Plains

See

• Big Cross - Visible up to 20 miles away, the 190 foot cross off I-40 at Groom 40 miles east of Amarillo is the second tallest in the US.
• Historic Ritz Theatre, in the tiny town of Wellington. This 1928 movie palace on the courthouse square has been restored and revitalized by Historic Wellington, Inc. In 2007 it reopened, showing first-run and classic films. From I-40, take US 83 south from Shamrock near the Oklahoma border.
• Playa lakes - The High Plains is dotted with these small lakes and ponds which form in natural depressions after heavy rain, sometimes lasting up to a year or more.
• Prairie dog towns, near Pampa and Dumas. Wildlife includes not only prairie dogs, but various hawks and burrowing owls as well.
• Rodeo - Nearly every little town in the area has an annual event, with the biggest being the Tri-State Fair and Rodeo in Amarillo in mid-September.
• Route 66 remnants can be found in many stops along the current I-40 route, including the famous leaning water tower in Groom, and vintage gas stations and other buildings in Adrian, Vega, Amarillo, Alanreed, McLean, and Shamrock.

Museums

The High Plains region has many historical museums which focus mainly on the pioneer days in the region, American Indian history, and early railroad artifacts.

• Carson County Square House Museum, in Panhandle.
• Devil's Rope Barbed Wire Museum, in McLean. Dedicated to the fence that tamed the West. This museum has one of the world's largest collections of wire fencing and fence-making tools.

• Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, in Canyon. The largest historical museum in the state.
• River Valley Pioneer Museum, in Canadian.
• White Deer Land Museum, in Pampa.
• XIT Ranch Museum in Dalhart.

Do

• Enjoy the night sky. Pull your car over to the side of the road in the country and take in the stars, as the relative scarcity of cities and the 180 degree horizons offer spectacular views of the kind a city dweller has never seen.
• Hike, ride horses or birdwatch in Palo Duro Canyon, Lake Meredith Recreation Area, and a number of other grassland parks in the area.
• Be a ranch hand (temporarily) at Bar H Dude Ranch in Clarendon. Experience ranch life first hand, or just watch and learn. Other area ranches can be found near Pampa, Canadian, Borger, and Memphis.
• Watch a sunset. The lack of trees blocking the horizon makes for spectacular sunsets.
• Tour Wheeler County in the far eastern High Plains. Two to six hour tours visit various old buildings and sites in Wheeler, surrounding ranchland, and Mobeetie, the oldest town in the Panhandle, now almost a ghost town. For information, call 888 826 3790 or 806 826 3790. Wheeler is located 16 miles north of Shamrock near the Oklahoma border.

Eat

• Big Texan Steakhouse, in Amarillo, is the most famous restaurant in Texas. Eat a 72oz steak in under an hour and it's free.
• Ugly crust pies at the Midpoint Café, the oldest Route 66 café still in operation. It is located in the tiny city of Adrian, west of Vega. It marks the geographic midpoint of Route 66, which extended 1139 miles in either direction. Its now-retired owner Fran Houser inspired "Flo", a character in Pixar's 2006 film "Cars".

Sleep

Most travellers base their High Plains travels in Amarillo, where a wide range of accommodations are available. A few other cities have a decent selection of amenities, notably Pampa, Borger, Dalhart, and Clarendon.

A number of destinations have unique bed-and-breakfast style lodgings available at area ranches such as those near Clarendon, Canadian, Borger, Memphis and Pampa.