Me and a good friend are taking a road trip from Houston to Lake Meredith (Fritch TX) to do some backpacking, camping and scouting. MapQuest shows us taking 237 into Amarillo, then 136 into Fritch. Any small town food places or unique stops we should make? This is my first trip into the panhandle - only been out West to Big Bend, Fort Stockton, etc.

Plan is to leave Houston around 3-4am on Saturday, and pull into Fritch around ~10hrs later.

Thanks for the input!

287 maybe?

Watch your speed, especially in Estelline.

Might want to check out the Ft. Worth to Amarillo Drive thread.

Boy Scouting or scouting for deer hunting spots?

If you are just looking for deer hunting areas, you're doing the right thing. If you are more into scenery and hiking, you can do a lot better.

It also sounds like you're doing a quick run, so I assume you don't want scenic route info.

However, if you've never been in this part of Texas, things to see include:

Palo Duro Canyon
Caprock Canyons
Panhandle Plains Historical Museum

If you want to do a scenic route, turn off 287 at Estelline, go on 86 through Turkey and Quitaque, and go to Caprock Canyons. Back to Quitaque and through Silverton on 86. Turn north on 207 through Tule and Palo Duro Canyons to Claude.

If you want to go to the famous Big Texan in Amarillo, just remember:

Above average hype
Above average prices
Average food


[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 3/12/2009 10:12p).]

CanyonAg - Deer scouting. Thanks for the info.

what canyon said. stop at copper breaks state park outside of quanah. it's pretty cool and a nice break in the drive.

If you are in the vicinity at the right time, a visit to Mobeetie or to Lipscomb could be interesting.

Mobeetie hosts an annual three day folk music festival. This year, it is July 24-26.

From http://www.governor.state.tx.us/music/events/tmec_july/:

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The Old Mobeetie Music Festival is a family-oriented three-day music jamboree with stage shows as well as "shade-tree pickin" around the camp sites. Camping in the rough is available along with over 100 electrical hookups. The Old Mobeetie Jail Museum is open to visitors during the festival. Performers include local bluegrass bands as well as musicians from the surring states. Performers booked for 2009 include Star Canyon Band of San Antonio, TX, Salt Grass Band of Lake Jackson, TX, The Hunt Family Band of Orlando, OK, The Batton Family Band of Lubbock, TX, The Link Family Band of Lebanon, MO., Larry Ford Bluegrass Band of Leedey, OK with others pending.

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Four times a year, Lipscomb hosts a dance platform. See http://naturallyyourstx.tripod.com/index.htm. The dates are June 20, July 18, August 15, and September 19. From the web page:

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Naturally Yours Dance Platform is an early 1900's recreation of a wooden platform whose story was told to us by pioneer Pauline Moore (born 1900-1999). The music is the early ranch fiddle music often performed by Frankie McWhorter, fiddle player for Bob Wills in the early 60's, and the Ranch Dance Fiddle Band from Lubbock who is dedicated to the continuation of these ranch tunes through the education of young performing students. Also a traditional meal is provided in keeping with what might have been available in that time setting. Dutch oven cobblers are served through out the evening from fruit picked locally, such as sandplums, cherries, mulberries etc. Kerosene lamps light the wooden dance platform as well as the grounds around the platform. Foods traditional to the early German, Spanish and western American cultures are prepared and served open air. Participants are encouraged to “bring your lawn chair, bug spray and good humor” to these events which occur the 3rd. Saturday night of June, July, August and September.

A children's area under a massive elm tree provides tire swings, a sandbox from an old car frame, a playhouse and an “undefined” cargo net. The imprinting of the music and laughter carries out to this busy little area. The old dance steps of the waltzes, schottisches and two step are danced out under the stars and Texas breeze by young and old. Mothers, daughters and granddaughters…. a husband and wife with a child often dance together as a grandfather teaches his young, steps to “Put Your Little Foot”, a song he remembers well from his young days. History is better taught from first person, if it's still available.

A non-alcohol setting for community of all ages to teach and learn from each other. It fills the void for the slower times past and foods made with love, like grandma used to make. It links the traditions of the plains with a participating present. The Dance Platform gives a place for an extended community, gathered from many states around, to experience each other's creative expressions through art, music, food and fellowship. The traveling participants spill over to surrounding towns to room and board.

Naturally Yours Dance Platform started its first dance season May 1996. It has grown from a dance of 12 people to upwards of 500. A town with a permanent population of approx. 42 comes bustling and alive for a Saturday night. We are not aware of another permanently operating wooden dance platform in the Panhandles or possibly all of Texas. It was a narrow window in the history of the plains for the dance platform as the boards were often taken up to build the barns and houses.

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A town with a permanent population of approx. 42

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42? I think somebody counted a few of the turkeys for good measure.

You can now drive around the town on the Internet using Google Maps.

I agree with what's been said above.

Go to Palo Duro Canyon,
Caprock Canyon State Park,
Panhandle Plains Museum in Canyon.

If going to Lake Meredith, go to the Alibates Flint Quaries National Monument.

Much better places to eat in Amarillo rather than the Big Texas, but go for the experience if you must.

You could visit the Helium Monument.

[This message has been edited by eric76 (edited 3/20/2009 6:42p).]

And then there is the always wonderful drive around Amarillo looking for Stanley Marsh 3's signs:





[This message has been edited by eric76 (edited 3/20/2009 6:43p).]

Thanks for all the tips. Had a great trip, never got pulled over, and saw some great, BIG country at Lake Meredith. Didn't have much time to stop and sight see, but we did enjoy meals at the following places:

- La Piasa, Wichita Falls TX. Great little shady mexican food place.

- Fat Boys BBQ, Canyon TX. Not my brand of BBQ, but it was a great, reasonably priced meal that was perfect after 2 days of MRE food.

- Allsups, Middle-of-nowhere TX. Actually, it was in Hermleigh TX. We were on our way to Coleman, and decided to stop here for a stop-and-go burrito and a cold beer. Sat on the bed of my truck and payed tribute to Pat Green's lyrics.

Ah, Allsup's Gut bomb burritos. I can't remember the last time I had one of those.

Should have called, I would have said hello at Fat Boys. Or recommended somewhere else.



Did you notice the converted KFC just north of Fat Boys? It's called Thai Spice, but my niece calls it Kentucky Fried Thai. It's the 4th best Thai place in town.

1 Saykouroman's (sp)
2/3 Thai Kitchen or Bonsai
4 Thai Spice

Heavily Anglo town of 12,000 in Texas, we have 4 Thai places and one Mexican food. Go figure.

Pepito's is a very good Mexican Food place in Canyon, though we really like Tacos Garcia in Amarillo.

Feldman's is a great local all-around restaurant.

Thanks for the info Canyon. While rolling through town I thought to myself.... Hey, I could live here! Really good looking town and very well kept. We stopped for a few cigars at some little tobacco place next to a shirt design printing store.

Meredith was great. Saw a few mulies, a bunch of whitetails, and a few coyotes too. Had fun. Not sure I'll be back to hunt during season. Need to decide if I want a piece of that 11hr drive again

We forgot to warn you about Fritch.

They even pull ambulances over hauling passengers for speeding there.

I love Ron White's comedy routine on Fritch, it's hilarious.

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Thanks for the info Canyon. While rolling through town I thought to myself.... Hey, I could live here! Really good looking town and very well kept. We stopped for a few cigars at some little tobacco place next to a shirt design printing store.

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Yeah, we really like it. I'm kind of the Chamber of Commerce for the Panhandle when it comes to TexAgs.

I'm guessing you were in the little place at the corner of 4th Avenue and 23rd street (US87/Tex217, the latter the road to Palo Duro Canyon). Don't smoke, never been there, but J-M Sporting goods are good people, always helpful when I was Pres. of the local soccer association.

If so, you were also right by our movie theater. It's a real small-town, single screen operation. Pretty amusing place.

Any idea if the Morley Theater in Borger is still open? It was struggling financially pretty bad when I left many years ago but they were trying to do everything they could to keep it open.

I really disagreed with the previous owner's "renovation" of the place. It was once a classical movie theater with the whole chandeliers and balconies thing going for it. I really wish an owner with the right kind of resources could restore it back to that again.

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If so, you were also right by our movie theater. It's a real small-town, single screen operation. Pretty amusing place.

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I assume you are talking about the "venerable" Varsity Theatre ... that place was a bland, nondescript box of a theater when we arrived in Canyon in 1964, and it gradually went downhill from there. By the early 1970s it was a dingy dump, and I think it was closed by the time I was in high school. A friend of mine who worked there (briefly) as a projectionist recalled that on at least one occasion he didn't bother to thread the projector because there were no patrons*. I seem to recall that in the late 70s or early 80s it was "remodeled" (which is to say, they sort of cleaned it up, and put some fabric hangings on the walls to spruce up the appearance and hide the stains and cracks) but it was still a dingy dump of a theater. They weren't showing first-run films at the time, but popular older films for the college crowd, I think. I sincerely hope that the current owners have given the place a proper remodeling.

Then there was the old Olympic theater, located on the north side of the square. This was the classical movie house dating back to the 1920s? 1930s? It was pretty much shut down by the late 1960s. The only movies I remember seeing there was a double feature consisting of HELP! and Yellow Submarine. That building was remodeled into office space or retail space long ago. Truly a pity.

*The movie in question was Electra Glide in Blue, starring Robert Blake. Don't ask me why I remember ridiculous trivia like that ...

The Varsity is the one I'm talking about. Big sections of seats missing, because instead of repairing, they just remove the row of seats...

Jr. High kids running around because the "parents" are using the theater as a baby sitter...

Feet sticking to the floor....

Seriously, some younger guys took it over a few years ago, and are doing a little upgrading. They even get first-run movies in there now.


The Olympic is still there if you know where to look for it. The mosaic floor tile still spells out the name, and you can look through a door and see the old glassed-in ticket booth. Supposedly the theater area is still undivided and used for workspace/storage by a local contractor.

With the 1908 Courthouse renovation and some other renovation on the square, one hopes The Olympic might rise from her ruins.

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Jr. High kids running around because the "parents" are using the theater as a baby sitter...

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Ah, some things never change ... that was my crowd, circa 1972. Only we didn't run around the theater so much as we sat around and contributed a "witty" running commentary while watching such uplifting and intellectually challenging fare as King Kong Escapes! and Beneath the Planet of the Apes. (Sort of like Mystery Science Theater 3000, but perhaps not quite as clever. I think on one occasion - possibly more - we came perilously close to being thrashed by some high school or college kids who found us to be more annoying than amusing. Hard to believe, but true.) Back in those days, we Canyon kids had a reputation for being snooty, rambunctious smart-a##es. Probably for good reason ...