Semi-OT Amarillo, TX

[William]

Originally Posted by Seramount

not especially fond memories of my time spent in Amarillo...

was sent by my employer to conduct an environmental sampling program at the Pantex nuclear weapons assembly/decommissioning plant.

a very charming place...at our project site, we had to walk on pathways made of 4 x 8' plywood sheets to avoid areas where 'bad things' were buried. always accompanied by not-overly-friendly guys in SWAT-esque attire.

cold AF and the wind could really howl at times.

never had time to get to Palo Duro, might have made the experience a little better.

Small world indeed, I have a relation who is a director at Pantex. Most of the responses here are on-point.







William

[bobdenver1961]

Originally Posted by weisan

In other words, to sum it up, Armarillo is like any other place on earth, there's good and there's bad...but whatever it is, do come and visit us sometimes, we will do our best to make you feel welcome.

Awesome way to look at it Weisan!

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by GScot

I'm late to this thread but will to try to add some riding viability comments. I grew up in the OK Panhandle a couple hours north and went to school and worked in Lubbock for longer than I should have. Lubbock 2 hours south had and still has a decent cycling community, I don't mean the town likes cyclists I mean there are cyclists who have active group rides and several race teams. They have turned to gravel in recent years as too many riders were being run down and killed by indifferent drivers.

We did go up and ride in Amarillo with that club a few times a year for a variety and 10 years ago they had a decent sized cycling club. Rides I made it to were usually southwest of town on mostly flat straight roads with just a few little hills. I haven't ridden northwest of town but I knew at least one rider who lived up there and claimed he had much better riding that direction, the terrain does change from flat farm land to rolling range land which is important for one huge reason, the wind is going to blow and in the range land you have much less dirt/dust in the air. The dust storm season in Amarillo is livable, a couple hours south in Lubbock the sky is brown from now until May when the cotton gets tall enough to stop the ground from blowing.

Less than hour north of Amarillo is Canadian River recreation area where everything from trail running to dune buggy shenanigans takes place, lots of mountain bikes there every time I'd drive past. And finally the city of Amarillo is old and has more going for it that other area cities like Lubbock or Midland/Odessa. That's what I always felt even though it is opinion and I can't exactly quantify the reasons, if I had to pick one to live in I'd give Amarillo a shot.

Amarillo also has the distinct advantage (vs other Panhandle cities) of not being in the active Permian Basin oil patch. Plenty of oil/gas stuff going on (, but active exploration/production is nasty to be around. Everything smells of sulfur, the air quality is horrible, and the roads are full of trucks, tankers to 1/2 ton pickups who are in a hurry, don't care, and have a 25% chance of being on something at any given time.

[marciero]

There's also that Emmy Lou Harris/Rodney Crowell tune, Hey Amarillo. There is a smoking youtube version with Albert Lee on guitar.

[Chief]

[QUOTE=Clancy;2469200]Flat as hell and almost always windy. Summer extremely hot, winter pretty darn cold.
[QUOTE

About 50 miles south is an area that is recognized as the flatest region on the face of the earth.

[summilux]

Tyler's BBQ is pretty good.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by Chief

About 50 miles south is an area that is recognized as the flatest region on the face of the earth.

I'm surprised that this place isn't somewhere in Australia.

[weisan]

Welcome to Llano Estacado, also known as Staked Plain! This vast, featureless nothingness spreads across easternmost New Mexico and northwestern Texas. It has a semidesertic nature. Despite its considerable elevation of around 900 m above sea level, there are virtually no differences in altitude, no watercourses, not even a ridge. And no trees. The only elevations are the occasional oil pump and a few buildings. If you augment this picture you could actually see a structure right in the center, on the horizon, where it is also already clear. Llano Estacado stretches for some 200 km in any direction and is about as big as all of Switzerland.

Llano Estacado means the same as Staked Plain, but that is not what the first Spaniards were trying to describe. If you arrive like them from the Pecos River Valley, you would see the Llano rising like palisades from the valley. These palisades of course are the limestone formations the plain is sitting upon, making the access to it quite difficult. Up there, you will not see any hill, it is really ALL FLAT in all directions!

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-f...areas-on-earth

[GParkes]

Originally Posted by weisan

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-f...areas-on-earth

So what you are really saying is.............I could ride an old 6 speed straight block with DT friction shifters and wouldn't be challenged? Find a gear and go?

[cinco]

FWIW, the Marathon MTB nationals are planned to be held in Palo Duro for 2019 and 2020. Haven't been myself, as it's about a 9 hr drive from Houston, but have plenty of friends who find the drive well-worth it.

Andy

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by GParkes

So what you are really saying is.............I could ride an old 6 speed straight block with DT friction shifters and wouldn't be challenged? Find a gear and go?

As long as you have a gear for the inevitable headwind

[wtex]

I'd check out Caprock Canyon also: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caprock-canyons.
The rails to trails there is a blast, train tunnels and bats! I spent way too much time in that area thinking it was all flat meh, but Palo Duro and Caprock are gems, and there are many fun trails around and off of the LLano.

Caprock and Palo Duro are part of the US's 2nd largest canyon, the other being that one in Arizona.
The roads around there, Turkey, Quitaque, are really quite lovely, especially in spring when the wild flowers bloom. The small towns hold some surprises, you often will find crazy good BBQ in the local gas and stop. Lubbock cycling has had some issues, but the Caprock area is way more laid back.
If you have any time to travel, Texas Hill country is amazing. And the Marfa-Ft Davis-Big Bend area is magical. Big Bend in April when the cactus flowers are blooming no picture or description can do it justice. And you're not too far away from Capulin in NM, Southern CO, Pagosa, lot's of great road tripping

[Birddog]

Originally Posted by weisan

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-f...areas-on-earth

Some of the nearby place names are inspired: Levelland, Littlefield, Brownfield. etc

[weisan]

Originally Posted by wtex

I'd check out Caprock Canyon also: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caprock-canyons.
The rails to trails there is a blast, train tunnels and bats! I spent way too much time in that area thinking it was all flat meh, but Palo Duro and Caprock are gems, and there are many fun trails around and off of the LLano.

Caprock and Palo Duro are part of the US's 2nd largest canyon, the other being that one in Arizona.
The roads around there, Turkey, Quitaque, are really quite lovely, especially in spring when the wild flowers bloom. The small towns hold some surprises, you often will find crazy good BBQ in the local gas and stop. Lubbock cycling has had some issues, but the Caprock area is way more laid back.
If you have any time to travel, Texas Hill country is amazing. And the Marfa-Ft Davis-Big Bend area is magical. Big Bend in April when the cactus flowers are blooming no picture or description can do it justice. And you're not too far away from Capulin in NM, Southern CO, Pagosa, lot's of great road tripping

Now...that's someone who knows how to make really good lemonade when given a basket of lemons....wtex pal, I like your style.

[wtex]

Weisan,
Thank you! I hope anyone ever in those areas can check them out, there are some nice places.
Now Odessa, Andrews, Hobbs, that's a tough area to live in . . . don't know how folks manage.