lageek

My family is in a small town about an hour outside of Amarillo, where Amarillo is the “big city.” I have passed through Amarillo many times but rarely stopped.

My mom had a heart attack and was airlifted to Amarillo. I found Amarillo to be one of the kindest places I’ve been to in a while. The nurses and doctors were so nice and explained everything. The hotel people were nice and understood that I was a bit more scatterbrained than usual due to the stress. The restaurant people were nice and let me take my time. Everyone was nice and polite.

We would walk around the hospital district and fellow walkers would greet us or at least nod politely. The ducks were bold and the local dogs friendly.

If you’re going to live in the Panhandle, you have to get used to the flatness of the place. After a while, though, you begin to see the stark beauty in the skies.

Amarillo was, and always is for my visits, dry and brown. You have to appreciate a different kind of beauty, not the kind from lush greens, but the beauty found in dry living conditions. It’s almost the beauty of the desert.

While Amarillo will never be my favorite place to visit, I like it.

My husband and I stayed at a bed and breakfast in Weatherford… or, more accurately, right outside of Weatherford for our anniversary last year.

Even though it was November, it was beautiful. At night, we’d sit out in the jacuzzi watching the stars and listening to the insects. The sunsets, far away from light pollution, were gorgeous.

My mother’s family is in the area so I try to hop on over to Capulin (there’s not much else to do in the area) whenever I can.

It’s remarkably cool and green compared to the flat land surrounding it. There are two paths to take: crater and rim. Both are fun. The crater hike can be surprisingly chilly. On the rim hike, you can watch cloud shadows cross the land.