rilloaggie said:

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I didn't recall anybody referring to it as an interstate until the mid-90's.

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Still called the "Canyon E-way" to my mom/grandma!

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Yup, that's what we always called it, however, officially it was called I-27 as far back as I can remember.

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then go on Tascosa Road to check out the floating mesa thing I've read about

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Unless the light is just right, the illusion isn't good. And even when it's good...it ain't that impressive.

Better bets on that road are Boys Ranch museum and their Boot Hill for old Tascosa. In Channing, you can see the business office for the XIT Ranch. Clayton, NM, the Eklund hotel is interesting, and there is a dinosaur trackway at Clayton Lake, right by the dam.

Agree that the floating mesa is not worth seeing.

And I'm a bit proud of the Boys Ranch Museum as my grandfather was one of the first 6 kids out there.

Unfortunately, the people who run the ranch have gone more progressive and also did a family member wrong who was teaching out there, so we no longer support them. The ranch is more interested in keeping gov't dollars flowing in now than actually helping kids, sadly.

agent-maroon said:

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Thaddeus73 said:

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Charlie Goodnight was a true pioneer, and a VERY hardy man for settling that area....

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Had occasion to travel from Amarillo to Pampa once a week for a class that left me with an hour to kill. Passed by this historical marker every time and finally got bored enough to stop and see what it was about. It was a couple of ancient dying trees (Chinese elm, maybe?) that you see in spots driving around West Texas surrounded by a 2 foot wrought iron fence. The history? It was to commemorate the first trees known to have been planted in the Panhandle and they were planted by Goodnight himself. This was in the mid-80's so there is no telling how old those trees were then. I've searched google earth but can't find it so they must have died and the marker removed.

But where else in the whole world could you actually identify the first trees growing?

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Wasn't Goodnight, but a man named Thomas Cree. There actually were trees in a few places in the Panhandle, mainly cottonwoods and cedars in the canyons and breaks. But up on the plains, buffalo herds and wild fires took out trees, and long grasses were the climax vegetation.

https://texastimetravel.com/directory/thomas-crees-little-tree/

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Set behind protective fences is the site of the first tree planted throughout the entire Texas Panhandle. Immense plains were once a sea of grass from horizon to horizon. In 1888 settler Thomas Cree hauled a sapling of bois d'arc from beyond the Caprock and planted it by his dugout home. Cree is long gone, but the tree thrived until 1969 when it was accidentally killed by an agricultural chemical. Carson County residents planted a new one as a memorial to early pioneers.

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agent-maroon said:

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CanyonAg77 said:

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Thaddeus73 said:

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That is an old map. Route 66 was gone, and it was I-40 by 1985. WTAMU has not been West Texas State since 1993. It is newer than 1965, as it has Lake Meredith. I-27 began in about 1975, so that's probably about a 1970 map.

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Not just to be correcting you or anything, but I-40 was already in place when we moved to Amarillo from Lubbock in 1972. I-27 was already under construction as well, but I didn't recall anybody referring to it as an interstate until the mid-90's. But I could be wrong about I-27.

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Corrections are always welcome. Note that the map that was posted has a mix of I-40 and Route 66. I will agree that 1985 seems late, but Wikipedia claims it was 1985 when the last of I-40 was finished in the Panhandle, and the entire route converted from 66 to 40.

As far as I-27, I think that 1975 is a likely date for the construction of I-27. I recall driving on what is now I-27 north of Happy, on the way to Palo Duro. It was a wide right-of-way, obviously meant to be a big highway, but even in the late 70s, it was just a single two lane road.

There were "Interstate" segments, to be sure. Abernathy and Hale Center had overpasses and service roads, and the Canyon e-way existed between Amarillo and Canyon. But the rest of the route was still just 4 lane divided highway, US 87. You drove through Plainview, Kress, Tulia, Happy, and Canyon, you did not bypass them.

Thank you for the Historical Marker correction. Apparently my memory is suspect. I remember a single faded out little sign and would have sworn that it was Goodnight's name on it. Thought the tree was still hanging on but this was Oct - Nov 1984 so it wouldn't have had any leaves on it at that time of the year anyways. Google didn't show the marker when I looked for it but it did at the link you provided.

But at least I got the fence and general location right! Thanks again for the reply. That was a nice coffee read to start the day.

Older parts of Amarillo had many Cottonwood and Elm trees, but what I'm seeing now in the new parts are something else. I'm no agronomist, but since I grew up with the others, I can see they don't quite look the same.

Either that or they are just too young for me to discern they are Elms and Cottonwood.

Modern plantings are all sorts of good and bad trees. I was just referring to the native species. A lot of older neighborhoods have Siberian Elms, which for some reason, people call Chinese Elms.

I hear ya on the bad trees. My mom and my aunt next door who recently moved north of town want to plant pines and pear trees and I gripe at my mom incessantly about plant non-native trees.

Goodnight was a fascinating guy, and was the model for Captain Call in Lonesome Dove. If you are ever back in the area, travel down 287 southeast from Amarillo. His home is open for tours, and there is a small museum, at the ghost town of Goodnight.

And this 1936 biography of Goodnight is still a good read, and the definitive work on him.

https://www.amazon.com/Charles-Goodnight-Plainsman-Evetts-Haley/dp/0806114533

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Corrections are always welcome. Note that the map that was posted has a mix of I-40 and Route 66. I will agree that 1985 seems late, but Wikipedia claims it was 1985 when the last of I-40 was finished in the Panhandle, and the entire route converted from 66 to 40.

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Were the unfinished portions of I-40 to the west of Amarillo? All of our I-40 driving was like Bushland and east for whatever reason. 50 year personal history with I-40 and I had never been west to NM until 7 years ago.

Our house was located on the first street south of Route 66 (Amarillo Blvd) by the Medipark medical campus. We used to ride our bikes over to the ponds there and fish for the former pet goldfish that people had dumped in them. They grow big in the wild. My personal best was around 20" but I had seen some that were well over 2' in length. Good times.

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As far as I-27, I think that 1975 is a likely date for the construction of I-27. I recall driving on what is now I-27 north of Happy, on the way to Palo Duro. It was a wide right-of-way, obviously meant to be a big highway, but even in the late 70s, it was just a single two lane road.

There were "Interstate" segments, to be sure. Abernathy and Hale Center had overpasses and service roads, and the Canyon e-way existed between Amarillo and Canyon. But the rest of the route was still just 4 lane divided highway, US 87. You drove through Plainview, Kress, Tulia, Happy, and Canyon, you did not bypass them.

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I'm sure your right about mid-70's for the initial construction of I-27. We made a LOT of trips between Amarillo & Lubbock before I was driving and my memories are from staring out the backseat window. Had forgotten how you had to drive through the towns you listed. I eventually got a speeding ticket in all but Kress + several points in between. It was hard for me to drive the speed limit in the days of max 55 mph. Sammy Hagar sang the truth!

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Were the unfinished portions of I-40 to the west of Amarillo? All of our I-40 driving was like Bushland and east for whatever reason. 50 year personal history with I-40 and I had never been west to NM until 7 years ago.

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I tried to recall, but I don't think I ever went down I-40 much as a kid or young adult. If we were headed to CO or NM from Hale County, we would cut up through Clovis, Ft. Sumner, Santa Rosa, Clines Corners, Santa Fe. Or Dalhart and Clayton, headed toward Red River.

Been down I-40 a LOT the past 20 years, for wife's business. If you are a Route 66 buff, take the alignment in Tucumcari. It's among the best preserved 1960s Route 66 places in the US

I remember those California dairy advertisements from 10-15 years ago.
I guess those happy cows are now moving to TX panhandle?

Will the milk lobby create a new ad campaign

I loved the Bob Wills Museum in Turkey...

It's got to be XIT Feeders since I know the GM's sister there owns Doughnut Stop. I lived and worked at a feedyard in Dalhart straight out of A&M for a little over a year.

PM me and I'll drive down to Canyon, buy us a cup of coffee and check it out

Be sure you go to palace coffee. One of my favorite

84AGEC said:

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Be sure you go to palace coffee. One of my favorite

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I don't like coffee and it smells great in there

Thaddeus73 said:

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Flatter than a pancake

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Not true if you go into the canyons....

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This hole in the ground's biggest attraction is... a hole in the ground

Roasters Coffee in Amarillo is where it's at. And conservative-owned.

Spider69 said:

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TommyBrady said:

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CanyonAg77 said:

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Thaddeus73 said:

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Is the Ogallala aquifer holding up OK?

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No.



https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ogallala-aquifer/#:~:text=Today%20the%20Ogallala%20Aquifer%20is,keep%20up%20with%20human%20demands.

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Its absolutely disgusting how much damage to the aquifer has been done by the people of the panhandle.

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Suggest you brush up on Texas groundwater laws Tommy! That water is the property of the landowner subject only to any restrictions from a local water conservation board or district. It's their right to use it within those limits. I'm all in favor of conservation, efficient irrigation practices, but I or no one else has a say in how they use their property. They can't tell you how you can use your property. I lived in Amarillo for 30 years. I loved it! I moved on retirement for family, medical reasons. All my three Aggie children ('92, '94, '01) graduated from Amarillo High School. My 30 years (Oct. 1983 to May 2013) was spent working on Agricultural research for USDA-ARS at Bushland, TX (~10 mi W of Amarillo on I-40) attempting to improve water management in agriculture, advance irrigation technology, and precisely measure the water consumed in irrigated and dryland agriculture production. I don't know a Panhandle producer that can afford to waste or to misuse groundwater and not be bankrupt in a short time. The producers that I knew and worked with were aware of the importance in using their groundwater efficiently,

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During my vacation drive to Pagosa Springs, I had the opportunity to spend the night in Dumas, America. When we left out towards Dalhart, I took the backroads S/SW that I knew so well (even after 30 years). In all the driving around I did not see a single row watered acre. Everything irrigated was with sprinklers, and LEPA/LPIC at that. What it use to take a 750-1000 gpm well to handle, a 600-700 gpm well appears to be taking over. I was a little disappointed to see a few thousand acres of my old CRP contracts plowed out, but economics are economics.

RedAnimal12 said:

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Thaddeus73 said:

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Flatter than a pancake

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Not true if you go into the canyons....

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This hole in the ground's biggest attraction is... a hole in the ground

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I do enjoy roasters but palace in canyon is my favorite

Teacher_Ag said:

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Roasters Coffee in Amarillo is where it's at. And conservative-owned.

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I'm a Roaster's OG.

Drinker that is, not worker.

TequilaMockingbird said:

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RedAnimal12 said:

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Thaddeus73 said:

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Flatter than a pancake

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Not true if you go into the canyons....

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This hole in the ground's biggest attraction is... a hole in the ground

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Rock flies. Rock flies everywhere. I hate those biting little *******s.

RedAnimal12 said:

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Thaddeus73 said:

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Flatter than a pancake

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Not true if you go into the canyons....

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This hole in the ground's biggest attraction is... a hole in the ground

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There ain't no place like a hole in the ground

nortex97 said:

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I always knew Amarillo would someday recover from LBJ's hatefulness.

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We always said he did the same to Harlingen

Breakfast in Amarillo before heading north- Calico County or Pancake Station?

I cannot vouch for either. I would put forth a little joint called Girasol if you're close to I-40 and Coulter.

Good food made fresh, good coffee.

Youngblood is good too. Calico is good and pancakes house is always packed.

TequilaMockingbird said:

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Breakfast in Amarillo before heading north- Calico County or Pancake Station?

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Pancake Station, hands down.

WestTxWood88 said:

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PM me and I'll drive down to Canyon, buy us a cup of coffee and check it out

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Always happy to meet Ags. Have had a couple see my posts online and make a point to come say hello in person.

I put it down to morbid curiosity.

CanyonAg77 said:

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WestTxWood88 said:

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PM me and I'll drive down to Canyon, buy us a cup of coffee and check it out

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Always happy to meet Ags. Have had a couple see my posts online and make a point to come say hello in person.

I put it down to morbid curiosity.

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I wanted to ping you when I was back home a couple of weeks ago, but we were busy from dawn to dusk every day.

annie88 said:

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I once had a boyfriend from Pampa.

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Only once? Pity…

Grew up in Canyon. My parents place is gorgeous right on PDC. Now I live in Navasota. Many of my high school classmates that came to A&M never went back to the panhandle. I actually only know one who returned. The rest of us all scattered. It's like once you break the seal on 287 at Childress, you have a hard time going back.