Not to bring this down to a sad note but saw this story pop up on the local news.
I don't know her or the family but was from the panhandle...

https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/texas-am-student-from-fritch-texas-killed-in-crash-in-college-station-jaden-kael-willis-university-drive-highway-6-honda-civic-pickup

HERE.

The wine industry is growing like crazy as well 80-95% (depending on who you ask) of the wine grapes in the state are grown in the High Plains AVA. Terry and Hockley counties especially, but all over the area.

Lubbock in general is growing quite a bit these days.

The OP referred to the Panhandle, so I used the narrow definition of the top 26 counties. So the break is at about Kress , TX, on the Swisher/Hale County line

I don't know what the population change is if you count Hale, Lubbock, and other counties south

Any insight on Hall County area like Turkey and Trulia? Have a city friend with an itch to leave Houston and move the family around there. He loves the music at Turkey Hotel.

Pretty country, declining population, 100 miles to major medical facilities, or major shopping. Turkey is cool, but go east to Quitaque to be near Caprock Canyons park.

And did you mean Tulia for the other town?

No on Tulia.

Yes, Tulia. What is commutable that you recommend if working in Quitague area? I jut don't know the area. What is distance from Canyon? He's looking for a slow paced, lifestyle change with kids entering high school and 4th grade. Appreciate the help.

MooreTrucker said:

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The wine industry is growing like crazy as well 80-95% (depending on who you ask) of the wine grapes in the state are grown in the High Plains AVA. Terry and Hockley counties especially, but all over the area.

Lubbock in general is growing quite a bit these days.

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Llano Estacado used to produce one of the smoothest Rieslings I have ever experienced.

I assumed you meant work remote. Neither Quitaque nor Turkey are within commuting distance of most anything. Quitaque is 80 miles from Canyon, 90 from Lubbock or Amarillo

You're going to have to go to a bigger town to get a decent high school. I love the Rolling Plains, but opportunities for young families are few

Understood. They'll be visiting area next week and I will pass along. Thank you.

You can PM me for contact info, or email at username @hotmail.com if he wants to ask questions

Lots depends on the job and his preferences. I think Canadian might be the most interesting town in the Panhandle. But to be close to jobs, he may have to move into the plains near Amarillo. Canyon, or maybe the fast growing area around Bushland.

Of course, the little town of Wildorado has invested heavily in their new high school with the taxes from wind turbines. The Ag program is very innovative. Might be an interesting choice

Thank you, Canyon. I've provided this thread and will let him review and see where he's at - a lot of wheels in motion.

UTExan said:

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MooreTrucker said:

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The wine industry is growing like crazy as well 80-95% (depending on who you ask) of the wine grapes in the state are grown in the High Plains AVA. Terry and Hockley counties especially, but all over the area.

Lubbock in general is growing quite a bit these days.

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Llano Estacado used to produce one of the smoothest Rieslings I have ever experienced.

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Llano is still good, but English Newsom has passed them in many areas.

Are they still growing dry land cotton between Lubbock and Amarillo? I was stationed at Cannon AFB, NM twice (my choice) in the early 70's and again in the early 80's. Pretty close to the Panhandle.

The second time I was the Weather Detachment Commander, and long story short, hosted an Aggie Muster at the Cannon Officer's Club for Eastern NM and a lot of Panhandle Ags. We had a very big turnout. The Wing Commander was a Razorback and really gave me a lot good-natured ribbing over that.

I met several Aggie dry land cotton farmers and their biggest weather concern was hail. Tornados were also a worry. I'm long retired from the AF, so will admit I gave out my wx station office phone number (my number, not the forecast desk) and once in awhile during Spring I would provide some weather advice to fellow Aggie farmers.

Loved the comment about Dairy Queens. Spent a lot of time over the years driving in West Texas and the Panhandle. Could always count on finding a Dairy Queen in every little town. I supect it was (is) the center of social life in many of them.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3823272-permian-drilling-permits-hit-monthly-record-signaling-more-production-ahead

Not really

They are still *trying* to grow dryland cotton but it's been so damn hot and dry that there are lots of empty fields.

Truly the last frontier of the continental United States....

Growing up here in the Panhandle, I did not appreciate the harshness of the area and why everywhere else was settled before the Panhandle area....major towns in the Panhandle are just now celebrating 100 years...compare that to any other area of the nation....

Commancheria loomed large! and the Panhandle was the bullseye....



I recommend anyone (even if you aren't from these lands) to read/listen to Empire of the Summer Moon...great history lesson - not just of the Panhandle - but of Texas in general....

Those Comanche raiding parties are what got the Yanaguana Indians in San Antonio to go inside those 5 Franciscan missions here and become Christian...

https://www.uiw.edu/sanantonio/IndiansofSanAntonioRiver.html

Eastern New Mexico is lot like the Western Texas Panhandle.

Yes, dryland cotton is still produced, though cotton is grown a lot further north than when you were in the area. One of the biggest gins in the world is now at Panhandle, Texas.

But as said below, it has been a horrible crop year. High temps, high winds, and no rain. Even irrigated cotton is struggling. The only decent fields of cotton I see have been the very few that are still furrow irrigated, or the few with underground drip.


Regarding Dairy Queens, they are still around, though several have closed. I know family members of the guy who used to own a lot of the Panhandle DQ stores. He became an alcoholic and lost them all. Some of the stores did not survive his economic and personal crash.

MooreTrucker said:

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UTExan said:

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MooreTrucker said:

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The wine industry is growing like crazy as well 80-95% (depending on who you ask) of the wine grapes in the state are grown in the High Plains AVA. Terry and Hockley counties especially, but all over the area.

Lubbock in general is growing quite a bit these days.

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Llano Estacado used to produce one of the smoothest Rieslings I have ever experienced.

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Llano is still good, but English Newsom has passed them in many areas.

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I like McPherson okay

Also, I have not reviewed this thread

Have we discussed the greatness of Allsups burritos?

Quote:

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Regarding Dairy Queens, they are still around, though several have closed. I know family members of the guy who used to own a lot of the Panhandle DQ stores. He became an alcoholic and lost them all. Some of the stores did not survive his economic and personal crash.

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Brady?

To be honest, the person I know is married, and I don't know her maiden name.

Captain Pablo said:

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MooreTrucker said:

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UTExan said:

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Llano Estacado used to produce one of the smoothest Rieslings I have ever experienced.

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Llano is still good, but English Newsom has passed them in many areas.

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I like McPherson okay

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We like McPherson OK, but we like bolder Bordeaux-style wines and Kim sorta specializes in the lighter Italian types. We are members of their wine club.

Captain Pablo said:

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Also, I have not reviewed this thread

Have we discussed the greatness of Allsups burritos?

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A must-get as you pass through the area.

Allsups just opened an "Express" store across the street from the Tech campus that's not connected to a gas station.

Nothing smells worse than the inside of an Allsups. Except maybe the car of someone who buys their burritos, 30 minutes later.

And yet SO tasty!

MooreTrucker said:

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And yet SO tasty!

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Disagree

CanyonAg77 said:

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Nothing smells worse than the inside of an Allsups. Except maybe the car of someone who buys their burritos, 30 minutes later.

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Yesway has been leveling and rebuilding some of the stores since they acquired the company. The stores are improving, although that's not hard to do given Allsup's current real estate footprint.

CanyonAg77 said:

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Nothing smells worse than the inside of an Allsups. Except maybe the car of someone who buys their burritos, 30 minutes later.

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Now you can have both!!



















(yes, I know, it was an Allsups April Fools joke - but still pretty funny.....)

CanyonAg77 said:

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.... One of the biggest gins in the world is now at Panhandle, Texas.....

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Adobe Walls Gin in Spearman, Texas.....

Thanks for correction

Regarding small town Texas Dairy Queens, most of those were opened under a franchise agreement that DQ International (based in Minnesota) had with a guy in San Antonio that dated back to 1968 or something like that. Outside of Texas, DQ did not sell food other than ice cream and drinks until about 25 years ago -- the Texas DQ's were pioneers in that regard thanks to that 1968 franchise agreement. However, once DQ International got into the food business, they really started to crack down on those grandfathered franchises. When they run into trouble and close, they close for good. There were 10 DQ's in Wichita County back in the 1980s. The owner went broke, and they all closed. A few years ago, someone opened a new DQ in Wichita Falls under a franchise from DQ International, but that's all we have now in the county; one DQ.

DAMN - that sucks. DQ's were great for pee stops, especially when you had kids with you. Without a DQ in town, you might not even have a decent placd to pee. Just some old, rundown gas station john that never gets cleaned.

My family did a lot of traveling around West Texas when I was growing up - going to and from my Grandma's house in San Angelo. This was before Interstates and DQs. One little burg that we always seemed to stop at was Robert Lee. For some reason that little town has always stuck in my memory.

MooreTrucker said:

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Captain Pablo said:

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MooreTrucker said:

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UTExan said:

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Llano Estacado used to produce one of the smoothest Rieslings I have ever experienced.

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Llano is still good, but English Newsom has passed them in many areas.

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I like McPherson okay

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We like McPherson OK, but we like bolder Bordeaux-style wines and Kim sorta specializes in the lighter Italian types. We are members of their wine club.

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Agree

If you're looking for a word to describe McPherson, "bold" is not it

Smooth, mild - sure

I miss the small town Dairy Queens of my youth. I live in Florida now, went to a DQ a few months back and the food menu is nothing like it is/was in Texas. No steak finger country basket, no Beltbuster or HungerBuster, bad fries and the ones here even have Pepsi not Coke. Have I died and woken up in hell? I think it's totally possible.