End of next week, me and the wife, two girls seven and five, will be driving from Houston to Vail, Colorado over 2 days. . Thinking of stopping halfway in Amarillo for the night . Any sites or good stops along the way? Debating on the drive home we will be leaving from Aspen and thought about going thru New Mexico but trying to find a good halfway point. Was thinking about stopping for night in Santa Fe but that leaves a 12+ hr drive for the last leg home. Trying not do the same route back home. Any thoughts?

If you have time, Palo Duro Canyon is the answer. If you are just staying the night and leaving the next morning you'll be pretty limited, but if you can spare the time, I'd suggest staying in Canyon rather than Amarillo, driving to PDC and at minimum doing the state park road loop to see it, preferably giving yourself time to get out and do some exploring on some of the trails, and then getting tickets for Texas the Musical at the outdoor amphitheater in the Canyon.

Your girls that age would probably also enjoy Feldmans Wrong Way Diner in Canyon.

When driving to CO, we try to overnight in Cimarron, NM and stay at the St James Hotel on the way up. It's been a while, but it's a pretty cool experience. It has a lot of history and is reported to be haunted. The nice thing about doing it on the way up is that it leaves a relatively short drive on the second day.

PD Canyon is always a great stop. Others to consider along that route

Charles Goodnight (Captain Call) home
Discovery Center Amarillo
XIT business office in Channing ((just look in the windows)
Elklund Hotel Clayton (used to have good restaurant)
Dinosaur tracks Clayton Lake
Drive over Johnson Mesa
Capulin Volcano

I agree that kids will like Feldmans, but it's about #4 on our restaurant list in Canyon

Holy crap, didn't notice all the autocorrect disasters until now

Commotion Cimarron puts them an extra hour of driving, which is less than I would have guessed. And it is a neat stop. They are considering Santa Fe, which adds two hours, so I guess they don't care.

The drive from Compton Cimarron to Red River is really pretty, and really adds the miles

maverick12 said:

---

When driving to CO, we try to overnight in Cimarron, NM and stay at the St James Hotel on the way up. It's been a while, but it's a pretty cool experience. It has a lot of history and is reported to be haunted. The nice thing about doing it on the way up is that it leaves a relatively short drive on the second day.

---

Staying the that weekend, night of the 2nd and 3rd. Annie Oakley room.

Thanks for the recs!
Definitely doing the PD canyon loop drive and Texas Musical with the kids. Is the chuckwagon bbq dinner worth it or better to eat in Canyon before show? And recs on where to stay in Canyon?
For trip back to home:
Not necessarily wanting to add a lot of time or miles, yes Santa Fe is quite a detour. Maybe I'll save that for another trip to NM. Just don't want to repeat same path we took to Colorado. I know on trip back home, the get home itis will set in.

Two pretty new hotels in Canyon. Best Western and Hampton

Very best would be a cabin from Doves Rest, next to the park.

Our recs in Canyon are Sayakomarn, Pepitos, and Green Chile Willies

No opinion in thr bbq at the park. The original Fat Boys in Canyon was good. They sold to anothrt group 4-5 years ago, who werent as good, and closed down a year or jore ago I dont know which group is doing the show

We're leaving tomorrow for two week run through Colorado (Gunnison, Aspen, Grandlake, Estes Park). We're stopping at hotel in Witchita Falls on way there and Amarillo on way back. I've done Palo Duro Canyon on way before and it's a nice park but a step down from the major sites in CO. It's also hot like hell in August. I've looked into doing a pit stop in Red River NM to break the drive up but ultimately decided to skip because it's out of the way. This year we're going to try and finish drive as fast as possible to maximize time in CO.

We leave Houston at 4:30 am and book it to Canon City, that way our 2nd day driving is minimal. The drive from Canon City to Breck/Frisco is easy and beautiful. We like JT's Drive Inn in Childress for a burger, it's divey but very good.

Wife and I and 3 daughters are leaving from Dallas Saturday, heading to Buena Vista, then Breck, then Denver suburbs
If it's in the cards for timing, we've found that Amarillo obviously has the best options for dinner (Blue Sky right off of I-40 for us), then push just a bit farther to Dalhart. The benefit there is that the kids are flat out tired of fighting by then, it's dusk, not blazing hot, either. You wake up the next morning to feed lot aroma, but you're 90 miles ahead of the Amarillo hotel crashers.
Make up time from Texline to Raton, then go over the pass and hit the nice and clean rest stop/tourism building in downtown Trinidad before pushing into the center of CO.
I'm a dud and like routine, so I don't veer off too often. I've probably made that drive 45-50 times, give or take a slight change

texagpilot said:

---

Thanks for the recs!
Definitely doing the PD canyon loop drive and Texas Musical with the kids. Is the chuckwagon bbq dinner worth it or better to eat in Canyon before show? And recs on where to stay in Canyon?
For trip back to home:
Not necessarily wanting to add a lot of time or miles, yes Santa Fe is quite a detour. Maybe I'll save that for another trip to NM. Just don't want to repeat same path we took to Colorado. I know on trip back home, the get home itis will set in.

---

The Chuckwagon BBQ is solid. It's catered for a large group, so keep that in mind, so if you're looking for a really good dining experience, you can do better. But for your time crunch and convenience, it's good food and fun to eat right there at the venue.

The Hampton is easily the best hotel, it's only 2 years old. I echo the Dove's Rest option if available as the primo experience, and there are ample AirBnB options in town too. We run one, and I know many of the other owners in town, they'll treat you right.

normalhorn said:

---

Wife and I and 3 daughters are leaving from Dallas Saturday, heading to Buena Vista, then Breck, then Denver suburbs
If it's in the cards for timing, we've found that Amarillo obviously has the best options for dinner (Blue Sky right off of I-40 for us), then push just a bit farther to Dalhart. The benefit there is that the kids are flat out tired of fighting by then, it's dusk, not blazing hot, either. You wake up the next morning to feed lot aroma, but you're 90 miles ahead of the Amarillo hotel crashers.
Make up time from Texline to Raton, then go over the pass and hit the nice and clean rest stop/tourism building in downtown Trinidad before pushing into the center of CO.
I'm a dud and like routine, so I don't veer off too often. I've probably made that drive 45-50 times, give or take a slight change

---

I spend a lot of time in Dalhart these days. If you're staying at the new Hampton Inn there is a little hole in the wall place a block west of the hotel called La Cabana that has damn good breakfast burritos that all our guys at the feed yards love. I always go chicharron.

knoxtom said:

---

The best thing to do on a drive from Texas to Colorado in the summer is to get out of Texas as soon as you can. Why in the world would you stop in PD Canyon when it is 110 degrees? While PD is fine, it isn't as nice as the time you would spend pretty much anywhere in Colorado.

Driving across Texas is never ending and it is horrible. Worst thing you can do is extend it by stopping somewhere, just get the suffering over ASAP

---

This is typically our approach too, especially in the summer months, which is most of the year.

Thanks y'all. Leaving in the morning. Skipping Palo Duro this trip. The musical goes till 10:30 at night. Way to late for kids after day of driving. Goal is to get Amarillo or farther on first day. Is windmill museum in Lubbock worth a short stop? Me and my dad collect and love windmills so always to see the museum.

"A little further" than Amarillo is going to put you about another 40 miles and Dumas, or 75 miles, and Dalhart. Nothing really due west on I-40

Though I heartily disagree with those who want to intentionally skip one of the most iconic sites in Texas because of a little heat. I will bless your skipping of the musical Texas

It does run pretty long, and then you have to join the line of traffic climbing the single road out, after the performance. Add to that the fact that we are in a hot spell, it ain't the best time. And I suggest a dedicated trip, with time to explore the canyon, and also take in the PPH Museum in Canyon, Caprock Canyons, and other sites. Maybe save it for when you are only going to Newer Mexico.

I have only been to the windmill museum for a quick trip, I recall it was pretty decent, especially for a fan of windmills. The disadvantage is that it is on the lousy side of Lubbock, not much in the way of restaurants etc nearby. Though you aren't too far from prairie dog town, if your kids want to see that.

Also, isn't Lubbock off your planned route? Again, maybe plan it for another trip, and include the Ranching Heritage Center, which is a very good museum. Lots of old farm and ranch buildings.

If you are just spending an evening in Amarillo, check the schedule for their AA baseball team, the Sod Poodles(?). They have a nice park downtown, across the street from the Embassy Suites.

if stopping in Amarillo, you must eat at O.H.M.S. In downtown. Fantastic dining experience.

Sodpoodles games are neat.

For the dallasite driving… man up - dallas to Buena vista is an easy 1 day drive. Don't stop in Amarillo. Or Trinidad (dump).

Keep trucking and get to elevation!

We did 740 miles a few weeks ago in a single day, pulling a 9k trailer.

There's nothing really worth seeing in the drive up 287/87 to I25

Capulin volcano is kind of cool in NM

Yeah I guess if you're not trying to make time.

We drive DFW to Colorado typically twice a year (ski and summer) and our goal is to get to Clayton by noon. From there, you can start to see the mountains and the desire to get to your final destination grows quite a bit.

We did DFW to Grand Lake a few years ago. THAT was a hike.

Quote:

---

There's nothing really worth seeing in the drive up 287/87 to I25

---

Charles Goodnight home
Boys Ranch
XIT Business office
Eklund Hotel
Dino Tracks
Santa Fe Trail
Volcanoes, lava flows and cinder cones (including Capulin)
Folsom ghost town
Route over Johnson Mesa
KT Boundary, Raton

CanyonAg77 said:

---

Quote:

---

There's nothing really worth seeing in the drive up 287/87 to I25

---

Charles Goodnight home
Boys Ranch
XIT Business office
Eklund Hotel
Dino Tracks
Santa Fe Trail
Volcanoes, lava flows and cinder cones (including Capulin)
Folsom ghost town
Route over Johnson Mesa
KT Boundary, Raton

---

Yeah, debatable. Things to see? Sure. Worth seeing? Questionable.

Just poking you a little.

Plus, the boring, nothing to see crowd is sort of a pet peeve of mine. But then I am into history, geology, and agriculture, so it's rare that I can't find something I find interesting along the way

CanyonAg77 said:

---

Just poking you a little.

Plus, the boring, nothing to see crowd is sort of a pet peeve of mine. But then I am into history, geology, and agriculture, so it's rare that I can't find something I find interesting along the way

---

There's some interesting stuff for sure. Turning at Estelline and seeing cap rock state park is neat (beginning of llano estacado) and Folsom/Capulin also cool but if you're someone who's trying to get from central Texas to 10,000' elevation in Colorado for your 6 night vacation, then I just don't see the draw when you can keep cruising at 80mph.

We're also road trippers that only stop for gas and regularly pull 12-14 hour drive days like it's nothing (kids included). Some people tap out after 6 so they're kinda forced to go find other stuff to do because they don't want to leave before 8am and won't drive past 5.

I drive to Vail 1-2 times a year and virtually every time we eat at the XIT Woodfire Grill. Best damn restaurant in the Panhandle (smoked Tri-Tip is my go to) and there is a Holiday Inn express across the street. Also makes the 2nd day drive easier, you can get to Vail by 12.

The best store bought Breakfast burritos guys would bring to the feedlot were from the Grubs gas station in Cactus. The best burritos were the ones the pen riders wives would make. I don't know what kind of meat was in them but they were good.

StockHorseAg said:

---

I don't know what kind of meat was in them

---

Don't ask, don't tell.

Exactly