Free 72 oz steak!

We are down for the night in Amarillo, TX.  We have stayed here in the past, but never gone to the Big Texan Steak Ranch.  As you know, everything in Texas is bigger, and this isn't just a "steak house," it is a "ranch."  Regarding that free steak: that is a four and a half pound steak, and you have to eat it all, plus the sides... in one hour.  Yes, it has been done.  No, I won't be trying.  "I would like the little candy-ass 6 ounce steak, please."  ;-)

I was glad to be out of the crappy park we were in last night.  Our site wasn't bad...

In fact, I appreciate having a concrete pad to park on.  The rest of the park is run down looking... trailers that look abandoned, weeds growing up around them...

If it had rained last night, the dirt roads would have been a mess.

We had a no-wind start to the day... that lasted almost 12 minutes; then Mother Nature heard we were rolling, and she cranked up the wind machine.  Just as bad as yesterday, but even crappier roads.  Fun.  Southwestern Kansas is relatively flat, but the elevation is over 3400'.

Do you know why the Panhandle area of Texas is windy?  It is because Oklahoma Panhandle sucks and New Mexico blows.  The roads in the OK Panhandle are the worst.  Imagine sitting in a vibrating chair with the level turned up to... a million.  I got a photo as we rolled into Oklahoma...

Look - I even got "the tree" in the photo!  I'm kidding - they have more than one tree... but, I think the other three blew over.  Fortunately, the Panhandle of Oklahoma isn't a big distance to cross; unfortunately, we diagonaled through it, so we got to be on their shit roads longer.

At long last (maybe that drive through OK just made it feel like a long time), we crossed the border into Texas...

Whooohooo - only 900 or so miles to go before we're home.  Yes, really.  We'll take our time getting there.  The roads in Texas are much better than Oklahoma.  Which reminds me: do you know why people moved into the Panhandle of Oklahoma?  So people in west Texas would have someone to make fun of.  (rimshot)  OK (pun intended), enough of the Oklahoma jokes... they have to drive those crappy roads daily, and that isn't funny.

Texas road...

Maybe they save money if they just do repairs on the tire track part of the roads?  We passed through this town on the way north...

Dumas... that's French for... well, you know.  ;-)

And now, we're down for the night in Amarillo at the Big Texan RV Park (used to be the Amarillo Ranch RV Resort).  We've stayed here in the past.  When we called today to get a site, the lady asked how long our rig is.  I don't like having that conversation, because the people on the phone often think we won't fit in their sites.  And, this lady said, "We have sites, but nothing big enough to accommodate your length."

I asked, "Can you accommodate a 42' coach with a tow vehicle?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then, we will fit in that site.  Really.  We've stayed with you before."

She pulled up my name and saw that we had the 5th wheel when we stayed here last.  I told her: "That rig was about 2' longer than what we currently have.  Really, we will fit.  But, if you don't want us to stay there, we will find another park."

She changed her tune: "We'll find a space that will work for you."

"Thanks for your help," I said; I handed the phone to Joan so she could give the lady our cc info.

We pulled in, got checked in, and escorted to the site.  Once again, we could put another 25' vehicle in front of us and not fill the site front to back.  I may have to change my ways when they ask what kind and length of RV we have.

The Big Texan Steak Ranch is about a mile down the road.  They have a limo at this park that will take you to the steak hou... um, ranch.  One of the perks of this park.  So, we don't have to unhook our car to go out this evening.

Here's this evening's site...

Pretty much a big gravel lot where we are parked; yeah, we fit.  Got to go for now - it is getting close to steak time!

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The Big Texan Steak Ranch

Yes, a bit of a tourist trap, but it is also a part of Amarillo history.  The food was decent, the atmosphere was fun, and the service was good.  Here's our experience this evening...

A limo pick-up, right at our site...

This is a nice service they provide.  I thought it was just between the RV park and the restaurant, but they also pick up at nearby motels and truck stops; this has to be good for business.

The exterior...

It seems much bigger on the inside than from outside.  Once inside, we had a table on the second level, overlooking the main floor...

I had prime rib, Joan had a rack of baby back ribs.  Both were good, and yes, we did some food swapping.  No room for dessert, but a walk around the restaurant after we were done eating...

I look at that 72 oz steak above, and the bar area below (yes, they will bring a steak to your spot at the bar)...

Joan tried to pick up this guy...

He was a bit of a stiff.  We walked through the gift shop (I have heard: never go to a restaurant that has a gift shop, but this was pretty extensive).  Joan thought I should try my hand at the shooting gallery...

24 bulls-eyes out of 25 shots... I'm losing my touch.  Might have been the fact that the guns have no sights.

To get back to the coach, we stepped out the door of the restaurant and there was a limo waiting to take us back.  It was raining at this point; the driver swung through the site next to ours to get us as close to our door as possible.  Nice.

A fun evening; good change of pace.  And glad we were down for the night in our RV site before the rain hit.