26June2008 Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum and the Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo,Texas
Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle, is bordered by New Mexico and Oklahoma. Its name came from ‘yellow’ in Spanish, in reference to the sub-soil in the Amarillo Creek. The area was first settled (by white man) in the late 1800’s and the houses were all painted yellow. The town became a big cattle shipping market with the arrival of the railroads. More prosperity followed when the area around became known as the 'wheat belt'. With the discovery of natural gas and petroleum, related industries further underscored the town’s importance in the 1920's and 1930's.
Amarillo is home to The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum PPHM. A collection of over three million artifacts helped to tell the story of the Texas Panhandle. The sections on Paleontology and Geology of the region were informative. There was the expected depiction of life millions of years ago, replete with skeletons of extinct animals like the ground sloth, saber-toothed tiger and gigantic mastodons. Naturally, a life size ‘skeleton’ of a dinosaur of some sort was required to complement the scene - it was the carnivorous Allosaurus. The Petroleum Wing showcased how the industry flourished and affected the lives of all. There was a 1920’s wooden cable-tool drilling rig and a 1930’s filling station, which had a hand-operated gas pump and a couple of early Model-T Fords. The story of petroleum was told in terms which the layman can understand. Assimilation was effortless with geological terms and chemical formulae kept to a minimum. The abundance of stark black and white photos totally brought visitors back to those roller coaster days of poverty yoked with hardship and riches laced with wanton abandon, that towns went through.
Exhibitions on subjects related to the development of the Panhandle were also held from time to time. When we visited, there was an excellent presentation of the arms and inventions of Colonel Samuel Colt. This man, a technological innovator and industrial entrepreneur, was an icon of the 19th century. He left an indelible mark on America by virtue of his firearms. It was believed that his products underpinned the Nation’s identity and superiority in international relations during his life and times. (It was a pity that photography was not allowed in many sections of the museum, as photos of some of the magnificent guns on display would have been great).
With being 'GREEN' so important, worthy of mention was a section on Windmills in the West in the PPHM. This was about their development and use before the power lines of electric cooperatives came to West Texas between 1930's and 1950's. For decades, railroads used big windmills to pump ground water for their steam engines, farms needed them to water lifestock. Small generators powered by wind were mass-produced and used by many families for home lighting and operating small appliances. It was believed that some still operate in remote areas!
From the sublime, we went to the ridiculous – as least some will agree after visiting the Cadillac Ranch along the old Route 66 in Amarillo. But others say the line of Cadillacs, buried at the same angle as the Pyramids at Giza represented the success and excesses of the American dream. If anything, besides being an exhibition of modern art of sorts, the visitor was tacitly allowed to vent anger or lavish artistic expression on the melancholy chunks of metal – paint, spray, lacquer, throw buckets of dyes, whatever…till the waft of cow dung got too overpowering, signifying it was time to leave.
We desperately needed a shot of Asian food and settled for My Thai. It was very popular with the locals - they were right.
Distance traveled 91.5 miles
The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas; chose this angle to show the Colt on display inside.
A photo stop along the road that ran through Palo Duro Canyon - the red of the shales shone fiercely in the afternoon sun.
It was nice to know that this place was being protected, one camped only with permission and picnicking was not allowed.
The Quartermaster Formation with Sorenson Point as its summit, is capped by Tecovas sugar Sandstone. The most eye-catching was obviously the red or brick red, or vermilion Quartermaster shales at its base, with layers or veins of gypsum or other calcium bearing rocks.
Peered through the trees to see the Trujillo sandstone cliffs, with Tecovas mudstone underneath, and Quartermaster shale lower down.
We were not in the canyon early enough, or late enough, to spot wildlife other than the lizard earlier on and this wild turkey.
It was more a soup of reddish mud than a stream.
Crossing the stream, it was hard to imagine how there can be a flash flood but the locals have warned us many times.
Evidently flooding happened often enough to warrant this reminder.
The Quartermaster Formation from a slightly different angle
With the setting sun, cool air reclaimed the canyon; the colors that shone brilliantly took on different hues.
Palo Duro Canyon was the preferred habitat of man and animals, away from the dusty semi-arid plains of the Panhandle, with plenty of water and vegetation. The Indians lived there hunting herds of buffalos till there were expelled by the US Cavalry. The first ranch in the Canyon was set up by the famous Texas ranger Charles Goodnight in 1876. In a couple of decades, the JA Ranch he owned covered over 1.3 million acres and contained 100,000 head of cattle.
It was stark and surreal at The Cadillac Ranch, with the smell of cow dung wafting across the muddy fields.
People came to contribute their two bits of spray.
It was difficult to add to whatever's been expressed. I could tell others were trying hard, but to no avail. I was just clicking away.
My Thai's curry with rice - just hit the spot!
Amarillo is home to The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum PPHM. A collection of over three million artifacts helped to tell the story of the Texas Panhandle. The sections on Paleontology and Geology of the region were informative. There was the expected depiction of life millions of years ago, replete with skeletons of extinct animals like the ground sloth, saber-toothed tiger and gigantic mastodons. Naturally, a life size ‘skeleton’ of a dinosaur of some sort was required to complement the scene - it was the carnivorous Allosaurus. The Petroleum Wing showcased how the industry flourished and affected the lives of all. There was a 1920’s wooden cable-tool drilling rig and a 1930’s filling station, which had a hand-operated gas pump and a couple of early Model-T Fords. The story of petroleum was told in terms which the layman can understand. Assimilation was effortless with geological terms and chemical formulae kept to a minimum. The abundance of stark black and white photos totally brought visitors back to those roller coaster days of poverty yoked with hardship and riches laced with wanton abandon, that towns went through.
Exhibitions on subjects related to the development of the Panhandle were also held from time to time. When we visited, there was an excellent presentation of the arms and inventions of Colonel Samuel Colt. This man, a technological innovator and industrial entrepreneur, was an icon of the 19th century. He left an indelible mark on America by virtue of his firearms. It was believed that his products underpinned the Nation’s identity and superiority in international relations during his life and times. (It was a pity that photography was not allowed in many sections of the museum, as photos of some of the magnificent guns on display would have been great).
With being 'GREEN' so important, worthy of mention was a section on Windmills in the West in the PPHM. This was about their development and use before the power lines of electric cooperatives came to West Texas between 1930's and 1950's. For decades, railroads used big windmills to pump ground water for their steam engines, farms needed them to water lifestock. Small generators powered by wind were mass-produced and used by many families for home lighting and operating small appliances. It was believed that some still operate in remote areas!
From the sublime, we went to the ridiculous – as least some will agree after visiting the Cadillac Ranch along the old Route 66 in Amarillo. But others say the line of Cadillacs, buried at the same angle as the Pyramids at Giza represented the success and excesses of the American dream. If anything, besides being an exhibition of modern art of sorts, the visitor was tacitly allowed to vent anger or lavish artistic expression on the melancholy chunks of metal – paint, spray, lacquer, throw buckets of dyes, whatever…till the waft of cow dung got too overpowering, signifying it was time to leave.
We desperately needed a shot of Asian food and settled for My Thai. It was very popular with the locals - they were right.
Distance traveled 91.5 miles
The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas; chose this angle to show the Colt on display inside.
A photo stop along the road that ran through Palo Duro Canyon - the red of the shales shone fiercely in the afternoon sun.
It was nice to know that this place was being protected, one camped only with permission and picnicking was not allowed.
The Quartermaster Formation with Sorenson Point as its summit, is capped by Tecovas sugar Sandstone. The most eye-catching was obviously the red or brick red, or vermilion Quartermaster shales at its base, with layers or veins of gypsum or other calcium bearing rocks.
Peered through the trees to see the Trujillo sandstone cliffs, with Tecovas mudstone underneath, and Quartermaster shale lower down.
We were not in the canyon early enough, or late enough, to spot wildlife other than the lizard earlier on and this wild turkey.
It was more a soup of reddish mud than a stream.
Crossing the stream, it was hard to imagine how there can be a flash flood but the locals have warned us many times.
Evidently flooding happened often enough to warrant this reminder.
The Quartermaster Formation from a slightly different angle
With the setting sun, cool air reclaimed the canyon; the colors that shone brilliantly took on different hues.
Palo Duro Canyon was the preferred habitat of man and animals, away from the dusty semi-arid plains of the Panhandle, with plenty of water and vegetation. The Indians lived there hunting herds of buffalos till there were expelled by the US Cavalry. The first ranch in the Canyon was set up by the famous Texas ranger Charles Goodnight in 1876. In a couple of decades, the JA Ranch he owned covered over 1.3 million acres and contained 100,000 head of cattle.
It was stark and surreal at The Cadillac Ranch, with the smell of cow dung wafting across the muddy fields.
People came to contribute their two bits of spray.
It was difficult to add to whatever's been expressed. I could tell others were trying hard, but to no avail. I was just clicking away.
My Thai's curry with rice - just hit the spot!
posted by Regamy at
6:57 AM
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