At the heart of the Llano Estacado, midway across the Texas Panhandle, Amarillo (pop. 175,000; yes, you pronounce the “l”s) is a busy big city that retains its cowboy roots. Center of the local ranching industry that handles some two million head of cattle each year (some 25 percent of the national total), Amarillo is also one of the few places on earth where helium has been found; an estimated 90 percent of the world’s supply once came from here, but local production has ceased.
Old Route 66 followed 6th Street through Amarillo, past the brick-paved streets of the Old San Jacinto district around Western Avenue, where you can wander amongst ancient-looking gun and saddle shops, numerous Wild West–themed clothing shops, and kitsch-minded antique shops. East of downtown, follow East Amarillo Boulevard past a line of authentic honky-tonks around the 20-acre Western Stockyards (806/373-7464) at Grand Avenue and 3rd Street. Livestock auctions are held here Tuesday mornings; visitors are welcome and there’s no entry fee.
To eat with the Coors-drinking cowboys and cowgirls of Amarillo, head west to the Golden Light Cafe (806/374-9237), at 2908 W. 6th Avenue, a fairly funky roadhouse famed for burgers, homemade hot sauce, green-chile stew, and Frito pies. Amarillo is best known for its many good steakhouses, including the Iron Horse Cafe, at 401 S. Grant Street, housed in the old train depot near the stockyards. The most famous has to be the 450-seat Big Texan Steak Ranch, which started in 1960 along historic Route 66 and now stands on the east side of Amarillo, off I-40 exit 74, marked by a false-front Wild West town and a giant cowboy atop a billboard. This is the place where they offer free 72-ounce steaks, provided you eat it all—plus a table full of salad, baked potato, and dessert—in under an hour. If you don’t finish everything, the cost is around $55; regular meals and very good steaks are available as well.
There’s a nice motel featuring a Texas-shaped swimming pool at the Big Texan ($40 and up; 806/372-5000), and dozens of moderate chain motels stand along the I-40 and I-27 frontages, so rooms shouldn’t be hard to find.
