Probably not until you're passing through it to get somewhere else. The Texas Panhandle probably doesn't rank high on the list of Spring Break destinations. And that's exactly why I picked it for our family Spring Break trip. Other than the quintessential tourist trap The Big Texan, there were no annoying crowds to speak of.
Amarillo is underrated for a multitude of reasons. It's flat and dusty. It doesn't boast an iconic skyline like Dallas. No one ever thinks of it until they are driving through it to leave Texas. The Panhandle is not known its offerings to travelers. I've never heard of anyone just going there for the hell of it.
Ironically, some of the images most closely associated with Texas are in Amarillo and the surrounding area. Longhorns, Quarter Horses, and those Cadillacs sticking out of the ground are just a few of the sights to behold.
We went to the Cadillacs not knowing what to expect. It was packed with people, but not so many that it wasn't enjoyable. Empty to half-empty cans of spray paint littered the ground. Some people handed us their cans as they left the site. We made our marks on the cars, and from the looks of the layers of paint our initials would probably be covered up by morning.
The mission was to see Palo Duro Canyon. Something about it has existed in the far recesses of my mind over the years. I wanted to see it. Saw the Grand Canyon last August, so I wanted to see the Lone Star state version, the second largest canyon in the United States. It didn't disappoint. Mission Accomplished.
