Palo Duro Canyon is the Grand Canyon of Texas. While, in this rare case, Texas size isn't the biggest, it certainly is still impressive. Back in the day, the steep walls of the canyon also made for effective fencing, as ranchers kept their steer in the canyon. Today, it is a park where visitors can camp, hike, and come for the occasional activity set in the park. We came for the hiking, but didn't say "no" to the opportunity of snapping a picture of a rare longhorn.
The Big Texan Steakhouse is not an eatery to be found. It is an eatery that proclaims its presence with ALL CAPITAL LETTERS and multiple exclamation marks and offers up every reason to make your next meal there. As soon as we crossed into Texas, we knew that there was a massive tourist trap outside of Amarillo that offered a 72 oz. steak to anyone who could eat the whole thing in the course of an hour. We knew this because every other bill board from the Oklahoma-Texas border to Amarillo said so. Given that we were on a quest to experience the delights and uniqueness of each region, it only made sense to eat a massive steak in Texas. Granted, even between the two of us, there is no way we could have eaten a 72 ounce steak. So we decided to keep it simple by just ordering the 40 oz. "Dallas" cut.