Cadillac RanchApproaching Amarillo from the west on the 1-40 highway visitors will come across one of America's most noted roadside attractions, conceived and funded by an eccentric local man, helium tycoon Stanley Marsh 3. The Cadillac Ranch consists of 10 finned vintage Cadillac cars, buried nose first in a field about 12 miles (19km) from the town. They have been buried, allegedly, at the same angle as the angle of the sides of the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Marsh doesn't seem to mind the ever-increasing amount of graffiti that is spray
painted onto the cars by visitors.
Address: On the old Route 66, south of I-40 between exits 60 and 62
Hours: Open 24-hours daily
Admission: Free
Don Harrington Discovery CenterFocussing on physical, earth and life sciences the Don Harrington Discovery Center is set in a 51-acre park with a lake and picnic area. The center boasts more than 100 hands-on activities and a recently renovated Space Theater. There is also an aquarium on site featuring both saltwater and freshwater tanks as well as a botanical garden. Most popular sights here are a Foucault Pendulum, rotating independently of the earth's gravitational pull, a helium technology exhibit and a weather-watch section with a tornado machine.
Address: 1200 Streit Drive
Phone Number: (806) 355 9547
Website: www.dhdc.org
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 9.30am to 4.30pm; Sunday 12pm to 4.30pm. Closed Mondays
Admission: $5.50 (adults), $4.50 (children)
Amarillo Museum of ArtThe Texas Panhandle's one and only accredited art museum is the Amarillo Museum of Art. The museum has six galleries housing a permanent collection that includes 17th through 19th century European paintings, 20th century modernists, photography, Asian art and Middle Eastern textiles. The museum also offers frequently changing exhibits ranging from contemporary art to the American and European masters.
Address: 2200 South Van Buren Street
Phone Number: (806) 371 5050
Email Address: amoa@actx.edu
Website: www.amarilloart.org
Hours: Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm; Saturday and Sunday 1pm to 5pm
Admission: Free
Palo Duro CanyonStarting about a million years ago a branch of the Red River carved a massive canyon through the northern Texas plains. The walls of the Palo Duro Canyon plunge down to 1,000ft (305m) at points, exposing the multi-layered colored rock strata. The colors are particularly brightly picked out on the spires and pinnacles that the forces of nature have carved out on the canyon floor. The Palo Duro Canyon State Park is a few miles east of Amarillo, reached via Texas 217 highway. The park offers picnic and camping facilities, a visitor's center with a shop, an amphitheater where shows are staged, and horseback riding trips. The park also has a famous historic site where the last great battle between troops and Indians took place in Texas. In 1874 Colonel Ranald Mackenzie and his 4th Cavalry defeated a large band of Native Americans camped in the canyon and transported them to reservations in Oklahoma.
Address: The park is located about 12 miles (19km) east of Canyon on State Highway 217
Phone Number: (806) 488 2227
Email Address: pdc@palodurocanyon.com
Website: www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/paloduro/paloduro.htm
Hours: Gates are open daily: 8am to 5pm (November to February); 8am to 10pm (March to October)
Admission: $4 (adults), children under 12 are free
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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