We have reserved a campsite at Palo Duro State Park near Amarillo, Texas. We also have tickets to the show TEXAS which is performed in the open-air theater right in the park. We've wanted to see this for years but have never been in the area at the right time. We are just making it though...our tickets are for Aug. 18th and the last performance is Aug. 20th. I just hoped the weather (meaning the HEAT) would not be a factor. It was not.
The only problem getting to the park was that when we unhooked the tow car to make the steep drive down into the canyon we discovered the car was dead. Jim had to get out the jumper cables and get it going. Our campsite is the same one we had here in 2007. It is all the way in the back of the park...8 miles from the entrance. We were the only ones camping there until the morning we left. Anyway, we got camped just fine. Thankfully the site has water and electric (50 amp.). We started both air conditioners to cool down the interior. It did not take long until we were very comfortable.
In the morning we got up and out early...Jim wanted to get a new battery for the car. We found the Walmart and had the battery checked. We did not get a new battery since we were told the one we had was good. We've had no problem since. We made the mistake of leaving a charger plugged into the cigarette lighter while we towed and that is what ran the battery down.
After running a few errands in Canyon, Texas, we went back to the rig to have some lunch and get ready for our dinner and show in the evening.
Our tickets were for a Big Texas Steak Dinner at the theater before the show. We arrived at around 7 PM and went through the buffet to get our steak, salad and fixin's. We sat at the covered tables where there were misting machines all around the covers. Some of those were doing more than misting and I got spit on a couple of times walking to our table. It helped with the heat and I didn't complain. The dinner was good. After eating we went to the courtyard area of the theater. They had a country band playing. We strolled through the gift shop and Jim stopped to talk to Gerald McCathern, a western author who was there autographing books. The only thing I purchased was water and a fan!
We went back outside and sat to listen to the band. The same misters were hanging all around to cool off the area. They did a good job. It was very pleasant. We met one of the greeters...there were lots of older people working there to greet the guests. The man we spoke to had formerly lived in Alaska! Jim talked to him and shared some of our adventures.
The show began at 8:30 PM. The theater was just about full. It was hot but, thankfully, the sun had gone down behind the canyon rim. I won't tell you about the show except to say it was great! Outside with the canyon rim wall as a backdrop. Horses being ridden and pulling wagons and carriages moved in the background area. A deer even pranced across...don't think that was part of the show, it just happened. We had seen lots of deer in the area. There was a storm with lightening and even the shrubs caught fire at one time. It was all well done and we enjoyed it very much. It is put on by young college students and others and one runs during the summer months. It is worth the trip to Palo Duro Canyon.
We left there the next morning and headed to Oklahoma City. We are going there to see some old friends of Jim's. I'm sure there will be lots of reminising and laughing. We don't have a campground. Our plan is to stay at the Walmart near our friends home. We'll see how we manage the 100+ temps!
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