Our extra day in Amarillo works out just fine

Joan in front of the RV museum

A quick change in plans provided an extra day to explore Amarillo. We've been here twice before, but our stays were so brief we didn't have a chance to stop and smell the cow manure.

So today, we stopped and smelled. A quick Google search and we found several possible things to do, but first we took care of some trailer business. We left the hotel, after booking an additional night, and headed to the storage lot where we left the trailer in November.

Unfortunately I headed west instead of east on I-40 and so instead of visiting “Cadillac Ranch” after our trip to the trailer we decided because we were already half there to the ranch that we would do that first.




Just to prove it was windy

As it turned out Cadillac Ranch was a bit of a bust, but because it was free it wasn’t an expensive one. Cadillac Ranch, which shows up as the No. 3 attraction to see in Amarillo on tripadvisor.com, is a strange Stonehenge structure in the middle of a farm field that is comprised of a series of Cadillacs planted nose down into the soil.

To add to the attraction people are encouraged to bring their own spray paint and decorate the cars with graffiti. Fortunately we did not know this before we went because the ground was muddy and the Cadillacs planted a ¼-mile from the parking area.

I tried to take a picture from the distance, but it didn’t turn out. The picture you see here is one I borrowed from the Internet.

With the Cadillac Ranch “adventure” behind us we headed to the storage lot where we thought we were headed when we first started out.

Cadillac Ranch (not my photo)

After checking out at the storage center office we drove to the trailer and re-packed it with the clothes and household items we will need during our stay in Tucson. We had planned to do that today and then hook up and head to Roswell, New Mexico. So tomorrow, when the winds have subsided, we will skip the trailer repacking and simply hook up and go.

Speaking of the winds they came as advertised and blew for most of the day. Some of the gusts approached 50 mph so the thing you could hear me saying most during the day was “I’m glad we didn’t try and drive the trailer today.”  I should mention that every time we have been in Amarillo it has been windy. If it is not windy tomorrow I shall be eternally grateful.

From there we planned to head to the RV museum, but I lost the address and had to head back to the hotel first to find the address.

Armed with the address we headed back to the museum, which is located at the Jack Sisemore Traveland RV Center. A nice lady at the reception desk walked us to a large facility behind the sales office where we found a wonderful collection of vintage RVs.



Bus which was modified for Robin Williams "RV" movie

A couple of the RVs were shown in as is condition, which was fun to see, but others had been completely restored to original condition, which was amazing because some of them were 60 or 70 years old.

In addition to the RVs, which included a vintage Flxible bus used in the Robin Williams movie “RV,” there was a 1972 Winnebago, a beautifully restored 1976 Argosy trailer, a 1937 Kozy Kamp tent trailer, to name just a few.



More than just a collection of RVs, the presentation of the RVs with memorabilia from the time they were built makes this a very unique museum and not just for folks like us who like RVs.

There is a re-creation of a vintage gas station and a great collection of wonderful motorcycles in the building. And did I mention it is free.

We spent a little over an hour looking at the RVs in the museum and when we left we were greeted by Mr. Sisemore who was a very friendly and engaging person, who actually knew folks who came from Lapeer and Swartz Creek.


Cool gas station at RV Museum

Mr. Sisemore built his huge RV Center from a gas station he opened decades ago. It was an amazing and inspiring story and we appreciated him taking the time to visit with us and show us around his business. Next time we are passing through or storing our trailer in Amarillo we will certainly visit with Mr. Sisemore, who invited us to store his trailer with him.


We saw a folder advertising tours for the “Harrington House,” which was an estate belonging to a Texas Panhandle oil man. Unfortunately when we called they were not open for tours but suggested we visit the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas.

Mr. Sisemore also told us the PPHM would be a very good place to visit so after finishing our tour at the RV Center we headed there.

The museum is located on the campus of West Texas A&M University and is a very impressive building.



Joan can't leave Buffalo behind and what is Texas without a Longhorn

The different wings of the museum outline the history of the Panhandle region going all the way back to the pre-dinosaur days. The exhibits included fossil remains, Native American culture all the way to the present day.

Of course, there was an extensive wing on the history of the oil business and how it has impacted the region, which included many donations from the Harrington family which explained how the lady at Harrington House suggested the museum as a destination.

There was a section on cars, the military and a whole wing with recreation of an old time downtown complete with reproductions of banks, schools and other buildings that would have been in a “Pioneer Town.”

A western art gallery and plenty of other exhibits kept us busy for more than three hours. We left the museum just before closing time at 5 p.m. and headed for dinner at, where else, the Texas Roadhouse which is near our hotel.