Amarillo by Midnight
by Beth Been

Headed for my cousin's wedding in the Texas Panhandle, Beau and I decided to make it an adventure by stopping at Boondocks in Amarillo for a burger and Palo Duro Canyon for the musical "Texas."

Every time we visit my mother in Amarillo, she takes us to Boondocks. Last I heard the place had closed so I was happy to learn we'd be able to sink our teeth into one of their delicious burgers. Boondocks is a dark biker hangout with plenty of interesting decor and greasy food. Since biker bars and live music venues are basically the same thing, I feel right at home. Sometimes I have the Blue Cheese Burger, but this time I went with a basic Bacon Cheeseburger, medium well. They didn't even make fun of me for asking to have my burger cooked beyond mooing which is all the rage in cow town. You can order fries, homemade chips or potato salad. I think the last option was potato salad. I LOVE the chips, fried with just enough salt so there's no telling about the third option. Get the chips. It's all YUM and the owners are friendly, coming up to the table to check on your level of satisfaction.

After stuffing ourselves, we headed off to Palo Duro Canyon for the musical Texas. I have seen this many times in my life and mostly I remember the show where a giant rattlesnake slithered across the stage, sending all the little ladies and cowboys a runnin'. My cousin, Stephanie, confirmed the snake story and commented on how the stage and ampitheater used to seem so much larger. It did seem a lot smaller but Palo Duro Canyon is really beautiful and the actors gave it their all. I was a little surprised by the very gay steps of the cowboys' dancing, but it was a musical and the special effects were first rate. A giant lightening burst sets a tree on fire while slipting it in half and they set a GIANT grass fire that went out with ease and I didn't smell any smoke. Fellas wearing chaps road live horse waving flags of Texas, America, Mexico, maybe Spain, etc... Real life cowboys greeted us at the entrance and the cast showed their Southern hospitality by coming out front after the show to shake hands and pose for pictures. I will swear in the past a cowboy or indian comes out along the topmost part of the canyon and holds a flag of Texas. That didn't ever happen but my perspective was all out of whack so who knows what I saw as a kid.

If you make it up Amarillo way, be sure to check out Boondocks (especially if you are a biker) and don't miss the frozen lemonade at Texas which comes with a holographic cup of scenes from the Texas Panhandle. We didn't film any video, but you sure to See The Photos!

Hope you'll join us on our next adventure at the House of Been!
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