On the wall in the office at Tye RV Park there is a sign admonishing prospective renters “If you have a problem with the US Air Force this might not be the place for you”. They are forewarning all potential tenants of noise from the training flights from Dyess Air Force Base that power in just overhead…much of the day and into the night.  They weren’t kidding.  I guess it isn’t deafening but we do have to suspend conversations until they have passed by.  Add to that I-20 traffic and the busy railroad just across the way and this is not a peaceful place.  It is convenient to Abilene and we are here just three nights so it is tolerable but we are not likely to return…..can’t say we weren’t warned.

Check out this unique storm shelter.

The Texas Forts Trail meanders through the dozens of forts scattered across the panhandle. Often all that remains are footers and chimneys.  Ft. Phantom Hill, just north of Abilene is a bit more intact with a standing munitions magazine and stockade.  It doesn’t take long to check out!

That’s Abilene.  Come celebrate the wonderful illustrators at the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature.  The displays include a selection of original sketches made by the illustrator and the final published book.  It is fun to see how those sketches have been used to bring the story to life and it is an interesting way to showcase their work.  The current exhibit includes sketches created by Brian Floca to illustrate a wide range of kid’s books ranging from fantasy to books about the civil war and mans trip to the moon.

To further its claim, Abilene has sculptures of characters off the pages of great children’s books scattered along across the city.  Seuss characters gather in a shady courtyard: The Grinch, Horton, Cat in the Hat, Sam (of green eggs and ham fame), Yertle the Turtle, and The Lorax.  Six additional sculptures showcase the creations of William Joyce from the “Guardians of Childhood”.  Those aren’t as familiar to me but they look like interesting characters.  Add some dinosaurs, a duck on a bike, a boy made of beads, buffalo; it is quite the collection and they add more every year.

Celebrating reading, how can you go wrong?

We found a great bakery, McKay’s, and lunch at Wayne’s World Food Truck (brisket tacos and pulled pork sandwich).  It was a nice return to Texas BBQ.

Nope, it’s not about birds. It is all about gliders.  Specifically, it is all about a fleet of gliders that carried troops and supplies behind enemy lines in WWII.  The museum was created to commemorate the 5000+ glider pilots and preserve a pretty amazing story of the short lived but mission critical military glider program.

A collection of hundreds of windmills is on display at the American Wind Power Center in Lubbock. On these arid plains a means to get ground water up to the livestock was an imperative and windmills popped up all across the landscape. Early wooden versions were works of art too with bright red white and blue wheels and cast counter weights in the shape of cattle, squirrels, roosters and lots of other shapes.
Designs evolved. Early segmented wheels actually hinged to dump air in high wind. Drives used hardwood gears then cast or sometimes direct drive. At first they were all required routine servicing to oil and grease. Later came splash lubricated then units built with sealed casings and self lubricating. There are some rare models on display here. Nice
Check out this post mill. It was built to commemorate the first wind driven grist mill in North America that dated 1621. It is quite the machine. Changing winds turn the fan tail, drive a series of gears, and turn the whole mill on this gigantic post to keep the main sails facing the wind. Two pairs of mill stones are inside this millhouse on the post. That is where the grinding is done.

The museum has a big collection of millstones including detailed history and descriptions. Many ground grain but some cork, flint for china, hemp, fertilizer, pigments and lots of other stuff.

Train buffs don’t miss this place. There is a huge, intricate model train set up. Just wonderful.

Check out the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, TX.  You will find a detailed chronology of this young man’s short professional musical career and a “hometown kid makes it big” take on how he influenced music as a whole.  It was a time of change in the music world and he rubbed elbows with a lot of contemporary greats.  It is all nicely done.

Life sized bronze sculptures confirm what you might have thought; it was a scary world for humans back then. It is hard to imagine sharing space with these gigantic creatures. Lubbock Lake National Monument site protects an area of ideally deposited, stratified soils that capture the artifacts and remains of 11,000 years of human habitation (and other creatures that shared their world).  Unfortunately, digs are seasonal and were covered up while we were there so the actual site isn’t very exciting.  The museum is well done though with exhibits that do a great job with the chronology from Clovis peoples to modern times.

A trail wanders through short grass prairie. It was a nice walk in the fall but must be amazing when spring wildflowers are in bloom.

Funny fact: the archeologists are actually a bit bummed that there has been some relief to ­­the panhandle drought. Water is accumulating in the ancient lake bed and they have had to abandon active digs to areas on higher ground.  Guess you can never please everyone!

Kent’s fajita burrito was delicious. I got a little too adventurous and would say that the barbacoa burrito was a little outside my preferences. I ate it but I don’t think I will do it again. It was slow cooked goat cheek meat flavored with spices I couldn’t quite identify. It brought heartburn within the next half hour.

Lubbock is all about ranching (and Texas Tech). It is a natural home for The National Ranching Heritage Center displays restored and period furnished ranch structures dating 1750 -1950. Step into a dark, windowless adobe structure and you can sense the fear of early settlers who arrived here during Indian wars. The smell of damp earth hits you in the face as you step into the dugout with its dirt floor and stacked stone walls. Some had sod roofs. In the driest of the plains, homes were built using yucca stalks and spindly pickets. Wind must have howled through it.
Ranchers prospered. Railroads brought in luxuries, like lumber. Homes grew more comfortable and filled with niceties. Carriage houses and schools appeared. It is a great way to get a feel for how lives changed through the years.
There is a museum too where a Buckskin and Beads display includes wonderful examples of early clothing and ceremonial wear. A small gun collection tells of the development of the lever action rifle and the entanglement of various patents, inventions, and inventors. One barn is filled with a huge collection of branding irons. Some have been in use for many generations. They are a study unto themselves.

A herd of bronze longhorns roams the front lawn of the Heritage Center.

Palo Duro State Park put on a nice program celebrating life through the years on the Panhandle Plains.  They started with life of the hunter gatherer tribes, went to early settlers, the buffalo hunters and civil war times.  We got to see the Kwahadi dancers again.  Watched a cannon fire demonstration.  Learned about what home life was like in those days (a lot of hard work).  Tasted cookies and cakes like they would have had for tea and learned about candy of the 1880-1890…there were tootsie rolls, juicy fruit gum, peppermints and NECCO wafers.  They are all still around, pretty cool.

There was food there too. It didn’t come from dutch ovens though.  It came from food trucks.  We tried a pulled pork sandwich with cucumber and pickled carrots (from a food truck run by the Amarillo Independent School District) and fajita beef street tacos from Pepitos.  It was all tasty.