We are still in Amarillo TX, visiting various area attractions, 84 miles in total today.  This morning we spent 3 hours at Palo Duro Canyon, a Texas state park.  They say this is the country's 2nd largest canyon, about 110 miles in length, 2nd to the Grand Canyon.  It's a beautiful place and we hiked on 3 different trails.   On one I almost stepped on a 4-foot beautifully colored snake.  We will send a pic.  I jumped to the side so abruptly that Alice thought I had tripped on something.  Like Indiana Jones, I don't do too well with big snakes!   But, fact is, it was nice to add a species to our critter list.
     From Palo Duro we went to the nearby town of Canyon where we visited Panhandle Plains History Museum which had several floors of wonderful exhibits and art galleries covering virtually all aspects of life on the Plains.  I especially liked the Native American and railroad displays but the huge murals in the main lobby were very special.
     By the time we were done at the museum it was about 2 PM and we were famished.  We drove straight-away back to Amarillo and parked at our hotel from which we hiked over to the Big Texan Steak Ranch Restaurant a few hundred yards away.  That restaurant is a huge, very rowdy and festive place, famous for offering a FREE 72 oz steak to anyone who can eat it in an hour or less.  Our waitress said they get between one and ten people trying every day with only about 5% succeeding.  For those who try and fail, the cost is $1.00/oz.  One huge guy, probably a 400-pounder, tried while we were there and got sick before he was done.  His table was on an elevated table at the front of the dining room and he got a big applause from other diners for having bravely attacked a 72-ouncer.  We, on the other hand, each had a 10-oz fillet.  We both rate that as by far the best steak we have ever had.  Delicious beyond description.
     BTW, some of those who have downed a 72-ouncer were women, including a 69-year-old grand mother.  The speed record was 4 minutes!  FOUR MINUTES!!  And a few people have actually eaten more than one 72-ouncer at a single sitting!
     In one corner of the restaurant is an aquarium tank containing a huge diamond-back rattlesnake.  Not your run-of-the-mill restaurant!
     Will be sending some pics a little later.
     It was a really great day and after those 10-oz filets at around 3 PM I don't think we'll be needing dinner this evening!