Amarillo Botanical Gardens - Completely renovated in 2000, this museum with a living collection. Botanical Garden features outdoor and indoor educational exhibitions with plant displays, butterfly, touch and smell, and other demonstration gardens. Free.  1400 Streit Dr., Amarillo. Mon. - Fri. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.806/352-6513

Amarillo Museum of Art - This visual arts museum features a broad range of paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures and textiles from 20th-century artisans. Also includes Southeast Asian artifacts. Exhibits change frequently. 2200 Van Buren St., on the campus of Amarillo College. Free. Open Tues. - Fri. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sat. and Sun. 1 - 5 p.m. 2200 S. Van Buren, Amarillo, Texas 79109, 806/371-5050

American Quarter Horse Heritage Center & Museum - From rodeos to ranches, Amarillo is horse country! But the biggest single reason is because Amarillo is home to the American Quarter Horse Assocation. The Heritage Center & Museum, located along I-40 East at Quarter Horse Dr., is a world class museum about America’s most popular equine breed. More than 350,000 AQHA members have registered over 4 million quarter horses through AQHA. The museum is open daily (except Sunday in the winter). There is a small admission charge to the general public; admission is free to AQHA members. 806-376-5181.

Big Texan Steak Ranch - Home of the free 72 ounce steak dinner- eat it in an hour and it’s free (if not, it’s $50). Are you man, or woman, enough? About 35,000 have tried and 7,000 have succeeded. The Big Texan is big on beef- over 60 tons are served each year. Also home to the Big Texan Opry, performed every Tuesday evening. Top local talent entertains in one of the best regional opry’s in the country. The show is free with your dinner but reservations are required. Ask about other concerts and shows at the Big Texan. Located along I-40 East at Lakeside in Amarillo, Texas. 806-372-6000.

Bivins Mansion - Listed on both the state and national registries of historic places is the Lee & Mary Bivins Mansion at 10th & Polk Sts. In downtown Amarillo, the mansion is a source of civic pride. The Bivins family was one of the area’s first ranch families. The home was built in 1905 and after the heirs died, it was deeded to the City of Amarillo. For years it was the city library and now houses the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, Amarillo Convention and Visitor Council and many local arts organizations. To arrange a tour, call 806-373-7800.

Cadillac Ranch - Amarillo’s true bumper crop! Ten Cadillacs buried nose down in a wheat field a few miles west of the city limits along Interstate 40. One of the country’s first public art displays, designed by The Ant Farm and owned by Amarillo entrepreneur Stanley Marsh III. The Ranch is always open and free of charge. Feel free to bring your own spray paint to leave your personal artistic expression. Between exits 60 and 62 on the south side of I-40.

Chapel at Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch - Cal Farley was a local sports hero and entreprenuer who had a dream- to help those children who needed it most. Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch was founded in the 1930s to give less fortunate youth a “shirttail to hang on to.” Now, it is a 10,000+ acre working ranch dedicated to education. The ranch includes the original townsite of Tascosa, Boothill Cemetery and a fine museum. Every Labor Day, the Boys Ranch residents put on one of the best rodeos around. Located 35 miles northwest of Amarillo on Highway 385. l 806-372-2341.

Cowboy Morning Breakfast - Enjoy an authentic taste of the old west. Chow down on a cowboy breakfast of eggs, sausage, sourdough biscuits (over 600,000 served!) and juice or coffee, all prepared over a mesquite fire. Best of all, enjoy an outstanding view perched on the rim of Palo Duro Canyon. Can’t make breakfast? Ask about Cowboy Evening featuring a steak dinner. Daily during June, July and August. Some availability in April, May and September. Wagons for breakfast leave promptly at 8:30 a.m. while times for the dinner may vary. Reservations are required. 800-658-2613.

Lake Meredith National Recreational Area - Hwy 287 or State Hwy 136 North

Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum - From dinosaurs to conquistadors, you’ll find it all at Panhandle-Plains. It is the largest history museum in Texas, with over 200,000 square feet and 2 million artifacts of Texas history. It’s like the Smithsonian but with a Texas accent! Renovated in 2001, the museum features a new main exhibit, People of the Plains, and transportation section, called Let the Good Times Roll. The museum is open daily except major holidays with a small admission charge. Located in Canyon, Texas, about 15 miles south of Amarillo. 806-651-2244.

Palo Duro Canyon Outdoor Theater - What a dramatic setting! Over 80 singers, dancers and musicians performing a musical about the settling of the Texas Panhandle with a 600-foot cliff in Palo Duro Canyon State Park as a backdrop. Texas Legacies completed it’s first season in 2003. The show is performed nightly, except Wednesday, from early June through mid-August. The curtain goes up at 8:30 p.m. An optional barbecue dinner is available starting at 6:30. 1-877-58TEXAS or 1-806-655-2181.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park - Some of Texas' most spectacular scenery in a 15,000 acre park with 1,000 foot cliffs. 11450 Park Road 5, Canyon, Texas 79015 806/488-2227, 12 miles east of Canyon, Texas via Hwy 217.

Harrington House - One of Amarillo's early and elegant homes (1914) at 1600 Polk Street. Free tours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, April to December. Advance arrangements required. 806-374-5490.

Don Harrington Discovery Center - In a 51-acre park with lake and picnic area, this center offers a variety of attractions. The center hosts a diverse collection of special exhibitions on physical, earth, and life sciences each summer. There are more than a 100 permanent hands-on activities for kids of all ages and planetarium shows to learn about the stars, constellations, planets and the solar system. There's also a 3,000 gallon aquarium with saltwater and freshwater habitats for marine life. Don Harrington Discovery Center, 1200 Streit Dr., Amarillo, Texas. Tues. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. 1 - 5 p.m. 806-355-9547

Splash Amarillo - This 14-acre water park offers cooling rides for summer visitors including a wave pool, speed slide, flume slides, a lazy river, arcade, kiddy pool area, and concessions. There are sand and grass volleyball courts. At I-40 and Whitaker Rd., Amarillo, Texas. 806/376-4477

Texas Travel Information Center - In the Heart of the Texas Panhandle on East Interstate Highway 40, one of the 12 Texas Travel Information Centers operated by the Texas Department of Transportation for the convenience of the traveling public. Uniformed, professional travel counselors welcome visitors and provide a wealth of free literature, information, and suggestions to make every Texas trip more pleasant. Working with the Texas Official Travel Map, counselors expertly chart routes to any area of Texas. 9700 East Interstate 40, Open 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily

Wildcat Bluff Nature Center - More than 600 acres of rolling grassland with nature trails, wildflowers, knee-high grasses and huge cottonwood trees. Outstanding place to see Texas Panhandle's ecosystem. Three miles north of I-40 on Loop 335, just west of Soncy Rd., Amarillo, Texas. 806/352-6007.

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