Compliments of Google Images Hello, I am a Cardinal. I am the proud mascot for the schools of Cheney, Kansas.
Many people fail to recognize that mascots are like most other beings. We are animals living life and having feelings.
About December every year I get a special feeling. I feel cold. It’s pretty hard flying around wearing a jacket when there is so much snow. I couldn't see any way I could fly to Hawaii but that's not for lack of wanting to go. I needed to go somewhere when the cold weather hit.
Many people fail to recognize that mascots are like most other beings. We are animals living life and having feelings.
About December every year I get a special feeling. I feel cold. It’s pretty hard flying around wearing a jacket when there is so much snow. I couldn't see any way I could fly to Hawaii but that's not for lack of wanting to go. I needed to go somewhere when the cold weather hit.
The planning stages for this trip actually started back in the summer.
I was at a ballgame and talking to some of the players. I told them that I didn't want to stay here all winter long.
One of the players was a pretty girl named Jailyn. She told me that her Grandmother knew someone who lived right in the middle of something called "The Texas Migratory Birding Trail". Thats where birds go to stay warm in the winter. That someone was her grandmother's brother who was also Jailyn's Great Uncle Lee. He and his wife Aunt Sally didn't care much for cold winters either.
Jailyn thought that if she asked, her uncle might let me hang out there when the weather got cold. She said there would be lots of other birds to keep me from being lonely.
Through the magic of the internet her grandmother contacted Uncle Lee and Aunt Sally. They said there was plenty of room for me. They said I could sleep with the donkeys, the llama, the goats or the ducks. If I was housebroken, I could even sleep in the house with the parrots.
I thought about it and realized that they didn’t know me and he certainly didn’t have a clue just how totally housebroken I was. I decided I would not be offended. I said I would get going before the first snow and I did.
I was at a ballgame and talking to some of the players. I told them that I didn't want to stay here all winter long.
One of the players was a pretty girl named Jailyn. She told me that her Grandmother knew someone who lived right in the middle of something called "The Texas Migratory Birding Trail". Thats where birds go to stay warm in the winter. That someone was her grandmother's brother who was also Jailyn's Great Uncle Lee. He and his wife Aunt Sally didn't care much for cold winters either.
Jailyn thought that if she asked, her uncle might let me hang out there when the weather got cold. She said there would be lots of other birds to keep me from being lonely.
Through the magic of the internet her grandmother contacted Uncle Lee and Aunt Sally. They said there was plenty of room for me. They said I could sleep with the donkeys, the llama, the goats or the ducks. If I was housebroken, I could even sleep in the house with the parrots.
I thought about it and realized that they didn’t know me and he certainly didn’t have a clue just how totally housebroken I was. I decided I would not be offended. I said I would get going before the first snow and I did.
Google Image This is the map of the routes all the birds take when it starts getting cold. The more I read about the Texas Birding Trail, the more I wondered why I hadn't taken the trip before. You might be wondering that too.
Jailyn told me that If I could get myself to the Texas border her Uncle Lee and Aunt Sally would arrange for transportation the rest of the way to their home.
Jailyn told me that If I could get myself to the Texas border her Uncle Lee and Aunt Sally would arrange for transportation the rest of the way to their home.
East Central Texas Plains and Forests
Compliments of Google Images Having spent my whole life in Kansas I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew that it was going to be pretty cold flying until I got further south.
I must say that Oklahoma is nice. Much like Kansas, it's a lot wider than it is tall. It didn't really take a long time to get across. The path that google maps said to take was a little surprising in one way. You just don’t think of this part of the world as having big forests. It does. This satellite image gives a hint and it also shows the fires that Texas had during the drought in 2011.
As it turned out I saw the forests of Texas from the ground - not the air. This link has some pictures from the ground.
https://www.nationalforests.org/our-forests/find-a-forest/angelina-davy-crockett-sabine-sam-houston-caddo-lbj-national-forests
Uncle Lee told me to follow I-35 all the way to Texas. He told me to stop at the first rest stop (where the trucks stop) in Texas and look for my name. That would be my ride. He said that he would meet me and my driver at the Fairfield Lake State Park. He said he would introduce me to some of the birds staying there. He figured that was a good place because he didn't want to drive through the city of Dallas.
I must say that Oklahoma is nice. Much like Kansas, it's a lot wider than it is tall. It didn't really take a long time to get across. The path that google maps said to take was a little surprising in one way. You just don’t think of this part of the world as having big forests. It does. This satellite image gives a hint and it also shows the fires that Texas had during the drought in 2011.
As it turned out I saw the forests of Texas from the ground - not the air. This link has some pictures from the ground.
https://www.nationalforests.org/our-forests/find-a-forest/angelina-davy-crockett-sabine-sam-houston-caddo-lbj-national-forests
Uncle Lee told me to follow I-35 all the way to Texas. He told me to stop at the first rest stop (where the trucks stop) in Texas and look for my name. That would be my ride. He said that he would meet me and my driver at the Fairfield Lake State Park. He said he would introduce me to some of the birds staying there. He figured that was a good place because he didn't want to drive through the city of Dallas.
Google Image I met my truck at sunrise with no problem and the driver was a really nice guy. I knew it was the right one because of the name on the truck. He told me that we were a couple hours north of a really big city named Dallas. The driver was timing our trip to miss the rush hour in Dallas. One has to be careful, he said because there was always traffic. It was really bad when everyone was going to work, out for lunch, and going home. He wanted to be through there before lunch.
He also said that nobody who knew anything about them thought of Dallas by itself. Once upon a time Dallas and Fort Worth were quite a distance apart. Not as far as Topeka and Kansas City but you always knew they were two cities. Then they grew together and engulfed some smaller towns as well.
He also said that nobody who knew anything about them thought of Dallas by itself. Once upon a time Dallas and Fort Worth were quite a distance apart. Not as far as Topeka and Kansas City but you always knew they were two cities. Then they grew together and engulfed some smaller towns as well.
Google Image The driver liked to talk a lot and that was good. He said that Dallas seemed to be where the big money was and Fort Worth was where the jobs were for people like him. I didn't think I understood that and said so. He explained further.
He said that things like the sports teams (Cowboys, Stars, Mavericks,Rangers) were all in Dallas. If you had a major company and wanted a place for your headquarters, it would be Dallas. If you wanted to build something, have a factory, or do things like that it would probably be Fort Worth. He said that further south a city named Houston was just a little smaller than these two combined and perhaps I would see that as well.
He said that things like the sports teams (Cowboys, Stars, Mavericks,Rangers) were all in Dallas. If you had a major company and wanted a place for your headquarters, it would be Dallas. If you wanted to build something, have a factory, or do things like that it would probably be Fort Worth. He said that further south a city named Houston was just a little smaller than these two combined and perhaps I would see that as well.
Aunt Sally took this picture when they met me. I actually thought this truck was way larger than I needed. It was a lot bigger than the Nissan Cube that Uncle Lee and Aunt Sally were driving. Whatever, I liked the driver and I was very thankful.
Fairfield Lake state park was very pretty but they said it was just one of many in the state. It seems that there is only one major lake in Texas that isn’t man made. The dams stop most of the flooding that used to happen all over the state and it provides drinking water for the cities. Otherwise, they would have to dig wells. Caddo Lake, which is on the Louisiana border is the only exception Uncle Lee could remember. It is a natural lake.
He said that he and Aunt Sally (the lady on the swing) have a state park pass that gets them into all of the state parks for free. You can see all the choices here:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/state-parks-map.phtml
I am unsure why a person would want to be outside when it's cold but it was a lot warmer here than it was in Cheney.
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/state-parks-map.phtml
I am unsure why a person would want to be outside when it's cold but it was a lot warmer here than it was in Cheney.
Google Images Most of the state parks (near the gulf) have their share of these critters as well. Uncle Lee said never feed the gators. I wanted to make real sure that we didn't feed them a cardinal.
We spent time getting to know each other on a bench on Fairfield's birding trail. We also met a lot of nice birds who were hesitant to talk at first. After all, I was with two humans.
I was told that the park system was a good way to spend the nights if I was camping. Uncle Lee said I could borrow his pass while I was in Texas. I said, "No thanks" because I didn't think they would charge a cardinal anyway.
We spent time getting to know each other on a bench on Fairfield's birding trail. We also met a lot of nice birds who were hesitant to talk at first. After all, I was with two humans.
I was told that the park system was a good way to spend the nights if I was camping. Uncle Lee said I could borrow his pass while I was in Texas. I said, "No thanks" because I didn't think they would charge a cardinal anyway.
The Homestead
We got to Grangerland later that day. It is a little (two traffic light) town just east of Conroe and about 40 miles north of Houston. The homestead is on five acres just out of town. I really enjoyed meeting all the animals. The donkey family was very nice but it was hard to understand them. The little grey one just babbled and couldn't walk very good but the others seemed to be pretty bright.
When he wants to call them to eat, Uncle Lee just yells Eeyore really loud. I asked him what that meant and he said it was the name of his first donkey and that's how he called him. The others just followed to eat. None of them are named Eeyore now but they still come just as fast. He wrote a bunch of stuff about the donkeys and the other animals. You can find it here: http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/donkeys-and-other-critters.html
When he wants to call them to eat, Uncle Lee just yells Eeyore really loud. I asked him what that meant and he said it was the name of his first donkey and that's how he called him. The others just followed to eat. None of them are named Eeyore now but they still come just as fast. He wrote a bunch of stuff about the donkeys and the other animals. You can find it here: http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/donkeys-and-other-critters.html
The two goats were pretty nice but they were sort of silly. They just kept crunching on twigs and leaves and didn’t have much to say. Sometimes they would start playing and butt each other in the head. It made a loud noise and would have given me a headache. I think they must have heads like woodpeckers. I saw lots of goats while I was flying around the area. People milk them and treat them just like cows.
There was one guy that looked like an oversized rat. He was a nice enough fellow and he was certainly dressed warm.
I asked him what he was and he told me he was a yama. I asked Aunt Sally later and she told me that it is really spelled llama but pronounced "yama" in their homeland. She said that was near the Andes mountains in South America. I watched and the llama would follow Uncle Lee all around when he was in the pasture but wouldn’t let himself be petted unless he was being fed. I thought that was very strange.
I asked the llama what he was doing in Texas and he said that he was born here. The reason he was in Conroe with Jailyn's family was that he was going to be the guard animal for the goats. The goats needed to grow just a little before they could be allowed into the big pasture. He said he ate the same stuff as the goats and that they got along really well. When they upset him he just spit and they quit being a pain. The donkeys could have done the guard job but they just hung out together and didn't care much about the goats. They were best at eating hay and making noise.
There were a bunch of chickens and ducks in the yard and I really enjoyed watching them eat for the next couple days. They have absolutely no table manners. I saw two roosters fighting over a banana peel that Aunt Sally threw out. I felt much more at home with the parrots.
I asked him what he was and he told me he was a yama. I asked Aunt Sally later and she told me that it is really spelled llama but pronounced "yama" in their homeland. She said that was near the Andes mountains in South America. I watched and the llama would follow Uncle Lee all around when he was in the pasture but wouldn’t let himself be petted unless he was being fed. I thought that was very strange.
I asked the llama what he was doing in Texas and he said that he was born here. The reason he was in Conroe with Jailyn's family was that he was going to be the guard animal for the goats. The goats needed to grow just a little before they could be allowed into the big pasture. He said he ate the same stuff as the goats and that they got along really well. When they upset him he just spit and they quit being a pain. The donkeys could have done the guard job but they just hung out together and didn't care much about the goats. They were best at eating hay and making noise.
There were a bunch of chickens and ducks in the yard and I really enjoyed watching them eat for the next couple days. They have absolutely no table manners. I saw two roosters fighting over a banana peel that Aunt Sally threw out. I felt much more at home with the parrots.
Say what you will about those furry critters, they did eat well and they shared. This is a picture Aunt Sally took of me standing on their dinner table,
I remember that meal well as it helped me with some of the energy I lost flying south. "All Stock" feed pellets are always good. My favorite place to dine, however, was in the back yard.
There is just something to be said for the old ways. My favorite is the bird food that grows on trees. This picture was taken in Aunt Sally's back yard.
Some birds just don't know what good food is. This silly parrot is eating black eyed peas. Something about a new years day tradition in the family. Aunt Sally said if they put him in the back yard to eat like I did he just might fly away. That would be sad because he couldn't do nearly as well outside as a Cardinal.
These guys are cool. The green one is named Kiwi (he is not a fruit) and the red one is named Skittles (she is not candy). Other than the silly names (and their taste for black eyed peas)they are a couple sharp birds. They are Eclectus parrots and can speak human language even better than I do.
A lot of the time they just talk parrot talk but they also set on human shoulders and eat from human hands. I really enjoyed them. The one named Skittles even looks a lot like me.
I figured I would only spend a couple days at the farm in Conroe but I enjoyed myself so I stayed a couple weeks. The whole time in Texas I had been resting and getting fatter. Jailyn’s aunt and uncle said they would take me down to a place that is popular with migratory birds that is right on the gulf. I got a chance to visit Galveston Island first and we parted company there. Uncle Lee made me memorize his cell phone number in case I got stranded when we parted. I didn't tell him that was useless because I had no phone. We had to go through Houston to get where the birds spend their winter.
A lot of the time they just talk parrot talk but they also set on human shoulders and eat from human hands. I really enjoyed them. The one named Skittles even looks a lot like me.
I figured I would only spend a couple days at the farm in Conroe but I enjoyed myself so I stayed a couple weeks. The whole time in Texas I had been resting and getting fatter. Jailyn’s aunt and uncle said they would take me down to a place that is popular with migratory birds that is right on the gulf. I got a chance to visit Galveston Island first and we parted company there. Uncle Lee made me memorize his cell phone number in case I got stranded when we parted. I didn't tell him that was useless because I had no phone. We had to go through Houston to get where the birds spend their winter.
Houston/Galveston Area
Image courtesy of Google Earth This gives a pretty good view of the whole metropolitan area. It is not much smaller than Dallas and Fort Worth combined. There is a ship channel that makes Houston a very busy port. Tankers come up Galveston Bay and unload oil at the refineries in Pasadena and Houston. There are a couple storage lots that are as big as a good sized Kansas farm. New cars and trucks are unloaded there from ships. Then they are shipped by railroad and truck to car dealers all over the country.
I saw the ship channel at night and it is very well lighted. Fires are shooting out the smoke stacks of the refineries and from the top of the ship channel bridge you can almost see flames forever.
I saw the ship channel at night and it is very well lighted. Fires are shooting out the smoke stacks of the refineries and from the top of the ship channel bridge you can almost see flames forever.
Courtesy of Google Images This monument is very close to the Gulf of Mexico and Galveston Island. It is the San Jacinto monument and looks much like the Washington Monument in our nation’s capital. It was built about 100 years after the Washington Monument so the resemblance is probably no accident.
It is built on the battlefield where General Sam Houston defeated the army of Mexican General Santa Anna. There is another park very close to it. That is named Seawolf park even though there are no seawolves there. What is a seawolf anyway? There are several versions of that answer.
It is built on the battlefield where General Sam Houston defeated the army of Mexican General Santa Anna. There is another park very close to it. That is named Seawolf park even though there are no seawolves there. What is a seawolf anyway? There are several versions of that answer.
Courtesy of Google Images In Seawolf Park there are three ships that no longer go to sea. One is the battleship Texas. It was in World Wars 1 and 2. Obviously it was named after the state of Texas. When it was done with it’s job defending the country it became a museum ship.
Courtesy of Google Images I don’t think the ship is actually aiming at the monument. It doesn’t have any bullets anyway.
Courtesy of Google Images This is a picture of the Cavalla in happier times when she was still active. Now she is tied up to the pier in Seawolf park next to a destroyer. Uncle Lee said he was on one just like it a long time ago and offered to give me a tour. No thanks. I am a bird, not a fish.
This image can be attributed to many organizations. Google Earth, NASA, NOAA. It is a satellite image. I got up really high to take this picture. Not!!!!! I got it from Google images.
It’s hard to believe but this was once one of the busiest ports in the south. Something very sad changed all that. One day in 1900 there was a huge hurricane and the waters swept over the island destroying most of the buildings and killing many people. It was the deadliest natural disaster in our history. After the storm the shipping business mostly moved to Houston and it is now a major port.
The shipping industry in Houston grew even faster when it was discovered that you need to have oil to power automobiles. The Houston ship channel is lined with refineries and chemical plants. The port would have had to expand all around Galveston Bay to keep the business in Galveston. After the storm many businesses did not want to do that. You can still see tankers waiting in line to pass Galveston and go up the ship channel to Houston or Pasadena.
Galveston refused to roll over and die. They moved in load after load of sand and built a seawall. The city is now 15 feet higher than in 1900 and it has survived every hurricane since. Some of the buildings survived everything. Jailyn’s cousin works at the 1894 Grand Opera house and even though it has been damaged several times it is still standing and in business.
It’s hard to believe but this was once one of the busiest ports in the south. Something very sad changed all that. One day in 1900 there was a huge hurricane and the waters swept over the island destroying most of the buildings and killing many people. It was the deadliest natural disaster in our history. After the storm the shipping business mostly moved to Houston and it is now a major port.
The shipping industry in Houston grew even faster when it was discovered that you need to have oil to power automobiles. The Houston ship channel is lined with refineries and chemical plants. The port would have had to expand all around Galveston Bay to keep the business in Galveston. After the storm many businesses did not want to do that. You can still see tankers waiting in line to pass Galveston and go up the ship channel to Houston or Pasadena.
Galveston refused to roll over and die. They moved in load after load of sand and built a seawall. The city is now 15 feet higher than in 1900 and it has survived every hurricane since. Some of the buildings survived everything. Jailyn’s cousin works at the 1894 Grand Opera house and even though it has been damaged several times it is still standing and in business.
The border with Mexico
If you go west on Galveston Island there is a toll bridge that leads back to the mainland. There in the wetlands on the Gulf of Mexico is a preserve made just for birds like me.
Well actually not so much for birds like me. It is for water birds. This is a family of coots but there were herons and egrets also. Sometimes there are thousands.
There are a lot of pictures of San Barnard Preserve right here:
http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/san-barnard-preserve.html
Well actually not so much for birds like me. It is for water birds. This is a family of coots but there were herons and egrets also. Sometimes there are thousands.
There are a lot of pictures of San Barnard Preserve right here:
http://www.grangerlandrfd.com/san-barnard-preserve.html
From Google Earth I knew my kids would miss me if I stayed much longer and I already missed them. I needed to pack the rest of the things I wanted to see into a short time. I asked aunt Sally how I should go home and she gave me some suggestions. She could tell that I had very strong wings and could fly a very long way. She said I should follow the coast line towards the south and go up the Rio Grande Valley towards the north. She also said that there were birds she was sure I hadn’t seen before. I could find them on the way to the area known as the Big Bend. That's the place where the river makes the big bend. She gave me a tiny cell phone so I could take pictures and said to call Uncle Lee if I got stranded.
Aunt Sally told me that there was an country to the south of us called Mexico. It had a lot of important history but I probably shouldn’t go there unless I had a year or two to spare. Thinking about the kids in Cheney, I knew I didn’t want to be gone that long. She gave me this map to follow and I’m including it here.
She said the water by the point with the name Yucatan was right where the scientists said an asteroid had hit about 65 million years ago. She said she wasn’t around then but it was supposed to have killed all the dinosaurs and formed the peninsula. Without a passport I probably couldn't go there but she wanted me to know that a cardinal of my strength could easily make the trip. There were more things in Texas than I could tell about without writing a book so I probably should not cross the border.
I decided I would just follow the Rio Grande River Valley and start heading north and east again when I hit the area called the Big Bend. You can see that bend by the word Chihuahua. That is the name of a state in Mexico .
Aunt Sally told me that there was an country to the south of us called Mexico. It had a lot of important history but I probably shouldn’t go there unless I had a year or two to spare. Thinking about the kids in Cheney, I knew I didn’t want to be gone that long. She gave me this map to follow and I’m including it here.
She said the water by the point with the name Yucatan was right where the scientists said an asteroid had hit about 65 million years ago. She said she wasn’t around then but it was supposed to have killed all the dinosaurs and formed the peninsula. Without a passport I probably couldn't go there but she wanted me to know that a cardinal of my strength could easily make the trip. There were more things in Texas than I could tell about without writing a book so I probably should not cross the border.
I decided I would just follow the Rio Grande River Valley and start heading north and east again when I hit the area called the Big Bend. You can see that bend by the word Chihuahua. That is the name of a state in Mexico .
Courtesy Google Images I really saw some different birds. I didn’t see any meadowlarks or pheasants, and I really don’t know what this fellow was. He said he generally always lived there and didn’t migrate. He didn’t understand what I meant when I said I had a job. Turns out that his job was eating bugs.....ugh.
Courtesy Google Images This guy is a hummingbird that said he was heading north pretty quickly. He didn’t know where he was going and didn’t know what Kansas was. He was going someplace where there were flowers so he could drink nectar but
he didn’t understand geography at all. He said he just followed his beak.I told him that there were 48 states all lumped together and that he should figure where he was pointing his beak.
he didn’t understand geography at all. He said he just followed his beak.I told him that there were 48 states all lumped together and that he should figure where he was pointing his beak.
Courtesy Google Images All this guy would say was “I’m a bunting-I’m a bunting”. I have no idea what he meant and when I asked him if he was going to Kansas he just said something about “too cold” and turned his back on me. I did not ask what "a bunting" might be. I guess it's just a bird that looks like him.
Courtesy Google Images I couldn’t get close enough to have a conversation with this dude. Obviously some sort of flamingo; flying way too fast to bother with me.
Courtesy Google Images Aunt Sally told me how much she enjoyed bird watching (I had noticed how friendly she was to me) and told me about some of these guys. This one is the straw that broke the cardinals back right here. I asked this guy what kind of bird he was and told him he sure was pretty. He just looked down his nose (beak) at me and didn’t answer. Right then and there I knew it was time to go back to my kids, so I headed on to Big Bend and points north.
West Texas/The way home.
Google Earth I would tell you that I took this picture but that would just be joking again. This is a Google Earth image of the Big Bend area. The yellow line is the Rio Grande River which makes the border between the United States and Mexico. If you look carefully you can see what appear to be craters from asteroid hits or something. If this looks like a hot and dry place to you, you are right. I was traveling in March when I was here so the heat wasn’t bad yet.
courtesy of google maps Now I needed to figure a route to get home. If I wanted a bunch more hot and dry desert all I needed to do was head straight north. I could find even more desert if I headed to El Paso. I thought about that for maybe two seconds and realized I didn't want to do that. It's not a straight line but the I-35 Interstate highway that I came down on works pretty good going north too. It has rest stops with water fountains and there are a number of lakes along the way. Going that way I went straight to San Antonio. I had heard about it and the state capital, Austin.
Courtesy of Google Images Many of my fellow travelers had told me that I needed to see the Alamo while I was in San Antonio. I was told that it was the place where about 200 Texians (the name for Texas fighters for independence) had fought several thousand Mexican soldiers. I had told them that I had seen the San Jacinto monument. They said that San Jacinto was close to the end of the Texas fight for independence and the Alamo was almost the place where it started. Remember the Alamo was a battle cry throughout that war because all the Texians had been killed.
courtesy of google images Right up I-35 is Austin. It is named for Steven F. Austin who was very important in getting immigrant families to settle in Texas. Austin is the state Capital and this is the Capital Dome. Every place I visited on the way home drew me nearer to Cheney. It also made me more homesick. Then I got talked into a detour.
Courtesy of Google Earth I called Uncle Lee and told him I had heard about a big hole in the ground that I wanted to see. That hole was called Palo Duro Canyon and I was told that it was the second biggest canyon in the country. The crow that told me about it said there was an even bigger one further west but he hadn’t been there. I figured that this trip I wasn't going either. This is a picture I was shown but it really doesn't give any real idea of its size. Uncle Lee fixed me up with another truck driver headed to Amarillo and that's the last conversation he and I had.
courtesy of google images This is what I actually saw when I got off the truck and did a flyover. Looks a lot more impressive when you see the erosion and the sediment layers. I knew I was getting close to Kansas so I thought I would "chill" for a short while here. The birds were friendlier. The birds I liked the best were the wild turkeys.
courtesy of google images They may be ugly in some peoples eyes (don't tell them) but Benjamin Franklin thought they should be the national bird. The turkeys of Palo Duro are very tough birds and they gave me some tips on what to watch out for. There are wildcats in Palo Duro but they don’t ever seem to find the turkeys. The weather was great and I like talking to turkeys.
Then I headed straight home. This is really close to Amarillo but the closest city to Palo Duro Canyon is named Canyon. I often wondered why a city would choose a name like canyon. Anyway, the Amarillo area is very close to New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, and most of all it's just across the Oklahoma panhandle from Kansas.
Then I headed straight home. This is really close to Amarillo but the closest city to Palo Duro Canyon is named Canyon. I often wondered why a city would choose a name like canyon. Anyway, the Amarillo area is very close to New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, and most of all it's just across the Oklahoma panhandle from Kansas.
courtesy of google images Just before I left the state I saw the strangest thing. It was right on I-40. In Cheney people drive these things but around Amarillo they plant Cadillacs. People spray them with paint and I had no idea what they were doing. I really doubt that they grow.
In truth this only tells about some of the things I saw in Texas. It is bigger than many countries and one bird can’t cover it all. Parts of it looks just like Kansas. Other parts have deserts and some have forest. It is very tough to describe.
In truth this only tells about some of the things I saw in Texas. It is bigger than many countries and one bird can’t cover it all. Parts of it looks just like Kansas. Other parts have deserts and some have forest. It is very tough to describe.
courtesy of google images But this was the sight that was my favorite. It was good to be home and I couldn’t wait to tell all my kids about the sights I had seen and people I have met.
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