Being okay with disappointment...

We took a little overnight road trip on Friday, July 3rd, with the purpose of a) getting the heck out of "Dodge," and b) finding dark skies to star gaze.

Dave settled on the Amarillo, TX area, because there is a canyon out there where the skies are supposed to be great for seeing even the Milky Way on a dark night.

Unfortunately, we selected the date for our trip way ahead of time, and didn't realize it was full moon.  I should have checked, but I didn't.

OH well...that was okay.  We'd see what we could see anyway,  having learned that Jupiter and Saturn would be up that night, too, including that beautiful, big full moon.

We found an Air BnB property that was really inexpensive.   It was a "tiny house" built in a shipping container, and it was SO cute!  It was out in the area of the canyon, too, which should have meant big, dark skies at night.

In the pictures on the website, it looked like it was a single outbuilding on someone's property.  Dave messaged the host, and they said YES, the star gazing was GREAT.

So, we booked it.

A week or so before our trip, Dave looked up Palo Duro Canyon state park, and we found that we could not be out there at night unless we were camping or in one of their cabins.  Dang it.

But, we figured, the tiny house host had assured us of good star gazin, so that was okay....we'd just go to the canyon during the day, and maybe take a short hike (it was bound to be very hot, given the time of year).

We also planned to poke around Amarillo, go for a hike at the canyon, and then get dinner at "The Big Texan," a blatant tourist trap that we had been assured was worth the stop.

As we arrived in the Amarillo area, our first order of business was to drive by The Big Texan to see what our chances were of being safe in times of COVID-19. 

The virus is REALLY BAD in Texas right now, and we weren't going to take any chances. 

It was 2 pm, and as we drove by, the parking lot was COMPLETELY full.   If you look at pictures on line, they have long tables where they seat parties right next to each other.

We figured there was NO WAY they were seating people 6 feet apart, so we decided to skip the idea entirely.

One of the museums we had considered visiting was closed, no cars in the lot.

So, next, we went in search of a retired steam locomotive that's on display downtown.

The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe 5000 sits, cold and rusting, on a concrete slab behind a chain link fence.  It's a Baldiwn engine, with a 2-10-4 wheel configuration.  It was built in 1930, and retired in 1957. 

We found it, and in the process, took a bit of a tour of downtown Amarillo, which was virtually deserted.

Did you know that their minor league baseball team is called the SOD POODLES?  I thought I had read it wrong on the park as we went past, but then I saw them on the local news that night.

We laughed about that for what felt like hours.

After taking some pictures of the ATSF 5000, we went out to Palo Duro Canyon. 

Dave had checked their website on Thursday, and there was not yet any indication that they would be closed due to COVID-19.

As we pulled up to the gate, there was a lighted sign that said "Park Restrictions:  Reserve on line."

Uh oh. 

We drove on up a little further, and there was another sign that said PARK AT CAPACITY, and we were turned away. 

We couldn't even go in and drive around on the roads around the canyon.  That was REALLY disappointing....but oh well.... we still had our star gazing to look forward to.

If the clouds that were gathering would please clear out by dark.

From the canyon, we decided to go get some groceries for our dinner, and go check in at the Air BnB.

Everyone in the grocery store was wearing a mask, and we were able to distance ourselves, so we felt safe getting some food for our overnight stay.

We headed out of town to our lodgings, which were truly out in the middle of nowhere.  However, when we got there, we found that our little building was at the back of a small RV park.  Which was FULL.

This filled us with a sense of dread, but it turned out to be okay.  It was very quiet, and no one was setting off fire works or anything.

However, there were bright lights at each RV pad, and by our little house.  The clouds grew thicker and thicker, into a heavy, gray haze.

By dark, the highest point of the sky was pretty clear, and we could see the big dipper, but, beyond that, we couldn't see a thing because there was too much cloud cover, and WAY too much light around us.

The star gazing SUCKED, but the moon looked REALLY COOL up there behind those clouds.  We sat outside of our rented tiny house until after midnight, hoping it would get better, but it didn't.

There also must have been a feed lot somewhere nearby, because the air smelled VERY strongly of cow shit.

Oh, and Dave pulled up the Palo Duro Canyon website again, and there it was... a NEW pop up saying that there are park restrictions and to reserve on line.  That was NOT THERE the day before.

We had entertained the idea of trying to go Saturday morning, but then just decided to skip it and go home.

The botanic gardens were closed, the museums were closed, the Cadillac Ranch had scores of people looking at it, so we just drove past... it was kind of a bust.

So, we decided to just hit the road home.

It was about 11, as we went back past the Big Texan.  The lot was only partially full, so I said "LET'S GO SEE..."  If the dining room was full, we'd leave.....

It was almost lunch time anyway, and all we'd had for breakfast was yogurt and fruit we'd gotten at the grocery store.

Inside, the vast dining room was virtually empty, so we said yes to a steak lunch.  The entire staff was masked, and they seated us off in a corner booth completely away from the few other guests.

We got the lunch portion rib eye meal, and split it.  It was just enough, and it was actually very good....as we'd been told.  We bought some raw steaks to take home, took some touristy pictures, and strolled through the gift shop.

After a stop to add some ice to the cooler, we headed home.

As disappointing as almost everything was, we were okay with it.  We had gotten out of the house for a couple of days, and saw some stuff, and enjoyed the various landscapes.

The area around the canyon is really cool.... the little bit of it we could see into from the road was pretty amazing.  I wish we'd been able to go in, but it was okay that we didn't.  It's only 4 hours away, so we'll go back and will have a better plan when we do.

We were home by around 4:00 pm, and ordered our groceries, and cracked open a cold beer.

The cats were happy to see us, and they behaved well for our pet sitters. 

After dinner, we sat in the hot tub, and watched the illegal fireworks going off all around our neighborhood.  It was a nice enough 4th of July.

In other news, my blood work continues to improve, and I for sure feel less fatigue.

I've ordered some new walking shoes, because I realized that mine were about a year past their "expiration date," from walking on concrete.  I am hoping that changing my shoes for new ones with better support will reduce my hip pain.


We slept late today, and now I am starving, so I am off to make brunch. Dave will be mowing the back yard, and I will be doing laundry.... an easy day to ease back into a full work week next week.