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Driving across West Texas is like ice-skating in the bottom of a frying pan. I finally find out how the panhandle took its name. A giant could hold the panhandle--the square bump where Route 66 crosses—to lift up the West of Texas. Where they’d put it down, I don’t know. Summers, it’s hot enough here to make the analogy work: leave the car and you’re out of the pan and into the fire. Today a Norther is blowing up dust. Even with the windows closed, it floats around inside.

Traveling 66, you get a true taste of Texas by stopping off in Amarillo.

Once supported by the great cattle drives of the late 1800s, the city remains heavily involved in the cattle feeding and shipping industries. Amarillo is also considered to be the Texas Panhandle’s oil and gas capital. Not only does it have one of the world’s largest helium plants, but also nearby is one of the world’s largest carbon-black plants.

In Amarillo, this wealth of industry is balanced with a dedication to arts and culture. One of its notable citizens, millionaire art financier Stanley Marsh III, is well known for his involvement in the pop-art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. An example of Marsh’s collection is the often-visited roadside sculpture consisting of ten cars nose-down in a working grain field. In addition, the city has six galleries and several museums.

This blend of industry and art is infused with Western flavor. Amarillo offers the chance to attend an exhibit opening, be a cowboy for the day, and visit a small town and a prosperous city all at once.