Amarillo, TX

Famous for it's free 72 oz steak, IF you eat it and the trimmings within one hour!  That would be a shrimp cocktail, baked potato and rolls.  This is what the interior is like.  Eloise and I had one of their least expensive menu items for steak, a 10 oz double cut (2-5 oz) for 2 people.  I'm not kidding, I think it was the best steak I've ever had in my life.  I'm drooling now just remembering it!

 Scrumptious cheesecake with strawberries and whipped cream!

 "The cooks"

And this is the area where the people trying to eat that much steak sit.  Notice the timers in back.  They are not allowed to stand or have anyone else touch their plates.  We were here a few years ago when there were a couple people who tried and failed.  This time, nobody was that nuts.  If they don't qualify for the free steak, the cost for trying is $72.00

Amarillo was the closest town that could repair our generator.  It's an Onan generator and so belongs to under the Cummins engine umbrella.  I was able to get an appointment with Cummins before we arrived in town.  The day we showed up with our RV we were informed that the mechanic (the only one there qualified for Onan) called in to say he wouldn't be in.   (Not sick.)  The clerk says he does that sometimes.  Hmmm.  We were fuming and fussing and then trying without success to find another shop to work on the generator, when he walked into the Cummins shop.  He proceeded to check out our engine at $145 an hour.  Here's where you fellow Tiffin motorhome owners should pay attention:  There is a fuel filter for the generator that is on the rail, before the generator's own filter.  If you've been changing only the generator's filter, you will likely end up broken down like us!!  That filter had been on since new in 2005.  That is what was clogged up with gunk.  You could tap the filter and get black 'stuff' coming out.   Nowhere does it cover that filter in any of our material.  The technician says it is often the case with Tiffins and another brand he couldn't remember, when they come in with problems.  In our case, he replaced it with a 'see-through' filter from O'Reileys and showed me where it's located, so that we can see if there's foreign material, and clean and replace the filter.  Total cost for our ignorance: $467.47, that with a 10% discount for being a member of the Cummins Power Club!  

A highlight of our stay in Amarillo was the evening we spent square dancing with the Whirley Birds!  There were just 2 squares that evening with Jimmy Gouge calling MS and a little plus.  Cannot remember a club that was more outgoing and friendly than this one!   One couple there offered to pick us up from our RV park and take us to a world class concert in Palo Duro Canyon the next night.  https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/palo-duro-canyon   Palo Duro is like a mini-grand canyon.  There is a huge ampitheater where the concert was to be held.  A very beautiful state maintained place with campground to spend a day or week.  We were there in the past and it is truly a must see spectacle. 

Of course we were able to find time to do some geocaching -- this time on some of the property that at that time was Amarillo Air Force Base, now closed.   The area now houses a college and truck driver training facility.  I was stationed there as a raw recruit in 1965 for completing Administrative Technical School.  Didn't like it there much at that time.

We're off to see some friends who live near Abilene.  Later.