Panhandle Plains: Small Roads. Big Times

Mary’s Café, 119 Grant Ave., Strawn. Call 254/672-5741.

An Ancient Art Handcrafted Soap Company, 108 N. Central, Strawn. Call 254/672-5421 or 866/604-7180; www.anancientartsoap.com.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park, 11450 Park Road 5, 12 miles east of Canyon off Texas 217. Camping, horseback riding, hiking, nature study, bird watching, moun-tain biking, and scenic drives. Outdoor theater productions run from early June to mid-August. $4 en-trance fee. Call 806/488-2227; www.palodurocanyon.com.

Finch Ranch Lodge, 3400

CR 23, 7 miles south of US 287 in Hedley. Full continental breakfast included. Rates: $95-$110. Call 806/856-5930; www.finchranch.com.

Stasney’s Cook Ranch, FM 1084, 5 miles north of Albany. Rates: $135 to $175 for 2-4 people, $625 to rent the 93-year-old ranch headquarters with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Call 888/762-2999; www.stasneyscookranch.com

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Bob Wills Museum, one block west of Texas 70, Turkey. Call 806/423-1253. Open Mon-Fri 9-11:30 and 1-5. Free. For information about Bob Wills Day, call the Bob Wills Foundation at 806/

423-1033; www.bobwills.com.

The Trio Club, 908 S. Mingus Blvd., Mingus. Bands play Sat night 9-1; C.B. Sutton and Out-cast play every Sun 5-9. Call 254/672-5664; www.trioclubmingus.com.

More Panhandle Places

EAT

In the big ranch country east of Lubbock and below the Caprock lies tiny, rustic Matador, home of the giant Matador Ranch. When cowboys from the ranch get hungry, they come in, spurs clinking, to the Main Street Café, 1023 Main St., in downtown Matador. The draws include big burgers, crunchy and tender chicken-fried steak, and sirloin and ribeye steaks, as well as homemade onion rings. Desserts include chocolate or coconut pie and peach or cherry cobbler. Call 806/347-2115.

STAY

To steep yourself in more Bob Wills history, stay in the refurbished Hotel Turkey Bed and Breakfast at Third and Alexander streets, in Turkey. The hotel’s comfortable guest rooms and downtown parlor feature original 1927 decor. Sit in rocking chairs that line the glassed-in porch, then take your breakfast (included in the price) in the dining room, where historic photos cover the walls. Rates: $55-85. Call 806/423-1151; www.turkeybb.com.

PLAY

Museum gift shops often offer out-of-the-ordinary souvenirs and gifts. One that is quintessentially Texan is the XIT Museum and Gift Shop, in Dalhart. After perus-ing exhibits about the famous XIT Ranch, which covered so much of the Panhandle it required 6,000 miles of fencing, visit the gift shop for XIT bandanas, cookbooks with authentic chuckwagon recipes, roadrunner or Texas star money clips, ar-rowhead hat pins, commemorative coins, and toy Texas Rangers badges. Call 806/244-5390; www.xitmuseum.com.

See the full article in the September 2007 issue.

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