Exit #

I-40 and Texas

• Amarillo
• Canyon
• Groom
• Lubbock
• McLean
• Shamrock

Amarillo

  Most cities have made access to their Interstate-side businesses awkward or even difficult. Amarillo has done an excellent job of making it easy and efficient. The frontage roads are ONE WAY: the eastbound on the eastbound side of the Interstate and the westbound similarly on the westbound side. There are special u-turn lanes for exiting traffic to zip over to the other side of the Interstate and reach the business (or hotel) they just spotted from the Interstate. To get back on the Interstate, just come back to it, get on the side for the direction you wish to go and follow it to the next on-ramp. Neat.

  Exit 70 is the I-27 interchange. I-27 was built just to connect the Lubbock area with Amarillo and I-40, the nations primary east-west Interstate. From Lubbock there is an assortment of 4-lane highways (NOT freeways) to take you to I-20 and I-10 further south but no freeways. Strange! In fact, there is no easy way to get to Dallas from Amarillo. To get to Dallas by freeway you need to drive into Oklahoma City then take I-35 south to Dallas. Very strange!

Visitors Center - From I-40 take exit 70 to I-27 and US-87 North. Follow US-87 (ignore street names) to 10th Avenue and turn left. The Amarillo Convention and Visitors Council is at the corner of 10th and Polk in the Bivins Mansion on the second floor (1000 S. Polk Street).
  If you will be attending a convention at the downtown convention center, there is another Visitors' Center at entrance #2 of the Convention Center (Buchanan and 4th Avenue).
  For more information, phone 1-800-692-1338 (toll free). Web site: AmarilloCVB.

Amarillo Botanical Garden - This small, 2-acre garden within the 51-acre Medical Center Park is bursting with blooming plants from about mid-May to well into October. There is a special fragrance garden - intended for the visually challenged but enjoyable by all. Also a greenhouse which is usually open to visitors.
  For more information phone 1-806-352-6513. They do not seem to have a web site but the Visitors' Center does have a page with a little information: ABotGarden.
  From I-40 take exit 65. If eastbound, turn left; if westbound, turn right. Head north on Coulter Drive to Amarillo Blvd (I-40-D Business). Turn right, drive to the next street and turn left on Hagy Blvd. Go one more block and the Amarillo Botanical Garden and the Harrington Regional Medical center are at 1400 Streit Drive - right on the corner

American Quarter Horse Museum - The American Quarter Horse Association is the largest equine breed registry in the world. The American Quarter Horse Heritage Center & Museum mission is to preserve and exhibit the many photos and artifacts of the history of the American Quarter Horse. A 12-minute, multi-media presentation in their modern, 70-seat theater, allows you to, "...experience the emotion of owning and riding an American Quarter Horse."
  Open 9a to 5p Monday through Saturday; noon to 5p Sundays except from September through May, inclusive, when they are closed Sundays. Admission $4; kids 6 to 18: $2.50.
  For more information phone 1-806-376-4811 or visit their web site: AQHA.
  If eastbound on I-40, take exit 72-A and stay to the left so you can pass under the Interstate and get on the westbound frontage road. The museum is at 2601 I-40 East.
  If westbound on I-40, take exit 72-B. Stay to the left on the exit ramp so you can continue westbound on the frontage road. The Quarter Horse Museum is a few blocks ahead at 2601 I-40 East.

Canyon

Canyon (and Lubbock) are not on I-40 but on the short Interstate connector which ends at Lubbock: I-27. We have included them because much of the I-40 traffic is actually going to or coming from this area south of Amarillo.

The most interesting piece written about Canyon (and, perhaps, the most accurate) is one written by Claire R. Kuehn and H. Allen Anderson. It can be viewed on one of the University of Texas web sites: Handbook-of-Texas.

Lubbock

Lubbock, some 122 miles south of Amarillo, claims to be the largest city in the Southern Plains. Oh? What happened to Amarillo? Well, we were quite surprised to learn that Lubbock is actually larger than Amarillo - by about 30,000 people! Impressions can certainly be misleading.

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Amarillo continued:

Again, the University of Texas has hosted a brief history of Lubbock on one of the University web sites: Handbook-of-Texas. This piece, written by Lawrence L. Graves, is a little drier than the piece about Canyon but it is very informative.

Big Texan Steak Ranch & Opry - the one and only Big Texan Steak Ranch, home of the free 72oz steak! Think of Texas and you think of cattle. Think of cattle and you think of steaks. Amarillo is big on steaks - the billboards tell you that as you approach town. The Big Texan's is among them promising a 72 ouncer FREE - if you can finish the five pounds of meat AND the potato and the salad, and even a shrimp cocktail, all within one hour. They say over 35,000 folks have attempted the feat and, so far, over 5,500 have actually earned their free meal. Will you be the next?
  Eatin' isn't all you get at the Big Texan, though. They have a wild variety of live entertainment - including, occasionally, some big-name stars. Shows and other special events start at various times. They post coming shows and entertainers and schedules on their web site. (see: Entertainment)
  For more information, phone 1-800-657-7177 or visit their web site: BigTexan.
  From I-40 take exit 75. (If you were eastbound, do the double left turns at Lakeside Drive to get on the frontage road on the other side of the Interstate.) Follow the frontage road to the Big Texan.

» Hotels in Amarillo «

I-40 through across the 'panhandle' of Texas is mostly straight and level - and mesmerizing at night. Be alert. You’ll notice that, although the prairie appears flat from the distance, it is heavily interlaced with arroyos or little canyons - which was quite an impediment for the early pioneers. Texas took care of all that when they built the Interstate by filling all the arroyos leaving culverts for flood waters to flow through.

Groom

Leaning Water Tower - You don't even have to exit the Interstate to see these 'attractions'. The leaning tower of Pisa - no, the leaning water tower of Groom. It was hauled here as a publicity object for a truck stop which is no more. The idea, possibly, was that people would be so curious they would exit and pull into the truck stop to ask questions. Obviously, not enough of them did.

Giant Cross - The giant cross which you have been able to see from well into the distance (it is ablaze with lights at night) is about 190 feet tall. It is said to be the largest such cross in the Western Hemisphere. You can drive on, now.

McLean

Route 66 era Phillips 66 station - On the frontage road on the north side of I-40 on the western outskirts of McLean is a fully restored, Route 66 era Phillips 66 gas station. If you don't see the Phillips 66 sign you'll certainly see the old (but looking spankin' new) CocaCola sign. From I-40 take exit 142 (and cross over to the north side if you were eastbound). 

Devil's Rope Museum - 'Guarded' by a giant ball of barbed wire, the Devil's Rope Museum houses samples of barbed wire. So many different types it seems impossible that something has been missed (but there are many more in use today). Most of the barb wire specimens were donated by Frank and Violet Smith of Keller, TX. Why oh why did they collect the stuff and where did they keep it?

Rattlesnake Sign - Just east of McLean, on the south side of I-40 is the 'Rattlesnake Sign'. Just mentioned it because it seems everyone else does.

Shamrock

Another of the small, ranch/farm communities along, Shamrock is a little bit different; it is a little bit of Ireland. Settled by Irish immigrants, it has kept much of the flavor of those green isles.

Visitors' Center - From I-40, take exit 163. If you are eastbound, turn right; if westbound, turn left. Follow US-83 (Main Street) to 207 N. Main (toward the end of the block after 3rd Street)
  For more information phone 1-877-IRISH.TX (toll free) or visit their web site IrishTX.
  Needless to say, if you enjoy celebrating St Pats Day, this is a good place to do it.

Blarney Stone - In 1959, a little piece of rock was removed from the ruins of Blarney Castle in Ireland in given to the town of Shamrock. They encased it in a 'indestructible' concrete cylinder, painted it green (of course) and hoped for an influx of Irish and Irish would-be visitors.
  From I-40 take exit 163. If you are eastbound, turn right; if westbound, turn left. Follow US-83 (Main Street) to Railroad Avenue (on the near side of the tracks) and turn left. Go 3 blocks and Elmore Park and their encased Blarney Stone will be on your left.

contributed by Bob Masters

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