Friendly welcoming staff. Very cool historic building. Will be stopping again when next on Route 66…read more Delicious coffee too.

I spent an extra day in Shamrock to recharge the batteries during a three week road trip that had…read moretaken me to Big Bend, Abilene, and Caprock Canyon. I'm glad I did because somehow I was unaware of the fact that I landed on Route 66 and at the best cafe anywhere between Amarillo and Tulsa. Riley and Leanne, the owner, spent considerable talking w me about all kinds of things and it was simply wonderful to connect w them on a human level. Which was really what my trip was about. Additionally, the banana bread pudding, which I started with, was just outstanding. Make sure you get the roasted almonds as well. Later I figured I had to try a sandwich so I got the BBQ Brisket sandwich which did not disappoint. And of course the classic landmark and trappings of the place made one feel they were actually plying the old route back in the day. A place not to be missed!

An alleged fragment of the Blarney castle that was brought to Texas in 1959 stands here in a…read moretheft-proof crash-proof cylinder, painted solid green. True? False? Someone did actually make the trip to Ireland and earn the gift of gab? I have no idea. As for "Kissing the Blarney Stone," I did not make physical contact. I did blow it a kiss because in 2021, we don't do such things. There is an official State Historical Marker here. It reads, "Early area settler George Nickel and his wife, Dora (Haggard), raised their family in a dugout home in Wheeler County. For his Irish Heritage and for its symbolism of luck and courage, George suggested "Shamrock" for a post office approved for their home in 1890. The name was retained when the town of Shamrock was platted along the Rock Island Railroad built through the county in 1902. Shamrock bandmaster Glenn A. Truax envisioned the town capitalizing on its Irish name by producing a one-day celebration to draw thousands of visitors to the "Irish city." With the help of the Shamrock Boosters Club, the first St. Patrick's Day festival was celebrated in 1938, linking the local celebration with the feast day of the patron saint of Ireland. The first observance featured such free attractions as a parade, street dance, matinees at the Liberty and Texas theaters, a massed band concert of five hundred pieces from twelve cities, and historical and dramatic presentations, attracting about 12,000 people to a town of less than 4,000. The following year attendance topped 30,000, with parade spectators positioned along streets and the roofs of downtown buildings. The annual event continued until it was suspended during World War II and again during the Korean War. The Chamber of Commerce took over sponsorship in 1952. Shamrock's St. Patrick's Day celebration has welcomed many state and national figures in politics, sports, music and entertainment. It has evolved to a multiple-day affair, retaining many original activities and adding several others that have become annual tradition and an important part of the economy. In 2013, the Texas Legislature adopted House Concurrent Resolution 83, proclaiming Shamrock's celebration the official St. Patrick's Day celebration for the state of Texas." Blarney Stone Plaza has the stone and some Irish and Saint Patrick themed items. Sláinte! [Review 16206 overall - 380 in Texas - 1712 of 2021.]

You can kiss a Blarney Stone without booking a flight to Ireland! My grandparents live in Shamrock…read moreand my Memaw took us on a little midnight tour of the town and this is one of the tourist "attractions" we stopped at. Fun, quick attraction along Route 66. If you're into unique and interesting stops on your road trip, I would suggest a short stop in Shamrock, TX. Not recommended for the germaphobe.

I spent five nights in Pampa in October 2021. It is a small town in a small county in a far corner…read moreof the Texas Panhandle. The nearest big city is Amarillo about an hour drive to the southwest. The city dates back to 1888 when a telegraph station on the Southern Kansas Railroad was built and the townsite was laid out. The town was first called "Glasgow", then "Sutton", and finally the name was changed to "Pampa" after the pampas grasslands of South America. Timothy Dwight Hobart, a native of Vermont, sold plots of land for the town only to people who agreed to settle there and develop the land, and Pampa soon became a center for agriculture. Gas and oil were discovered in the Texas Panhandle in 1916. Pampa prospered greatly in the resulting oil boom, and the Gray County seat of government was moved in 1928 from Lefors to Pampa. The town has 40+ parks throughout, some are developed and some are no more than lot-sized grass patches. Supermarkets, restaurants, car repair and car dealers, furniture, big box and fast food joints. Most of the commercial development is along State Road 70 that passes north to south through the city. US-60 is to the south and passes east to west. The same rail line still goes through town carrying coal, unprocessed wheat and other industrial materials. The city does not have a commercial airport or passenger train station. The White Deer Lands Museum and the Freedom Museum USA are in the city. The wind seems to never stop blowing. Duane Lee Chapman, better known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, was raised in Pampa. Woody Guthrie, famous folk song writer, lived here briefly. I chose Pampa for this week because the Hampton Inn here is one of the few Hilton properties that is only 10k per night. It gave me a quiet place to work during the day and explore the surroundings in the evening. I didn't not like my time here, but I don't really see a need to return. Pampa is far from the bright lights and big city, it is far from the super highway that crosses the USA but it is a nice place for a stop. [Review 16172 overall - 349 in Texas - 1678 of 2021.]

Its a great place for the gay community its very friendly and theres a lot of them here already,…read moretons of people here to meet. It has lots of places to shop at, plenty of restaurants and even has a movie theater. The housing here and apartments are really cheap. Crime is low here as well, its just a great place you live. Alot of the latinos that work for the city are really into gays, they talk about them and ready to hook up, if you into latino men.

Round number reviews should be something special. My round number 16000 was the Grand Saline Salt…read morePalace and 16100 was the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. So here we are at 16200 and it's... an intersection. What? Well, my friend. This is a special intersection. At the end of the Tom Hanks movie Cast Away, we see the protagonist at a literal and a philosophical intersection. Having been rescued from the island and finding out that his fiancée has moved on, he is stopped here and trying to work out what's next in his life. A pretty redhead pulls up and tells him, "Well, that's 83 South. And this road here will hook you up with I-40 East. Um... if you turn right, that'll take you to Amarillo, Flagstaff, California. And if you head back that direction, you'll find a whole lot of nothin' all the way to Canada." Watch it here: https://youtu.be/afiuJ2tsoVA. What do you think the character does after the credits roll? But back to here. I agree that there's not much between here and Canada and maybe she was referring to the next town north, Canadian. Regardless, it's desolate. I was here for 15 minutes, parking the car in the same spot that Tom Hanks did and setting out my tripod so that I could get my selfie properly. Not a single vehicle passed by from any direction in those 15 minutes. Very little has changed since then. The stop signs are the same. The fences are the same. I had arrived from the north, the same as Tom Hanks did. That road is now gravel and not packed dirt. Dozens of wind turbines are erected and spinning. Otherwise? It's a postcard for a literal crossroads that is near absolutely nothing and 35 miles from the I-40 that the young lady mentions. Sadly, the actress Lori White passed away in 2018. This detour was worth it for me. I doubt very much that I'll ever be back in this part of the world so this was a once-in-a-lifetime stop. What's next in my life? Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Nashville, and home in 1300 miles. [Review 16200 overall - 376 in Texas - 1706 of 2021.]

It's really ugly what "we" did to native Americans and this is a place that tells that story. I…read morelove the fact that this NHS protects the history so we hopefully won't be doomed to repeat it. There is a video when you first enter the visitor center and a small museum, which I recommend doing before you walk the trails. One trail is around the building. The other is about a half mile down the road and that walking trail is 1.5 miles. It also has audio QR codes throughout the trail with more information. We spent about 4 hours there. If you're into history then make this a stop.

If you want to see your tax dollars well spent this is the place. It is one of the nicest National…read morePark Service facilities I've ever visited. The staff is super friendly and will go out of their way to tell you stories about what happened in this area. There is also a 30 minute film that they will show you that will also explain the history. It's a little out of the way and off the road but, well worth the extra time to see it. Don't pass it up.