Food and Weird Al

Today, I started out by making my way over to Dallas. While it rained most of the day, it was mostly just a drizzle, so that didn't stop me from going to the State Fair, nor did it stop a lot of other people. The fair had a surprisingly large crowd for a cold and rainy Wednesday morning. I wandered around
the fair for about two and a half hours, checking out the different exhibitions, vendors, and food.

Big Tex - He also talks, but half the time just tells you to buy Dickies Blue Jeans.
What If I don't like jeans?

Being Texas, it was times over the top, and also had a lot of livestock. They even have a car show on par with the one they do at the Baltimore Convention Center right in the middle of the fair. I also took in a pig race, which again was over the top for what it was. While I didn't want really to eat anything

Pig Racing, is, um, pig racing, but they seem to make a big deal about it

much there because of my next stop, I couldn't go to the Texas State Fair and not get something that was deep fried, so I got a deep fried Reese's and a scope of ice cream. Yum.

Hello, tasty deep fried, artery clogging food

After leaving the state fair, I made my way north of Dallas to Denton for In-N-Out Burger, a California chain known for their secret menu that recently entered the Texas market (the furthest east

Please come Baltimore, you'll make a lot of money there

they are currently have gone). I ordered a Double-Double (on the menu), which is a double cheese burger, and Animal-style Fries (not on the menu), which are fries covered in cheese, grilled onions
and thousand island dressing. This was probably one of the best fast food burgers I've ever had. I would say they surpass Five Guys and live up to the hype.

Hurray secret menu

After finishing that delicious meal, I had to decide what I was to do next. It was about 2PM and both Lubbock and Amarillo were about 5 hours out with really nothing in between. When I originally mapped out the trip, I figured I would stay in the Dallas-Fort Worth area tonight, so I could have tried to find more to do in the area, but it was still cold and rainy around there. So I decided to make my way to Amarillo, which means I'm about a day ahead in my trip, which will allow me to more stuff on the way back home. Amarillo also allows me to check out a scenic road through Palo Duro Canyon.

When I mentioned that there was nothing on the way to Amarillo, I meant there was nothing. Just mostly flat farmland and ranches, and very few trees. Unlike the Natchez Trace on Monday, I was ok with this desolate road, as I had never experienced landscapes like this before. Also, it became the fun Weird Al sing-along portion of the trip. I forgot to mention that a some point before I reached Dallas, I started to ask Siri to play an album, but then realized that I wanted to hear a playlist instead. When I said, "Hey Siri, play the album, er, um...nevermind", Siri took that to mean Nevermind by Nirvana, so "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came on. After listening to the Nirvana version, obviously I decided to listen to the Weird Al version, which is clearly the superior version. From there, I just listened to Weird Al for the rest of day. I could go on and on about Weird Al, but I'll just say that to appease the Star Wars fans that hate episode one (which I actually kind of like), they should keep the story canon, but replace the movie with just the Weird Al song about it. I think that would be a win-win for everyone. Also, Weird Al day may have come a day too early on this trip, given where I will likely wind up tomorrow. Weird Al fans will know what I'm referencing.

I eventually wound up in Amarillo around sunset. It was still cloudy and a bit damp out, but there was clear sky to the north and east. I decided to go to what has become the highlight of the trip so far for dinner, the Big Texan Steak Ranch. I started seeing signs for it shortly after I left Denton, so if they

This is Texas

were advertising it that far out, it must be good. Remember how I said that the state fair was over the top. This was that on steroids and more. Flashy signage and a giant cow statue out front. Large saloon

The cow goes "moo"
The Weber goes "yum"

style eating area lined with deer heads. Cowboy hats everywhere and people playing country tunes on guitar. A 72 oz steak challenge, that if you finish it and the sides, you get your meal for free. It is stereotypical Texas and it is great.

This is the best setting to eat a juicy steak. With dozens of dead deer staring at you.

I didn't do the challenge, partly because I had In-N-Out only a few hours earlier, and also because I know I couldn't finish even half that and didn't want to pay $72. So I got the 18 oz "Dallas cut" Ribeye with a side of fries and chili, which was only of the best steaks I've ever had. If you are ever anywhere near Amarillo, you must go here. You will not be disappointed.

Bowl of chili not pictured. After today, I might need to eat salads
for the rest of the trip, but hey, this is totally worth it

Tomorrow, I plan to check out the scenic road through the nearby canyon mentioned earlier. Hopefully the scenic road book that I bought will be able to redeem itself after the disaster that was the Natchez Trace Parkway. Afterwards, I'm going to head into New Mexico and check out all the aliens in Roswell! From there, I'll probably make my way back north to the I-40 area for the night.