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OP
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Tomorrow I'm spending the next 4 to 7 days going back and forth between West TN and Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron New Mexico to pick up my son. I'll be passing through Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Any thoughts or suggestions on the trip would be appreciated.
Any "must see" places to visit? Any thoughts on routes, logistics, or places to spend the night? Mainly looking for local or historical sites I/we would regret not visiting.
Thanks in advance for any help -tnscouter
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Well, it should be a good time to talk with your kid. I would say to haul @$$ going west, going east try some "back road" or "two lane" where you swing off the freeway for a couple hundred miles. Take a really good detailed atlas with you, study it in the motel at night. Side trips are always worthwhile, even in boring places.
Up hills slow, Down hills fast Tonnage first and Safety last.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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AC in tip top shape........?
hotter than the gates of hell out here !
T R U M P W O N !
U L T R A M A G A !
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Joined: Nov 2010
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The NRA Whittington Center is less than 30 miles from Philmont and worth the time. Make sure that he gets plenty of souvenirs from the Tooth of Time Traders on the ranch.
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Joined: Feb 2007
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Campfire Outfitter
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Double post
Last edited by JMR40; 08/06/19.
Most people don't really want the truth.
They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.
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Joined: Jun 2012
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Nothing between Memphis and Fort Smith worth stopping for. Usually from Memphis to Colorado, I don’t stop much to sight see. Maybe OK or TX have something good. I-40 gets rather boring. Stay safe and watch out for the orange cones.
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Joined: Dec 2012
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Oklahoma City bombing museum Mt Capulin in NE New Mexico
As mentioned before, enjoy your time with your son !
Last edited by keith_dunlap; 08/06/19.
if a man speaks, and there isn't a woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
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Campfire Outfitter
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Drive up Rabbit Ear Mountain east of Raton!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_Ears_(Clayton,_New_Mexico)
Last edited by Sharpsman; 08/06/19.
Even birds know not to land downwind!
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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Drive up past the star over Raton and see the K-T boundary marked by the iridium line and the end of the dinosaurs.
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Joined: Aug 2007
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capulin mt got some dino stuff pretty dang neat and my backyard the Wichita mts wildlife refuge.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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NE New Mexico, Hwy 72, called the Johnson Mesa road between Folsum and Raton is a beautiful drive. There is a little museum in Folsum focused on the "Folsum Man" and is very interesting, if you're interested in dinosaurs and stuff.
OKC Bombing Memorial is very well done and would be worth your time. Same with the Western Heritage Center (Cowboy Hall of Fame).
The Elkin Hotel in Clayton, NM is pretty cool.
Get off I-40 in Elk City, OK and begin a NW approach to Raton through the TX panhandle. Hwy 64 from Clayton to Raton is where the Folsum Man museum and Capulin Volcano National Monument is located.
Buy some Hatch Chilis while you're in Raton. They will be roasting them in the parking lot of the local grocery store.
There are 2 rules to success:
1. Never tell everything that you know.
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Go to the Stockman Cafe in Oklahoma City for any meal. It is a fantastic place to eat and not expensive either. I think it can also be known as the Cattleman's Cafe. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaur...ds_City_Cafe-Oklahoma_City_Oklahoma.html
Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.
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Oops. Forgot another place.
There is a pizza place in downtown Raton about 100 feet off the main street. Really good pizza and cold beer there. I think the name is Bruno's or something close to that.
The Oasis has a great breakfast and lunch but has reportedly sold since we were last in Raton. Reviews are mixed now.
Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.
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Best Western Plus in Raton is the best place to stay-also it has Mulligan`s, the best restaurant/bar in town.
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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I’d recommend all of those places except the Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo. It’s a tourist trap and not a representation at all of what a really good TX mesquite grilled steak is like. Also, the Volcano is definitely worth the drive to the top and they have a neat little museum and the cleanest nicest restrooms to take a dump in 🤠 Right down the road from the Volcano there’s a neat museum of very early Native American artifacts and the discovery sight of some of the earliest made arrow heads in N. America Also, if your In Amarillo, your very close to Palo Dura Canyon It’s the second largest canyon in the US and definitely worth the short drive from Amarillo https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/palo-duro-canyonAlso, you’ll be close to Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument https://www.nps.gov/alfl/index.htm
Last edited by chlinstructor; 08/06/19.
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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tnscouter,
The Washita Battlefield National Historic Site in Oklahoma is well worth a visit, or at least my wife and I thought so. It's where George Armstrong Custer thought he learned how to fight large camps of Plains Indians in 1868, which ultimately led to his death on the Little Bighorn in Montana eight years later.
Better yet is to visit both sites, but Montana is a long side-trip from your basic route.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
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Joined: Oct 2004
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2004
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The area between Clayton NM and Raton ushers in a GORGEOUS geographical transition. From barren brown plains to gorgeous green groomed looking meadows to Sierra Grande giving you a welcome to the Rockies to the snow covered peaks of the Sangres in the western sky. Capulin Volcano is close and elk are a common site at Sugarite SP. The herds of Antelope I saw there a week and a half ago were huge. Take some binos and scope out some trophy bucks.
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We always swing in and eat at the Big Texan in Amarillo TX on our way to Raton
Maker of the Frankenstud Sling Keeper
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Campfire Tracker
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Drive down to Palo Duro Canyon south of Amarillo. You can do a quick “driving tour” of the park and get a good look at the Canyon. Skip the Big Texan. It is a tourist trap. Coyote Bluff is a real “dive” hamburger place, right off I-40. Get the onion bun, and onion rings NOT fries. The Panhandle Plains Museum, on the campus of West Texas A&M, is cool, too. Huge natural history museum.
There’s a ton of really nice cabins in Angel Fire, NM. Just 30-45 mins from Philmont, and a nice place to stay if you’re resting before heading back.
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