The LNER Encyclopedia

... so new members will have to wait until Sunday before I can authorise their memberships.

We're off to the Texas Panhandle cycling and hiking. A dose of railways will be in the form of the trailway which we'll cycle. A former railroad route, it includes the moderately famous "Clarity Tunnel".

Yes, the Texas Panhandle is where the grass fires are, but they're further north than our destination (the towns of Quitaque and Turkey).
Yes, the Texas Panhandle is where Amarillo is - but we won't get within 80 or so miles of the place (everyone in the US is oblivious of the song's popularity in the UK last year)


Richard

Enjoy yourself and atleast there will be at least one of the smells of a steam railway (the smoke that is).

I'm back!

Not much in the way of smokey smells - the fires were much further north, although a small one did start up near Childress (which we drove through).

The last I heard, the fires were virtually contained and today's rain must have really helped. I think they're estimating 850,000 acres burnt (about the size of Rhode Island), 11 deaths and "thousands" of cattle dead.

It is very yellow and drive - well until this morning when we were awoken with hail and thunderstorms.

Some good hiking in Caprock Canyons State Park, and we cycled about 9 mile round trip on some of the trailway (part of the old Fort Worth & Denver Railroad) to Clarity Tunnel, then walked through. The bats are only just arriving (they migrate), we could only hear a few squeaks. Also lots of dusty guano in there - especially in the bend in the tunnel where is darkest and the wind probably piles it up.

Other wildlife included a rattle snake, probable coyotes howling in the evening, and of course some roadrunners! I've seen them before, but this time I saw the classic high speed "meep meep" pose as they dart across the road in front of your car!
Speaking of coytes and roadrunners, we really did drive through a town called "Acme"!


Richard