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Texas     This is land of cows, steaks, oil wells, cowboys, and desert. The biggest state in the lower 48, and not about to forget it. We passed through a bit of the panhandle. This was where things really changed. Entering Texas from Oklahoma, we were still in a fairly hospitable terrain, much like the midwest. With a few exception, it was surprising just how little the geography of the country changed. This was all to change in Texas. In the few hundred miles of the panhandle, we went from prairie, and woodland, to desert, butte, and canyon. The changes seemed to come all at once, as soon as we passed Amarillo.

	Well, here we are. It just looks like more of Oklahoma to me, still with a bit of that midwest feel.
	The land seems to be flattening out now, and mile after mile, changes are taking place. Things are getting noticeably drier, and more rugged. I also spot my first oil well, icon of Texas.
	A small town in Texas
	While the photo to the left looks conventionally midwestern, the photo below, taken maybe twenty miles further west, shows the beginnings of the high, dry prairie.
	Another Texas icon is the windmill. Though this first one seemed photogenic enough, by the end of the day we will have seen such a number that they will go by unnoticed.
	Yep, we are in Texas all right. These are not the same kind of cows we keep in Wisconsin, for milk. These are steaks and hamburgers on legs.
	Heading into the Texas countryside.
	More of the increasingly eroded landscape.
	A few scraggly trees are all that's left of the scattered woodlands we passed through, earlier in the day.
	Well, we sure do seem to be in the southwest now, or the west anyway. A few hours of travel have wrought considerable change in the landscape, but even more change is to come within the next few hours.
	Mixed vegetation, and subtly altered geography.
	This scrawny example will be the last naturally growing tree we see for hours. There is yet another windmill showing here.
	Note the succulents in the foreground. Though there are no sand dunes, cliffs, buttes, or exposed rock, these are desert plants, emphasizing the transition we are making as we travel.
	The lone prair-ee.
	A Texas landscape.
	A long view of the wide open and increasingly arid spaces of Texas.
	Entrance to a ranch (private entrance, the sign tells us). This is Texas indeed.
	A number of terrain shots, the land is getting dry, hot (it is June after all), and convoluted. the vegetation is changing. we are getting a different mix of grasses, along with sage, and a selection of desert plants.
	More scrub of the Texas panhandle. This is nothing like the grasslands we left a mere fifty miles back.
	Now who could resist such an offer. This is not the last to be heard on this subject.
	Not too far from Amarillo is this Texas rest stop and tourist information. It is an exceptionally windy day, and fairly hot. The center is air conditioned, which is welcome. It is also filled with maps, brochures, and other toys of the road.

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