They say that the sense of smell can evoke very powerful memories. All I know is that Friona, Texas has a certain delicate fragrance that I like to call Eau de Bovine. Imagine a town of 5000 people, half of whom work at the large beef slaughter plant 4 miles upwind from town, which is supplied by the million-plus feedlot cattle in the general vicinity.
I Took a trip to Kansas and the Panhandle of Texas for "business" last week. I had a very nostalgic visit to some of the beef plants I used to work in. I was also reminded how beautiful Nebraska is. On Thursday morning I had to drive from Amarillo to Plainview. There are several places where one can see for 15 miles in every direction without a single other than a fence-post. Sounds nice, right? Very scenic? Except there's also not a single tree or other feature, and the horizon is completely flat. No... I mean flat. Like a coffee table, only witout a matching end table. Like the middle of the ocean. It makes Nebraska look like a mountainous forest. I'm glad to be back.
On Friday I visited the Panhandle's best feature: Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Billed as the second largest canyon in the US, it's a great place to visit. Here's a picture that I took in April '03 at the canyon.
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