So I'll be the first to say I was skeptical about going to a pumpkin farm when I first heard about it.

My brain immediately thought of pumpkin patch. I couldn't figure out why a pumpkin farm was such a huge draw.

Then I pulled up at Maxwell's Pumpkin Farm, and I immediately took back all my initial thoughts. I was amazed at how massive the place was, and all I could see was the front. I didn't realize how deep it went towards the back. Let's get to it.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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One of the first things you see when you walk in is the "Golden Goat Bridge". I got a good chuckle out of this one because I'm such a big fan of San Francisco. Loved the play on words of "Golden Gate Bridge". Yes, there were live goats in there for the kids to see.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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It's the great pumpkin Charlie Brown! Ok ok, maybe not THE great pumpkin, but the inflatable pumpkin for the kids to go in screamed Halloween and fall.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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Tricycle races anyone? Loved how there was an actual little dirt track here with several trikes ready to roll.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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Yes, of course my kids hopped on the bikes and raced each other. It was entertaining watching my oldest fall off it while he was pedaling. In the background however, you can see the elaborate playground that was built for the little ones to have some fun on.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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While the kids were racing on the trikes, I decided to snap a pic of the goats watching my kids race each other. I was hoping one of the goats would jump out join them in the race. It's the only time I was let down.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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The tricycle racing wasn't the ONLY racing there. Check out the "Barnyard 500"! These are actually pedal go-karts (yes, no engine) with a bit of a bigger and windier track. The boys really had some fun on this one, even crashing into each other at one point.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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Hey, no farm is complete without the train ride around it right? I loved how creative they got with the seats on the train. Big water barrels painted like cows. Yes, my kids jumped back to when they were 3 years old and took a trip.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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Test your agility on the ropes/bridge course they have by the "Barnyard 500". The kids ripped through it pretty quickly. I decided not to test my nimbleness.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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Next up was the hay bale pyramid. The kids ran up this thing like they were the king of the mountain...or bale. My oldest tried to get cute and skip bales coming down...and nearly turned an ankle.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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This was the most interesting trampoline I've ever seen. They kids got decent air for what it was, but they were also being cognizant of others around them. My youngest turned it into a baseball game however and practiced his head first slides on it.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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As we started to make our way towards the back end of Maxwell's, we came along this. It was like a giant tube swing. I've never seen something like it, but the kids seemed to enjoy themselves on it.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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We've made our way to the slides. You walk up this hill with a potato sack, choose your slide (there's several to choose from) and down you go. This was the point of the day where the wife and I found a table to sit down at. We knew they were gonna be awhile.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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Next to the slide hill is a zipline you can zoom down. However, you have to purchase a special pass/token at the front in order to do this. We didn't know that, so sad to say the kids didn't get to fly down it.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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Next up for us was the obstacle course. The wife and I just about backed out of this one, but the boys informed us there were spots to walk around the obstacles. We took the easy way out.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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The boys on the other hand did not.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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The fun doesn't end there though. As you work your way to the other quadrant of the farm, you walk through the pumpkin patch. TONS of different types of pumpkins to choose from, and still quite a few left in all sizes and shapes.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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Once you make it through the pumpkin patch, you arrive at the corn maze. This year it's in the shape of the Amarillo Sod Poodles logo. Kinda cool if you ask me, and intricate.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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We entered...and nearly didn't make it out. In fact, we came out at the wrong spot initially. Not exactly sure how we ended up there, but after about 15-20 minutes, we managed to find our way out. I highly recommend scanning the passports before going in. We failed to do that. It may have helped.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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As you work your way back to the front to purchase the pumpkins you picked up, you come across some fun carnival style games to play. Both my kids are big baseball players, so they spent a good 10 minutes trying to throw the balls through these holes. It's not as easy as it looks.

Ryan Kramer
Ryan Kramer
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After you've purchased your pumpkins and get ready to leave, you can try your hand at some calf roping. No, they aren't real calves as you can see. Honestly that's probably a good thing for my city boys. I'm pretty sure they just walked up to them, put the rope around it then pulled.

A couple of the extra things to do that I didn't get pictures of were the paintballs you can shoot and apple launchers. These are also extra things to do that don't come with the basic pass, but watching the people participate in these activities makes me want to go back and do it.

Maxwell's is open through Halloween weekend...then the transformation happens, so get out while you can!

The Abandoned St. Anthony's Hospital on Amarillo Boulevard


The 119-year-old abandoned hospital is a fascinating place for any who are lucky enough to be granted the chance to explore.

The sprawling building saw thousands of Amarillo's citizens inside its halls daily, all the the way until it was shuttered in 2001. But there are still incredible artifacts of the all-too-recent past tucked away in the nooks and crannies of the old St. Anthony.

The explorer who took these photographs gave the following information:

"Many rooms were left untouched, we found patient files, old prescriptions, a blood transfusion machine from the 60s, and microscopic slides of breast cancer from the 70s and 80s. I put one picture in here of some heart scans so you can see the dates and diagnosis of the patient, but marked out the patient’s names of course. During a time when mental illness was not understood, 76 exorcisms were documented to have been performed between 1909 and 1931."

Take a look inside the halls of the legendary abandoned St. Anthony's hospital

The Abandoned Herring Hotel in Amarillo, Texas

You may have passed it a million times while driving downtown, or you may be new to town. Either way, chances are you've seen the beautiful Herring Hotel. The beautiful aging brick tower sits unoccupied on 3rd and Pearce streets. It's a grand building that stands as a reminder of Amarillo's early days as a cattle and oil town and it tells the stories well.

If you've ever wondered what's inside this towering building, just take a peek below.

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