“What The Hell Was That?”: The Claude Zebra On US-287

Anybody who's lived in Amarillo for any length of time can tell you, we're certainly no stranger to weird attractions. I mean, hello! You've seen our odd signs, caddys nosedown in the dirt, etc..

Weird is our normal out here. But that definitely doesn't mean we don't appreciate the other roadside oddities that can be found outside the city limits. In fact, I'd say that it's a true thrill to come across that one thing that pops up out of nowhere and leaves us scratching our heads asking "What the hell was that?!"

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Yes. Yes. Now come closer, my dears. I've got a little something to show you.

You might have to squint a little, but she's out there.

See her?

Maybe if we get a little bit closer.

And closer....

Now you see her!

Behold. The Claude Zebra of US-287.

Crikey! Innit a beaut? What a gorgeous sheila right there.

First time I saw her while driving down US-287 I was completely baffled.

It's not every day that you see this random old zebra safari truck sitting pretty on the side of US-287. The first time I caught it out of the corner of my eye, my first thought was, "we don't have any zebras around here".

What are we doing with a zebra safari-type truck when there are clearly no zebras in the Texas Panhandle?

Well, before we say that, we should probably check with Rick Looby and see if he has any, but I digress.

Turns out, this truck WAS indeed used for something back in the day. According to a comment on this Facebook post, it was once used as a tour vehicle at Elkins Ranch.

If you're unsure of what that is, Elkins Ranch does Jeep tours in Palo Duro, and they have all sorts of different Jeeps and paint jobs that they do to them. They're always quirky and fun to help add to the experience.

Now the real question is, why is this just sitting on the side of the road? There don't seem to be any markings on it like they're using it for promotion of their tours or anything. Maybe they just wanted to add to the quirkiness of Amarillo?

Regardless of the reason, it's funny to see and I like it. I say leave it right there for all the other travelers like myself who will have a moment of whiplash while crying "What the hell was that?!"