Muleshoe

Muleshoe is a town on the High Plains.

Muleshoe derives its name from a bit of whimsy supposedly, when an original settler named Henry Black found a mule's shoe in the soil and decided to call his ranch by that name. That was then applied to the town that sprung up when the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway arrived in 1913. There was so much patronage towards the humble mule that the townspeople erected a statue of the animal in this sleepy town.

• 🌍 National Mule Memorial, 198 E American Blvd. There's not just this mule statue in town, but also purportedly the world's biggest mule shoe somewhere. (updated Jan 2022)
• 🌍 Muleshoe Heritage Center, 2000 W Ash Ave, ☏ +1 806 272-5873. Kind of like an Old West museum, with reconstructed pioneer buildings and a Native American arrow statue and the like. (updated Jan 2022)

The National Mule Memorial at the Muleshoe Chamber of Commerce office

• 🌍 Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge, 1531 Co Rd 1248 (south of town), ☏ +1 806 946-3341. Open 24 hours. High Plains habitat for sandhill cranes. (updated Jan 2022)

• 🌍 Leal's Mexican Food Cafe, 1010 W American Blvd, ☏ +1 806 272-3294. M-Sa 11AM-9PM. The walls are adorned with cowboy hats. Since 1957. (updated Jan 2022)

• 🌍 Heritage House Inn, 2301 W American Blvd, ☏ +1 806 272-7575. The lobby is pretty inviting. $64. (updated Jan 2022)