BIGGEST LITTLE SMALL TOWN

It has been a year since we started prepping our Phoenix house to sell. In a previous post I talked a bit about how God spoke to us it was time to "sell everything you have and come follow me". I wanted to dive a little further into that story, as I'm sensing it might be helpful to your own journey of learning how God moves us. Also, I can't wait to introduce you to the biggest small town I've ever seen.

I had a very vivid dream in April 2020. I was with my girlfriend in what appeared to be a game show. There was a reader board that would flip and ding with the survey answer. Think Steve Harvey and Family Fued. My girlfriend and I watched as the board flipped with a loud ding. “GLAMPER”. At the sound of the ding, my entire body felt a giant pulse and I woke up. The crazy part was the giant pulse wasn't part of the dream. I could literally feel electricity in my veins. When I fell back to sleep, it happened again. “GLAMPER”, followed by another electric shock. I woke up again. Then fell back to sleep. Then it happened a third time. Now the Lord had my attention.

In the Bible, when something happens three times, it's a pretty big deal. A prophet or rabbi would be asked three times if they were certain they wanted to take up their calling and follow God, no matter what the cost. The third letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the Gimmel - ג. The Gimmel is often associated with God Himself. It has three parts, a head, body, and foot. It is said that the three parts represent bestows, grows, and sustains. This means a person grows to bestow kindness and nourishment to his neighbors. In other words, when one grows and is ready, he can answer the call to minister others.*

The next day my close friend and mentor, who is gifted in dream interpretation, called me. I was on her heart. And she was definitely on mine. She said God was giving me a jolt. Three times meant it was confirmed. A jolt to notify me that the time was near when He would send us on the mission we had prayed about for 20-something years. Noted.

A short while later, when the world started falling apart (COVID, George Flloyd, rioting, looting, stolen election... all the things) Rimmel and I were chatting with my parents about the real estate market. The market in Phoenix, like many other places in the nation, had become an aggressive seller's market. There were plenty of buyers but historically low inventory, making it a great time to sell. Prices were at an all-time, post 2007 market crash, high. It was no doubt the best time to sell. I said, "If we sell, we're moving to Texas. Surely they will be the first to secedes this madness and I can keep my guns." But I am not a fan of major humidity, so my follow up statement was, "Where in Texas does it not feel like hell?" Because, you know, it's not like Phoenix ever feels like hell. Whenever people say, "Yeah, but it's a dry heat." I respond flatly with, "So is a forest fire." It's amazing that I made it eighteen years in Arizona, after being raised in Washington state. The only time I ever enjoyed the heat was from June to July, during the four short years we had a pool. Once your body has adjusted to dessert living, you don't get in the pool until it's been consistently over 105-110 degrees. Otherwise the water is too cold. But by August the water is too hot and feels more like a sauna, and who wants a sauna in the dessert? Mom grew up in Texas and she knows a few things. She immediately said, "Well, that's Amarillo.". Again, noted.

The next morning came instruction directly from God’s word to "sell everything and follow Him". I don't recall if it was just after this or just before, but one morning, Rimmel woke up with an impression in his heart. I was having my coffee and quiet time when he announced, "We need to move to a small town. We need to serve a small town that is seeking to grow.” Rimmel sensed that if we found a town that was showing a desire towards economic growth, we could take our knowledge of real estate markets, business trends, and population patterns to contribute in a meaningful way.

“How small?” she said. “No more than 40,000 people.” He said. “Hi, I'm Christy.” she said. “Have we met?”

I really didn't think I “did” small towns. I love uptowns. I had built my real estate marketing and interior design business around uptown living. (Check out my Pinterest to see inside my brain, Everyday Uptown) Although I have watched every season of Gilmore Girls all the way through, three times, so I suppose that means something. But inspiration from God is inspiration from God. So I Googled "small towns near Amarillo". And the most magical, adorable little city popped up.

I am pleased to introduce to you Canyon, Texas. It's called Canyon because it has a canyon. The canyon in Canyon, TX is the first canyon I’ve ever seen. Believe it or not, I lived in Arizona for eighteen years and to this day have never seen the Grand Canyon.

Canyon received the designation of a Main Street Town by the Texas Historical Commission. The program is hosted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation are there are currently more than 40 states that participate. It is founded on community involvement and public-private partnerships to preserve a town’s uniqueness and create an inviting atmosphere. It focuses on economic development within the context of historic preservation. The mission statement of the Canyon Main Street 501(c)(3) is "To improve quality of life for the citizens of Canyon and the benefit of the overall community, through the enhancement and promotion of historic preservation, restoration, business vitality, tourism, cultural and arts awareness." ** And they are doing an amazing job! These historical buildings are all centered around the original 1908 court house in town square.

Rimmel has determined that one day, he will get permission to re-enact the clock tower scene from Back to the Future here. This courthouse has been sitting in the middle of town square since 1910. The exterior was recently renovated. The town council hopes to renovate the interior soon.

The Johnston Do-it Best Hardware store and Rockin' Zebra Soda Shop are too stinkin' cute for words.

Palace Coffee is where it’s at. Local college students, business professionals, moms, and ministers hang out. The friendly atmosphere is just as addicting as the caffeine. And the original brick streets? Gorgeous!

You cannot visit Canyon without stopping by the Creek House Honey Farm. The owners, George and Paige
Nester, ordered two bee hives to pollinate their plants. Those two hives eventually became the honey farm!

Meet Tex Randall! Tex was constructed in 1959 by industrial arts teacher Harry Wheeler. According to CanyonMainStreet.org, “the original purpose was to advertise Wheeler’s Western Store. The last restoration effort for the statue was in 1989 when a truck crashed into Tex’s left boot.” The 47-foot cowboy was officially restored again in 2016 through a town fundraising effort.

Maybe this should have been two posts. Almost done showing you all the amazing things in this little gem of a town! The Bar Z Wines is a local tasting room that overlooks the canyon! All of their wines are made with Texas grapes grown in the Texas High Plains AVA (American Viticultural Area). They host live bands and a food truck every Saturday night and they are dog friendly!

And the frozen sangria…to DIE for. It’s a red frozen sangria with a white frozen sangria. You MUST, MUST, MUST visit the Canyon, even if just for the sangria.

And last but not least, the canyon. If the Grand Canyon had a baby, this would be it! Very few people know there is another canyon in the United States. We had no idea until we started researching small towns in the Texas panhandle. The Palo Duro Canyon has a descent of 800 feet. There is 16 miles of paved road that makes for a gorgeous drive. You can camp, visit the gift shop, and even zipline over the canyon!

The canyon also has an hosts the annual Texas Outdoor Musical. We haven’t had a chance to see it yet but we hear it is incredible! The show brings to life the struggles and triumphs Texas Panhandle settler’s in the 1800's. The Pioneer Amphitheater is carved out the natural basin of the canyon.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of the biggest-little-small-town I have ever come across. We had an opportunity to meet some of the city planners and staff. It is clear the locals are incredibly proud of their city, many having lived here for generations. The city plans to ‘grow right’ and has made strategic moves to support local business growth. You can read all about their incredibly successful schools, economic growth plans and more here.

*Bentorah, Chaim. Learning God's Love Language. 2018.

**https://canyonmainstreet.org/about/