Austin and I traveled to Palo Duro Canyon on Saturday morning, a five and a half hour journey up into the pan handle of Texas. It was a long, straight and flat journey through fields and small towns, but, as I've mentioned in a previous post, there's something beautiful about the simplicity of the landscape and the openness of the sky. You really do feel like you're in a globe.
The journey there went well until we passed through the town of Memphis and the sky decided to sit on us. The clouds were so low and black and heavy that all conversation in the car stopped, and we sat in eerie silence. As you've probably seen or experienced, the weather in Texas recently has been crazy to say the least; flash flooding, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. The sky that came upon us showed signs of all three. Without a word, Austin pressed down on the accelerator. The worst we experienced was some flash flooding and a couple of hair raising moments due to lack of visibility. We were very relieved to pass through to the other side.
When we finally arrived at Palo Duro, we were instantly in awe. After hours of flat scenery, the land suddenly dropped into the second largest canyon in America (after the Grand). The views from the top were breathtaking, and as we descended to the campsite on the canyon floor, we felt like we were descending into a John Wayne Western. Rocky outcrops, bright red soil, flowering cacti and creeks as far as the eye could see. These photographs do not do the place justice:
We set up camp in our designated spot about 15 yards from a rushing creek (as I mentioned before, we've had a lot of rain recently). Next to us, also in a tent, was a group of four college lads, and on the other side was a family in their camper van. On the other side of the road were a few impressive RVs.
Rain and thunder was forecast, so we pitched our tent under a cluster of trees for added shelter, although we did feel snug in the bottom of the canyon. After a quick explore of the immediate area, the rain arrived, and we were ushered into one of our neighbouring RVs for a beer and chat while the storm passed. Gotta love Texas hospitality!
Our tent withstood the rain well and was as dry as a bone inside. Thank you Coleman!
Then the craziness happened...
It was around 8pm, and Austin and I were playing cards in the tent when we heard the panicked voices of the college lads next door. We peeked out to see that the creek had tripled in size and was continuing to grow at a rapid rate! Everyone stepped up to help as we moved their tent, our tent and the family camper van to the other side of the road. Luckily, we had no more rain that night, and the creek was back to normal width the next morning.
During the night, Austin sat up with wide eyes as he was sure he had heard something moving outside the tent. We had fearful thoughts of bob cats, coyotes or cougars, but to be honest it was probably either the wind or a wild turkey. There are bob cats, coyotes and cougars in the canyon, but they tend to keep away from humans.
There are many trails to explore at Palo Duro Canyon, as well as zip lining, horseback riding and much, much more. We decided to do the Lighthouse hike, a six mile round hike to the Lighthouse rock formation.
On Sunday, the weather was glorious. We packed some water, put on our sensible shoes, slapped on the sunscreen and set off:
The Lighthouse!
When we had climbed to the base of the Lighthouse, we enjoyed the views and spotted a herd of wild goats standing on the ridge on the far side of the canyon. We also saw lizards, blue jays, vultures, buzzards, land squirrels, wild turkeys and a rattle snake (well, two veterans walking behind us saw the rattle snake, not us, but it still counts!)
Later that afternoon, once we'd arrived back at the camp, we ate a victorious post-hike burger, drank a ton of southern iced tea, hopped in the car and began our journey home. Yes, we traveled five and half hours for only one night, but it was totally worth it!
My advice to anyone who lives in Texas, and even those of you that don't, is to pay Palo Duro Canyon a visit. You will not be disappointed! Plus, you can have an epic hotcake breakfast at the Ranch House Cafe diner in Canyon town, where the average age is 65+ and the waitresses know their locals by name (shout out to Larry!).
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