Palo Duro Canyon - the nicest backyard of my life!
Palo Duro Canyon is in Texas and not many people have heard of it. They should hear! It is the second largest canyon in the country, second only to the Grand Canyon (duh!) but it is a completely different experience than the Grand Canyon. At the Grand Canyon you feel exhilaration at the depth and the breadth of ever changing layers of rocks and formations. At Palo Duro Canyon you feel a soothing calm from the gentle slopes and swoops that seem to envelop you while, at the same time, feeling expansive and free. At the Grand Canyon your brain can not process everything quite perfectly so it almost feels two dimensional; like a painting of the Grand Canyon rather than the real thing. Don’t get me wrong, the Grand Canyon was a magnificent work of endless time and overwhelming beauty. Palo Duro is similarly magnificent, but in an approachable manner.
First, some details… Palo Duro Canyon is about 120 miles long, as wide as 20 miles in some spots and is about 800 feet in depth. In contrast, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, 18 miles at its widest and is about 6000 feet deep. The Grand Canyon’s formation began 5-6 million years ago; at only 1 million years old, Palo Duro Canyon is a relative baby. Palo Duro means hard wood and is named for the mesquite and juniper trees that used to grow in abundance here. There is evidence of habitation going back 10-15,000 years, but the first European settlers came about 1541. US military mapped the canyon in 1852, but it stayed in private hands until the state of Texas bought the 15,000 acres in 1933 and members of three crews of the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal Program under Roosevelt. The crews were World War 1 Vets, white and African American, and a crew of Youth Members. They worked incredibly hard and constructed the main road into the canyon as well as cabins, bridges, culverts and hiking and bridle trails… and the park, though not complete, was open to the public in 1934, just one year after it was acquired. Currently the Palo Duro Canyon State Park is over 25,000 acres strong. I have to share these stats only to show because everything feels “new” compared to other natural wonders… at least those I have seen. I find it fascinating.
But of course, all that fascination pales in comparison to being there. I have never experienced anything like it. The landscape was a familiar one and I have certainly experienced many a mountain in my day, but something about this place was magical to me. Walking back to the RV at one point, I was struck by the fact that this was the nicest backyard I had ever had!
My visit began with the descent into the canyon. I have described some pretty wild roads. I have been on twisty turny roads (and spell check still hates the word turny but tough!). I have been on some steep roads. This one beats them all… hands down… Well actually, hands gripping the wheel very very tightly! It is an 8% grade and the switch backs are intense. You can see from the pictures and the video how the road unfolds ahead of you. Believe it or not, it was even more treacherous feeling in just the car. I could not get it to stay slow even when I put it down to second gear. Finally, I switched it to sport mode and that seems to create enough engine breaking that I felt in control. WOW!
In a slightly different format today, I am going to share a couple of highlights, then tell the rest of the story through the pictures and comments on the pics. Let me know how that format plays for you on whatever you use to read this…
My campsite was gorgeous. As I said, the “backyard” was perfect, but the campsite itself was pretty wonderful. It was level and had a nice permanent canopy over a picnic table. It was very modern in design, yet totally southwest in feel. Well done Palo Duro Canyon!
The weather was a wee bit extreme at basically 100 degrees during the day. At 7:52pm when I went for my first drive, it was still 94 degrees outside. There was basically zero humidity and it really did make a difference. Still, went I went for a hike, I wore sun screen, sun glasses and a hat, and I brought two big bottles of water with me just in case. I only wound up drinking one of them, but I was proud that I actually listened and carried more. My walk was great. I was aiming to get to the rock formation known as the light house. It’s beautiful in all the pictures and is like a signature of the canyon. The walk was six miles so I was unsure of whether I could make it. Turns out I couldn’t. After two and a quarter miles I realized that I was already tired and aching. This fat boy is not in the best shape after all. So I decided to be prudent and turn around. I really struggled since I only had to go another 3/4 of a mile to make it… but I knew that means another 1.5 miles added to an already long walk. So Adult Steven guided Kid Steven back. I took a picture of the lighthouse from afar… and have a stock photo to show you what I missed! However, I have to say that I was really happy taking a 4.5 mile walk in 100 degree weather. That is nothing to be ashamed of, for sure.
So here are the pics…
when you first start your descent, you are treated to an incredible site… the vastness of it is staggering. The road doesn’t seem too bad…
It starts getting steeper and steeper…
And you are never sure of what will be after the next curve… what lies ahead?
Ummmm… wait… is that the same road I am on?
I am not sure that you can tell from the pics, but this is one very very steep twisty road. 8% is quite the grade. When you are at the rangers station they tell you not to brake constantly. Downshift and let the engine do the work. Evidently they know from experience that brakes can burn out really quickly at 8 %. The next video shows me pulling into the camping area. You can see how beautiful it is. The campsites are wide and at an angle so they are easy to navigate. And like I keep saying… check out the back yard.
This series is from my first drive through the park the night I got there. The lower views are cool because they don’t overwhelm you. You get introduced to the canyon in small doses so you can fully soak in the beauty.
Then it starts to open up. Check out the crazy sky as the sun is setting. It looks like when you drop oil colors on water and watch them swirl.
Yup… I was really there. The next gallery is of the walk I took. Anyone else see a whale along the way? Someone else saw a turtle. I can see it, but I see the whale more. What do you see? OH… those rock formations where it looks like a rock is balanced on a pedestal… that is called a hoodoo… who knew?
OK… stock photo of the lighthouse rock formation. Never made it so…
The next gallery is of my campsite and the area around it.
Some shots from my last day there.. it is gorgeous.
I think this was the most expansive view… taken from the main building housing the gift shop, etc.
Saying good bye as I begin the steep ascent…