MarknRobin Making Memories: Palo Duro Canyon State Park in the Texas Panhandle

We spent our third night in a row in a Walmart parking lot (Pontiac Illinois, Joplin Missouri, Amarillo Texas:) and awoke to a cold, rainy day this morning. The Texans are all happy for the rain and a break from the heat:)

We drove to Palo Duro Canyon which is the second largest canyon in America (120 miles long and 800 feet deep) and known as the "Grand Canyon of Texas". We registered for a campsite tonight with electricity, water and SHOWERS. WooHoo!!

We spent the day driving around the canyon and hiking on the Lighthouse Trail. During rains, Palo Duro Canyon is subject to dangerous flash flooding and there are 6 posted areas along the park road with warnings to monitor the depth gauges and not cross if the water exceeds 6 inches. One section of the road was closed today because of water and there were several spots where the water had receded but obviously crossed the road overnight during the heavier rains.

There are also signs posted at the trailheads (along with large thermometers) to warn of the dangers of excessive heat when hiking in the park. It was fortunate for us that the rain and overcast skies had brought us cooler weather for hiking, although the trails were slick in many areas with slippery, "gooshy" red clay.

Although we had to be very careful to keep our footing and the heavy mud accumulated on our shoes, neither of us ended up on our behinds in the mud, despite a couple of close calls:) The moisture also seemed to accentuate the bright reds, oranges and greens of the surrounding landscape. Very Beautiful.

The Lighthouse Trail, which is considered moderate in difficulty, leads to a formation created by erosion called the "Lighthouse" which is 310 feet high and designated a National Natural Landmark. We attempted to hike to it (5.75 miles round trip/ 3-4 hours), but after an hour in we reached a spot that was steep and very slippery with no apparent way around it. I decided that was a good point to turn around because I had no desire to body surf down the incline in the oozy mud! We were able to see the "Lighthouse" from afar, but I didn't have the telephoto camera lens with me to get a better photo. It looked pretty cool through Mark's binoculars:)