Texas – Page 2 – Wandering Dawgs

Bonjour Ya’ll!

May 1, 2015Posted in COE Park, Road Trip, RVing, Texas, Tourist AttractionsTagged Chisum Days, Chuck Wagon Race, Eiffel Tower with red cowboy hat, Paris Texas14 Comments

Bonjour ya'll from Paris, Texas! — Bonjour ya’ll from Paris, Texas!

Paris, Texas was our last stop in Texas. Of course we couldn’t miss the Eiffel Tower with a red cowboy hat. It is located between the civic center and a very impressive Veteran’s Memorial. The replica of the Eiffel Tower was originally dedicated in 1993 and was 65 feet tall. In 1998 the red cowboy hat was added to make it a few feet taller.

We walked around the town square and stopped by the Chamber of Commerce to pick up some postcards and find out more about the area. The Chamber shares space with an art gallery and we enjoyed talking with one of the artists who grew up in the Atlanta area but now lives in Paris.

While at the Chamber I spied a brochure for Chisum Days with Chuck Wagon races on Sunday. I didn’t know what to expect at a chuck wagon race but it sounded like something we didn’t want to miss. I love it when we happen to be in the area when a fun event like this is taking place. Usually I see a poster for something I’d like to do and it was last week or next month.

The event was a fund raiser for the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars and was held at Lake Crook Park just north of Paris. We attended the event on Sunday, the last day. Rain had left the grounds pretty muddy. There were horse trailers, RV’s and trucks parked all around a large field where the races would take place. We arrived about an hour before the races began and enjoyed watching all the activity as people went about preparing for the races.

Showing of the Colors and the National Anthem to open the event

The races were really fun to watch. If not for a great announcer we wouldn’t have known what was going on. Each team consisted of a driver, a cook, and an outrider. Two teams competed at a time. At the start of the race each outrider had to load the wagon with a bedroll and cook box before mounting their horse. Each team rounded a barrel before racing around through the woods to the finish line. To win the race the outrider had to cross the finish line before the wagon and the wagon had to have both the bedroll and cook box. All this happened in less than two minutes!

A muddy day — An outrider racing through the mud

What a great ending to our Texas adventure!

We camped at Pat Mayes West Corps of Engineers Park north of Paris in Powderly, Texas. It was an older park with most of the other campers there for the boating and fishing.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Motion

April 29, 2015Posted in Photography, TexasTagged Chuck Wagon Race, prairie dog, Weekly Photo Challenge10 Comments

The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge this week is: Motion

Prairie Dog Running through the campground — Prairie Dog Running at Lake Arrowhead State Park

Prairie Dogs and Wildflowers at Lake Arrowhead

April 28, 2015May 26, 2015Posted in Road Trip, RVing, State Parks, Texas, Wildflowers, WildlifeTagged bluebonnets, drought, Lake Arrowhead, Nature, oill pump, Prairie Dogs, walking beam25 Comments

Every once in a while we discover an unexpected gem of a park. We just needed a quiet, restful place to stay for a couple of days after our adventure in Palo Duro Canyon. A place where we could buy some groceries and just chill. Lake Arrowhead State Park south of Wichita Falls sounded like it would fit the bill. As it turned out we enjoyed it so much we stayed an extra day.

It was wonderful seeing so much green after the brown plains of Texas. We had a nice big site with plenty of green grass and trees. There were hardly any other campers in the park and we sometimes felt like the only ones there.

Green all around at Lake Arrowhead — A great place to chill

Texas has been going through a drought for several years and many lakes have suffered because of it. Lake Arrowhead is really low and has been for a while. The fishing pier is high and dry and all of the boat ramps are closed.

There is a Prairie Dog Town in the park that has spread to some of the campsites. Some of the holes were right beside the road and Blondie tried to stick her nose in them as we walked by. The Prairie Dogs would scamper away to their hole and disappear as Blondie and I approached on foot. They would stay around longer when we drove by in the truck.

Prairie Dog Mama and babies — Prairie Dog Mama and her pups next to the picnic table in one of the campsites

Prairie Dog at Lake Arrowhead — Prairie Dog protecting his turf

There is a working oil pump in the campground. After seeing so many of them in the fields as we drove through Texas it was interesting to see one up close. The engineering term for this type pump is a walking beam. More common names for it are horsehead pump, nodding donkey, beam pump, rod pump, grasshopper, thirsty bird, pump jack or jack pump.

I was happy to see bluebonnets and other wildflowers growing beside the road.

Bluebonnets at Lake Arrowhead

Unknown Wildflower at Lake Arrowhead

Unidentified wildflower Lake Arrowhead

Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush at Lake Arrowhead

It was a great place to chill before continuing our trek east.

The ranger who checked us in was very friendly and helpful and gave us great directions to shopping in Wichita Falls. She also recommended the Branding Iron for barbeque and it was delicious.

Our site was a pull through with paved pad, large grass sitting area, a covered picnic table and fire ring. The site had water and electric hookups. There was a bath house close by, several picnic areas and hiking trails in the park.

If you would like to read my detailed campground review of this park, click here.

Palo Duro Canyon – The Grand Canyon of Texas

April 23, 2015May 24, 2015Posted in Road Trip, RVing, State Parks, Texas, WildlifeTagged hiking, Lighthouse Hike, mule deer, Palo Duro Canyon, Texas Horned Lizard, Texas Longhorns, wild turkeys21 Comments

I was really looking forward to camping in Palo Duro Canyon. Just the idea of looking up at the canyon walls from our campsite was enough to plan our trip around a stay in the park. It was worth the two mile drive into Palo Duro Canyon down several switchbacks and a 10% grade to get to one of our most memorable campsites in all of our camping years. Our site in the Sagebrush campground had great views of the canyon and a private little sitting area behind our RV.

Known as the Grand Canyon of Texas, Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States. With 16 miles of paved roads through the canyon and miles of hiking, biking, and horse trails, there is enough to make everyone happy.

One of the most popular trails in the park is the Lighthouse Trail through the canyon for a close up look at the Lighthouse formation, the symbol of the state park. The multi-use trail is about a 6 mile round trip from the parking lot. We started out early on a cool Sunday morning and encountered cyclists, runners, and other hikers but no horses along the trail. A transplanted Georgian who now lives in Amarillo stopped to chat as we passed each other on the trail.

The trail was packed red dirt and rock but not difficult. Our plan was to go to the base of the lighthouse but when two different hikers stopped to tell us about two rattlesnakes ahead of us I was done. Henry went a little farther and tried to convince me there was no sign of them but I wouldn’t budge! I was tired and ready to head back so we turned around about .2 miles before the end of the trail. We were done for the day when we got back to the campsite and loafed the rest of the afternoon.

Starting the Lighthouse Trail

Along the Lighthouse Trail

Juniper on the trail

Is this a purple sage beside the trail?

Our first view of the lighthouse from the trail

Hoodoo on the Lighthouse Trail

The Lighthouse

Hoodoo on the Lighthouse Trail

Henry searching for rattlesnakes on the trail

Although there was no wildlife along the trail (except for the rattlesnakes we didn’t see) there was plenty of wildlife in the park. On the first afternoon I spotted a threatened Texas Horned Lizard in our campsite.

This Texas Horned Lizard ran through our campsite

This Mule Deer beside the road wasn’t afraid of me.

Wild Turkeys wandered through the campground one evening.

We took a short hike to explore the Hole In the Wall.

Hole in the Wall

Henry climbed up to explore while Blondie and I waited below

And explored the replica of a Cowboy Dugout.

There was a rainbow one afternoon.

We saw T-Bone, one of the resident Texas Longhorns in the park.

We enjoyed our stay so much I think this is now my favorite state park!

There are several campgrounds in Palo Duro Canyon State Park with backpacking, equestrian sites, tent sites, and RV sites with water and electricity.Our site in the Sagebrush Campground had large private sitting area with a covered shelter over the picnic table and a fire ring. There are hiking, biking and equestrian trails. There are also several day use picnic areas, cabins, stables with guided horseback rides, an interpretive center, and the Trading Post Restaurant and Park store. If you would like to read my detailed campground review of this park, click here.

Into the Texas Plains

April 18, 2015May 26, 2015Posted in Historic Sites, Road Trip, RV Parks, RVing, State Parks, Texas, Tourist AttractionsTagged Abilene, Buddy Holly, Buffalo Gap, Frontier Texas, Lubbock, The Crickets17 Comments

The landscape changed from vibrant green rolling hills and roads lined with bluebonnets to flat, brown plains as we drove north to the small town of Buffalo Gap where we camped at Abilene State Park. Huge buffalo herds once traveled through the area where the town is today. Many of the cattle drives also came through the area.

Visiting with my friend Tim was the highlight of the day!

We had a great visit with my high school friend Tim, a 7th generation Texan who has lived in Arlington most of his life. He picked a beautiful, sunny day to drive over to Buffalo Gap to see us.

We drove to nearby Abilene to see the western heritage exhibits at the Frontier Texas museum in Abilene. We learned a lot about the history of the area from the prehistoric days to the wild west. Everything was very well done through exhibits and two excellent films.

Outside the Frontier Texas Museum in Abilene

Buffalo Skulls

Closeup of one of the skulls

Map of Texas Cattle Trails

Buffalo Hump was the name of a fictional character in Lonesome Dove

Buffalo Weather Vanes

Giant buffalo skull at Frontier Texas

From Buffalo Gap we continued through the Texas panhandle driving through miles and miles of plains to Lubbock. Around Sweetwater we saw huge wind farms on top of the buttes and lots of oil pumps across the plains. As we approached Lubbock there were huge cotton fields on either side of the road.

The highlight of our trip to Lubbock was a visit to the Buddy Holly Center. Buddy Holly was born and raised in Lubbock and began his music career there. Two of his biggest hits with Buddy Holly and the Crickets were “That’ll be the Day” and “Oh Boy”.

Buddy’s music was a big inspiration to many of the British bands who became superstars later. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Elton John all credit Buddy Holly as a big influence in their music. The Rolling Stones first hit, “Not Fade Away”, was a Buddy Holly song.

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. Richardson (“The Big Bopper”) died tragically in a plane crash on February 2, 1959 while touring across the Midwest. One of the members of Buddy’s touring band for the tour was Waylon Jennings. Waylon was supposed to be on the plane but gave up his seat to J.P. Richardson who had the flu.

Buddy Holly Statue and West Texas Hall of Fame

Buddy Holly

We toured the house where “That’ll be the Day” was written

McCartney Oak commemorating Sir Paul McCartney’s concert in Lubbock on October 2, 2014

Crickets Avenue in downtown Lubbock

Chopped brisket sandwich at Triple J Chop House, Lubbock

The Lubbock Railway Depot now houses art exhibits at the Buddy Holly Center

Buddy Holly Center, Lubbock, Texas

To visit Abilene we stayed at Abilene State Park in Buffalo Gap. Our site was a large back in surrounded by woods with water and electric hookups, a picnic table and fire pit. Go here to read my review of this park.

To visit Lubbock we stayed at the Mesa Verde RV Park in Wolfforth. Our site was a large pull through with full hookups. The park has a swimming pool (not open when we were there), two laundries, free WiFi, two enclosed dog walks, and very nice, helpful owners. Go here to read my review of this park.