Palo Duro Canyon – Wandering Dawgs

State 39:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state in my series is

Texas

Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Capital is Austin.

Texas is the second largest state by area and unless you’ve driven through Texas it is hard to comprehend the size. Our Texas adventures have taken us through the Texas Panhandle, mesquite and cactus covered plains, the green rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country, and the beautiful Texas Gulf Coast. Along the way we camped by beautiful lakes, near the Gulf Coast, in the second largest canyon in the United States, and a quite a few places in between. As we drove around the back roads we saw canyons and creeks, dance halls and wineries, historic sites and ranches, quaint small towns and old homesteads, toured museums, made a few hikes, attended a fiddle fest and chuck wagon races, met wonderful Texans, and saw more wildflowers than I ever imagined.

The lighthouse trail at Palo Duro Canyon, Enchanted Rock, and the Devil’s Waterhole Trail at Inks Lake were some of our favorite hikes.

Starting the Lighthouse Trail

Enchanted Rock

At the Summit of Enchanted Rock

View of the Lighthouse from the trail the first overlook

Devil’s Waterhole Trail at Inks Lake

The official Texas Longhorn herd is divided between a few state parks. At Copper Breaks State Park and Palo Duro Canyon State Park we saw them up close.

One of the official Texas Longhorn herd, at Copper Breaks State Park

Part of the official Texas Longhorn herd at Copper Breaks State Park

Longhorn kiss at Copper Breaks State Park

T-Bone, one of the Texas Longhorns

We planned a spring trip to Texas so we could see the bluebonnets in bloom. Texas is the only place on earth where some of the bluebonnet varieties bloom naturally. There were also many other wildflowers along the way.

Texas Bluebonnets in Laredo

Bluebonnets beside boot topped fence

Unknown wildflower beside a rest area in the Texas Plains

Bluebonnets at Lake Arrowhead

Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush along Park Road 4

Texas Bluebonnets in Laredo

Bull Thistle, Copper Breaks State Park

Wildflower growing along the road

Prickly Pear Cactus, Copper Breaks State Park

Wildflowers at Padre Island National Seashore

Bluebonnets near Stonewall, Texas

We found some wonderful places to camp. We especially enjoyed camping at many Texas State Parks.

Palo Duro Canyon

Copper Breaks State Park

Green all around at Lake Arrowhead

Relaxing behind our campsite at Inks Lake State Park, Burnett, Texas

Rain and fog couldn’t keep us from enjoying the three state parks and Padre Island National Seashore along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Sand Dunes at Mustang Island State Park

Hazy day at Padre Island National Seashore

Morning sky from our site at Goose Island State Park

Sunrise over the Gulf at Galveston Island State Park

There are many varieties of birds along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Sandhill crane and Whooping crane near Goose Island State Park

White Pelicans, Goose Island State Park

Whooping cranes, near Goose Island State Park

Roseate Spoonbills and Egret,Goose Island State Park

Green Heron

Great Blue Heron near Goose Island State Park

Whooping Cranes and Sandhill cranes near Goose Island State Park

Mallards at Inks Lake

Sandpiper with a tasty crab

Tri-Colored Heron

Texas Horned Lizards, Cottontail Rabbits, mule deer, white tailed deer, prairie dogs, and wild turkeys are some of the wildlife I was able to capture.

Texas Horned Lizard, Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Mountain Cottontail, Copper Breaks State Park

Wild Turkeys, Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Mule Deer, Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Prairie Dog, Lake Arrowhead State Park

We saw deer almost every day at Cranes Mill Campground

Being serenaded, attending a fiddle fest, listening to music in a dance hall, touring the Buddy Holly museum, going to Luckenback, and seeing signs about Willie Nelson reminded us of how important music is to the Lone Star State.

We were serenaded with a Bob Wills classic while we enjoyed our steak at the Big Texan

Llano Fiddle Fest 2015

Luckenbach, Texas

Buddy Holly Statue and West Texas Hall of Fame

Gruene Hall is one of the oldest dance halls in Texas

Gotta love Texas

For us, no trip to Texas would be complete without sampling some of their fantastic steaks and barbecue, especially the brisket.

Cooper’s Barbeque in Llano, Texas

Salt Lick Barbeque

Chopped brisket sandwich at Triple J Chop House, Lubbock

Brisket Sandwich at the Branding Iron in Wichita Falls

The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo

In Paris, Texas we stopped to see the Eiffel Tower with a red cowboy hat and attended chuck wagon races.

Eiffel Tower in Paris, Texas

Start of a Chuck Wagon Race

Spectators at the Chuck Wagon Races

There were interesting things to see all around the state.

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo

The Big Tree in Goose Island State Park in Texas is a 1000 year old live oak

A common sight in the Texas Plains

At the LBJ Ranch

Big Blue Crab in Rockport, Texas

Sculpture at the entrance to a ranch

One of the best things about visiting Texas is meeting native Texans. Without fail, every Texan we met was proud of their state and eager to share their favorite places to visit or where to find the best brisket. One woman I met had so many good suggestions about places to go I had to get a notebook out of the truck to take notes!

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee

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.