Palo duro means “hard wood”. Hard wood canyon? Yes, and in the middle of the Texas panhandle.
We traveled to Amarillo from Lubbock through country about as interesting as Kansas and Nebraska. Flat, flat and flat. Grain elevators and the town of Happy are only moderately interesting. Then a few small canyons appear and then Amarillo. On the way in we passed a sign to “Palo Duro Canyon State Park” and wondered. Well, 3 hours later we were deep in the canyon on the way to the “Lighthous", pictured above. The thermometers at the parking area gave the temperature at 110 degrees f, and it was dry as a dry bone. Really dry. No breeze in most places. Snake country we were warned. (We didn’t see any, which is a pity really.)
So we hiked about 1.7 miles up the trail to the Lighthouse, to the point where you got a good view but a mile and a half short of the formation itself. We were already down 3 liters of fluid with no wet clothes. Sweat evaporates as soon as it forms. We were passed by lots of bikers and a few runners, and my god, we thought, how do they do it?
The canyon is a wonder of geology, with layer after layer of sediment exposed by erosion. History before your eyes. Native Americans first, then Spanish, then white Europeans, then the US army to clean out the Comanche and Kiowa people so cattle ranchers could take over. The CCC worked extensively in the 30’s, and today the canyon is a state park. The history is typical of the shameful treatment of native peoples by invaders and the canyon stands as a monument to the inhumanity of man to man. But that aside, it is a beautiful and worthy place to see.
It oozes spirituality. And silently mourns the heartaches suffered within its wall.
Image: http://www.palodurocanyon.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Duro_Canyon
We traveled to Amarillo from Lubbock through country about as interesting as Kansas and Nebraska. Flat, flat and flat. Grain elevators and the town of Happy are only moderately interesting. Then a few small canyons appear and then Amarillo. On the way in we passed a sign to “Palo Duro Canyon State Park” and wondered. Well, 3 hours later we were deep in the canyon on the way to the “Lighthous", pictured above. The thermometers at the parking area gave the temperature at 110 degrees f, and it was dry as a dry bone. Really dry. No breeze in most places. Snake country we were warned. (We didn’t see any, which is a pity really.)
So we hiked about 1.7 miles up the trail to the Lighthouse, to the point where you got a good view but a mile and a half short of the formation itself. We were already down 3 liters of fluid with no wet clothes. Sweat evaporates as soon as it forms. We were passed by lots of bikers and a few runners, and my god, we thought, how do they do it?
The canyon is a wonder of geology, with layer after layer of sediment exposed by erosion. History before your eyes. Native Americans first, then Spanish, then white Europeans, then the US army to clean out the Comanche and Kiowa people so cattle ranchers could take over. The CCC worked extensively in the 30’s, and today the canyon is a state park. The history is typical of the shameful treatment of native peoples by invaders and the canyon stands as a monument to the inhumanity of man to man. But that aside, it is a beautiful and worthy place to see.
It oozes spirituality. And silently mourns the heartaches suffered within its wall.
Image: http://www.palodurocanyon.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Duro_Canyon
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