Hiking Palo Duro Canyon

We spent four days camped at Palo Duro Canyon State Park in northwest Texas.

The campgrounds are all down on the floor of the canyon, which is the second largest canyon in the U.S.

It made for beautiful surroundings but no Verizon, so no blog posts.

We also had a wild ride weather-wise.

Sunday morning we went out early and hiked some of the Lower Comanche Trail.

I love the gray rocks that seem tossed around on the red soil.

We hiked up along the side of the canyon. The views were fascinating. The thin white layers are a form of gypsum.

We hiked up…

until the trail started to make its first descent. We turned back because we were worried about Matey getting too tired; not us mind you, it was the dog we were worried about.

Anyway, it was a lovely walk and the air was cool and crisp and the sky was mostly blue.

Then it got warmer and the wind began to really blow. They were having a dust storm up out of the canyon. It was so dusty at the campsite that we turned the air conditioner on rather than open any windows.

It rained just a little and there was so much dust in the air that the rain drops left mud marks on the windows!

I drove to the canyon rim in the afternoon when the wind had subsided a bit. The blue sky and vistas were still swallowed in the dust.

The next day the dust was gone and so was the warmth. We bundled up for another hike.

We hiked back the Lighthouse Trail as the sun poked through here and there to light up the canyon walls.

It was a nice wide trail, probably the most popular trail in the park. It goes back 2.8 miles to Lighthouse Rock, which is the symbol of the park.

Matey would be too worn out if we took him the whole way, but I wanted to get far enough back to see the rock.

Finally, at about a mile and a half I saw it and was able to get this picture.

On the walk back it brightened up but it didn’t get any warmer.

We finished this beautiful walk in snow flurries! No need for the air conditioner that day!

The next day, our last full day at the park, the weather was pretty nice, still chilly in the morning but more sun than clouds. We chose the Rock Garden Trail for our last hike.

This trail wound up through an ancient landslide on the side of the canyon.

It was our favorite of the three trails we walked.

That’s our campsite across the canyon.

It was a dramatic landscape in places.

We hiked the first mile of the trail, it went on another mile and a half until it reached the rim of the canyon, but a two mile hike was enough for Matey.

We still got to enjoy the views on the way back down.

And there were plenty of views to enjoy.

In the afternoon Matey and I drove up to the visitor center on the rim of the canyon. This stone structure was built in 1933 by the CCC.

Even the late afternoon walks Matey and I took on the canyon floor were lovely.

This canyon was the place of the last free stand of the plains Indians. Kiowa, Comanche and Cheyenne people were all living here with their horses and wild buffalo herds. At dawn on September 24 of 1874 the US Cavalry came down the canyon walls and attacked their settlements. The women and children fled on foot with only what they could carry. After driving away the warriors the cavalry came back and burned the villages and the winter stores. They rounded up 1,400 horses, took those they wanted and killed the rest – 1,100 horses. The natives, with no food, tools or horses walked 200 miles to the reservation at Fort Sill, ending their way of life.

As I enjoyed the beauty of this place I mourned their loss.