April 11-13, 2024

We finally entered Palo Dura Canyon in Texas, just south of Amarillo in the NW corner of the Texas Panhandle. We parked in the Visitors’ Center and our mouths sort of dropped open! We read that this is the second largest canyon in the US – second only to the Grand Canyon. The views were awesome, the day was beautiful, and we were headed to the floor of the Canyon where the campgrounds were. It’s a 10% grade as vehicles descend – testing Van Go to see how she’d handle it.

We headed towards the Mesquite Camp Area – the very farthest camp area – but we got to see the whole park as a result. SO different from Augusta, GA! We were so excited to be here, with the exception that the trails were all closed due to all that rain that had come through a couple of days ago. Oh well, roads are good for walking, too.

The first day we just walked the roads and talked with other campers. Part of the fun of camping is talking with other campers. We never seem to encounter any grumpy people – everyone seems to be pretty happy when they are relaxing out in nature. The second day, we got word that the trails had been opened. But first, we had to change campsites – we couldn’t get reservations for any one campsite for two nights in a row. Yes, even in April the parks are busy, busy. We moved to Hackberry Camp Area – views were not as thrilling, but it was close to some of the trails. After settling in, we headed out on the Paseo Del Rio trail, which followed along a river – well, this time of year it was a creek – and went past a cowboy dugout – an example of what many of the cowboys lived in when they were handling herds of Bison that used to be in the Canyon.

At one location we were able to see a juvenile burrowing owl. It just sat still as people took pictures. Then one morning we awoke and found a rabbit looking around our campsite. Then when we were driving to our new location, we saw this Flood Gauge next to a bridge. I guess those creeks can turn into rivers pretty quickly when it DOES rain.

We took one final hike before we left the park to continue the journey. Along the road we saw a sign that said CAVE – didn’t want to miss out on anything. We pulled over and headed UP. Some of the climb was on hands and knees, but we made it to the top.

We’ve seen lots of other RV’s on our trip, but occasionally we come across some that are unique. We spotted these two in the park, one from days gone by and the other a former ambulance that a California girl was converting to a home. Probably the cheapest thing she could find in California.

And it’s time to move on…