Monday, December 15, 2008

Turkey... Deer... Long Horn... Cardinals, what?

We just got in yesterday evening from a wonderful Christmas/Anniversary get away with the kids. Daddio rented the family another great RV to pull behind the SUV, this time a little larger (at 24'... as opposed the the 18' we rented in May). The boys really got a kick out of too, they each had their own bunk!

From our campsite we could watch the sunrise/sunset over the rim... and you can actually see the moon moving above the edge of the rock!

Oh, I guess I should tell you where these lovely shots are from... the Grand Canyon of Texas... or by its proper name... Palo Duro Canyons! What a truly magnificent place. Every where you look, you can see God's awesome hand at work.

The hiking is really great. They have several trails to choose from, for all different levels of hiking ability. We are fairly good hikers as a pack, and so the moderate trails were definitely fun in the mornings before us old folks were tired and sore... then in the evenings we chose the easier hikes.

This next shot is a picture of a formation known as The HooDoo, it sits on the southside (I think) of Capitol Rock. It is a really neat formation! You can see it on the Lighthouse Trail.

Speaking of the Lighthouse Trail... the Lighthouse is the most famous formation in the park... unfortunately (for us) it is a 6 mile hike roundtrip. That was a little more than my ankle (even 8 months past injury) can really handle. So we stopped at the 2 mile marker view point... you can just make out the formation in the upper left-hand corner of the frame.

And no hike is complete without horsing around on the trail. Here you see Bubba attempting to give Bobcat a piggy-back ride. Needless to say it wound up in a pile of laughter and little walking!

I give this park a huge thumbs up! The facilities were very nice, the park is well maintained, the trails were well marked and worn, and the wildlife is really great (although we didn't see the elusive Barbary Mountain Sheep, we have to go back, I must see them!). It is also definitely worth the drive! I will say, seeing how breath taking and overwhelming it is... I definitely want to experience the Grand Canyon... and soon :-).
Now, I must get back to the pile of stinky laundry!

1 comment:

Elizabeth said...

Gosh, I'd love to do that sometime in the near future! With gas prices being what they are, now's the time to rent an RV.