Amarillo Texas

It was to much a drive from Datil N.M to the storage place in Anadarko Oklahoma ,having the time we divided the stretch every 300 Miles , our fist stop was in Vaughn N.M ,a small deserted village with few motels and C.G , we were quite surprised that the full price for one night was $40 , we payed only $20 for one night with 50% discount being Passport America members, no bathrooms but with full hook ups and Wifi.

We did not disconnect the truck and on the next morning chose to stop at Amarillo TX for 2 nights.

Years ago we hiked in the Palo Duro Canyon S.P https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/palo-duro-canyon and therefore looked to visit other attractions .

In the next morning we drove to the Historic 66 Hwy in down town Amarillo to watch the Annual Motorcycle Rally .

After celebrating Xmass in September with some bikers from Florida we headed to see a field of Cadillac's buried in the ground.... it was colorful and made me think -what came into the head of the guy that actually took a number of Cadillacs ,dug holes in the ground and buried them one next to the other...but it was very unusual and I like unusual..

By now we became hungry and what is a better place to go than the Big Texan Steak Ranch and Brewery...it is a huge establishment ,motel,restaurant,playground where they offer 72 once steak for FREE is one person can eat it in an hour... I did not go for it just did not want to get used to eat like that....

Not bad for one day….

Hiking Palo Duro Canyon S.P TX

The “Grand Canyon of Texas” is a myriad of recreational opportunities,rich history and colourful geology.The Canyon is 120 miles long and 800 feet deep,and the second largest canyon in the USA.

 

Palo Duro has a rich history ,Native American tribes in the area included Kiowa,Comanche and Cheyenne were defeated by  Col. Mackenzie in 1874 and were forced to leave the place.

We stood in the summer warm winds facing the outstanding vistas,rocks and colourful formation trying to imagine the lives of the first settlers in this remote wild area hoping it will be kept as it is without “modernizing” it any more, it has already a paved road,electrical hook ups and an amphitheater …..

 

We love all forms of wild nature , it brings us closer to creation and find it very easy to make friends that are nature lovers,and we will continue hiking as long as our knees and hearts will allow us to do so.

Every turn every step we took in the Canyon reviled a new panorama and it was tough to chose the right shots especially when Shula would always guide me to another picture angle…so here are some selected pictures .

Click on any picture to enlarge.

All the  pictures above can be taken by driving a car in the canyon and some times just few feet from the car,no need to hike and all this can be seen in just 2 hours….

On the next day and after this “orientation” drive through Palo Duro we decided to take the time to hike and see what is beyond the driven path but before doing that we “needed” an ice cream soda in the local ice cream parlour in Canyon TX,an old nice establishment with a nostalgic atmosphere.

On the following day at 0730 we woke to see this beautiful sunrise over our camp , a good sign for the rest of the day.

got our hiking gear and headed to the Canyon ,  we chose  to hike the LIGHTHOUSE trail that is considered to be the most scenic,popular and crowded (we meet only 2 hikers and 6 on a bicycle….)

The trail length is 5.5 Miles round-trip ,moderate difficulty except the last 400 feet  that are strenuous,the trail can be seen on the map above ,starting at the parking lot near “YOU ARE HERE” all the way to the lighthouse peak(the blue line).

During the 13 years since we started RVing we hiked quite a bit and I can sincerely say that this is one of the best sceneries I have experienced over the years , it can be compared to hiking in the Bryce Canyon S.P in Utah.

When we started the hike the temperature was around the 80’s but it heated up fast to 93F…..

We made sure to take it easy ,take pictures,look around and back to see how the scenery changes as we hike,there was no dole minute but the peak was after 2.5 miles when we suddenly saw the “Lighthouse” from far away.

Climbing up and down the last part was on a slide steep sandy path but it sure worth the effort.

   

This is how it looks at the peak,could not go higher…happy I brought my tripod.

    

The view from the top is breathtaking ,we forgot all about the heat,the sweat and just took it all in…

This hike was our last on this trip and a great way to “close” the season,it was fun ,colourful,interesting and we are already looking ahead to our next trip in summer 2015.

Thank you all for visiting our blog,hope to “see” you all again.

Paulo Duro Canyon S.P Texas

We are at the last month of our 13th summer RV trip , for some a month is a lot of time but I feel that it is close to the end ,we use the food that is in the pantry trying not to buy new groceries if it is possible, we look back and see that we covered a lot of grounds in Missouri,Arkansas and Oklahoma , we meet great people on the way and still have to meet more in Texas and Colorado.

After visiting Nowhere OK (there is a place with this name…)and throwing a farewell party  we said goodbyes to our new friends in Oklahoma Lonnie and Hazel that really made us fell at HOME , we felt like we know them for ages…it was a great visit but a sad moment but it was time to move and drive to Paulo Duro Canyon S.P Texas.

We found out that Linda and Marvin which we meet in 2009 in Vermont are on the way from Colorado to Texas so we arranged to meet in a C.G at the entrance to Paulo Duro S.P TX , it took some planning but finally we meet and had a great evening catching up.

    

After camping in Missouri and Arkansas we were used to green,trees and shade….well forget about it over here ,it is a DESERT,no shade or any vegetation ,it is all yellow…but we have full hook-ups and internet if we get close to the office.

The views and the sunsets were just great and we are anxious to explore the canyon in the 2 following days .