Palo Duro Canyon

Our trip is going well. We started on Sat at 12:30 and got about 70 miles past St Louis and stopped for the night at a Cracker Barrel. Of course we had to have breakfast there the next morning. Then we travelled to Springfield Missouri and stopped at Bass Pro Shops main store, it was very interesting. From there we went on to Fred and Sandra's to spend the night. They were wonderful hosts; they let us park in their drive and Fred fixed a great steak for supper. Marcia did not participate in the steak thing but she did have a great meal topped off with Sandra's delicious lemon pound cake and ice cream. Fred suggested stopping at Palo Duro for our next stop and we thank him for that -- it is beautiful. It is the second largest canyon in the US after only the Grand Canyon. It is an amazing place. You are driving across this flat Texas caprock and all of a sudden here is this huge canyon.

This is a shot of the rim of the canyon taken from our campground which was in the bottom of the canyon. Let me tell you that was a white knuckle drive dropping off the rim and going almost straight down into the canyon. At least it seemed like it was almost straight down.

This is on a trail from the rim to the bottom(we did not go all the way). We were crossing this open area and the wind was blowing about 40 miles an hour which it did constantly for the first three days of the trip. It really isn't just a bad hair day for Marcia, it was all you could do to keep from being blown away.

This is a view down the canyon which I hope shows the canyon in all its splendor. The canyon is 120 miles long and has a lot of historical significance. The Indians used it extensively for protection from the elements and their enemies. Charles Goodnight also located his headquarters in the canyon.

This is yours truly on the trail. We are having a great time and will try to make updates as time and internet connections allow.