Natureblogging – Palo Duro Canyon

Palo Duro walls
Fade quickly from sunset red
As twilight sets in.

The day is over;
The cooling ev’ning feels fresh.
Enjoy the night air.

Palo Duro – still looks great and still broke

An overview of one of Texas' top tourist attractions, especially at a time like Memorial Day. I went on past Caprock Canyons and out to Palo Duro this weekend.

And more, from on the Lighthouse/Castle trail:



Looks great, indeed. But, on the ground?

It’s been three or four years since my previous trip to Palo Duro, one of the crown jewels of the Texas State Park system.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t get treated that way.

The water fountains at various restrooms that were broken at my last visit? Still broken.

The high-water crossings of the river? Most of them are at least partially blocked right now.

This is one of the top signs of why the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department needs to get 100 percent of the gun sales tax money.

For more on the modern history of the canyon, in its larger ecoregion, and how it just missed out on being made a national park (possibly including Caprock Canyons as well), read Dan Flores’ “Caprock Canyonlands,” “The Natural Wes.t” or “Horizontal Yellow”, all five-starred by me on Amazon.