Palo Duro (Hard Wood)

After the nonstop stainless steelity and madcap excitement of the helium dingus, we went south to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Much better. Lots of cool stone buildings and crazy hairpin roads initially constructed by the CCC.



There was a 16 mile scenic loop drive along the floor of the canyon. Lots of camping and day use sites along the loop, as well as a few historic spots. One of which was a reconstruction of a dugout house/shelter built by one of the original (white) settlers. The canyon walls have some pretty specatcular geologic layering/stripeys, and in parts have weathered into cool fins and stacks.



At the 6 spots along the loop drive where the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River (yes, that is the actual name of the river) crosses the road, there are dire warnings posted about possible flash flood conditions. There are even flood markers that go up to 5 feet high. Last night there were big thunderstorms around Amarillo, and there was plenty of evidence that there had been some flooding on the crossings, but today they were all dry, except for one. Bram checked it out to make sure it was ok first.