Palo Duro Canyon

The KOA we are staying at is situated right next to a train track, a highway and an airport. It was a loud and sleepless night for Elisa. She counted 13 trains passing. It seems Amarillo is very popular for freight trains.

When we all finally woke up, it was already warm outside. The temperature was to reach almost 100 degrees/ or 37 degrees. It was going to be a hot day. It was windy, overcast and hot.

Our day was supposed to consist of hikes throughout Palo Duro Canyon. We drove about 30 min to get to the 2nd largest Canyon in the U.S. Unlike the Grand Canyon, where you can see it approaching miles ahead, this canyon just shows up out of nowhere amongst country farm land.

Palo Duro Canyon is 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles wide, and has a maximum depth of more than 800 feet. Its elevation at the rim is 3,500 feet above sea level. It is home to lots of different wild life. We were able to drive right down into the canyon and we were surprised how green and the different low living vegetation there was in the canyon.

As of now Brandon has only got junior ranger badges y National Parks, but through chatting, we found out that some State parks have ranger badges as well. So, Brandon got his booklet at the visitor center.

We drove down the canyon and on the scenic road. We stopped to walk the 1.3 mile, one way, sunflower trail, but only did a mile loop instead. It was so hot out. Inara fell asleep in the carrier and was sweating, Brandon didn't complain, it was just an uncomfortable day. We saw a rodent run in front of us, and a wild turkey as well and birds.

After finishing the page for Brandon's ranger badge (which was a patch this time) and heading back up the canyon, we decided to take our waiters suggestions and head to the museum in canyon, the town. Unfortunately, the museum is closed on Mondays until June. We had our lunch sitting out at the front of the museum.

We headed back to Amarillo. As it was so hot, we stopped and did some shopping at the Toys R Us, as they are closing down. We got some bargains and then headed back to the campsite to start at early dinner and relax. The KOA has a pool but doesn't open until next week. It would have been perfect to use now.

The KOA got a bit busier and we had 2 other groups with kids for Brandon to play with. The one family is from Ohio and they homeschool the 2 out of 4 kids that are school aged. The only reason why I bring this up is because every campsite we have been, we have met home schooled families. I never realized how big it really was.

It was a relaxing night and for the first time we got to sit outside after the kids went to bed, as it was a earlier night than normal.Read more