TEXAS PANHANDLE: PALO DURO CANYON PART I AND QUITAQUE

  March 19-20, 2021

One of the carrots that Bob used to entice me to travel to the panhandle of Texas was talk of Palo Duro Canyon. At 120 miles long, an average of 6 miles wide, and 820 feet deep at its deepest point, it is the second largest canyon in the United States behind only the Grand Canyon. It surprised me that I had never heard of it.

After visiting the Slug Bug Ranch, we made our way across the ever-so-flat Texas prairie, where the wind that once swept all the topsoil into the air to create lethal clouds of dust in the 1930s now powers huge windmills.

This is the best aerial view of the canyon that I could find (and it was on Pinterest without any attribution). You can see how the land just drops off into the canyon, and how the canyon looks like tendrils or tentacles creeping across the land. 

In the canyon itself, it doesn't feel ominous at all. In fact, it is pretty glorious.

The state park part of the canyon is relatively small--maybe a 10-mile stretch or so--and on this first foray we were near the state park but not within its borders. (We were planning a visit there the next day.) I'm not sure why the entire canyon isn't part of the state park--just too big?  Anyway, our first stop was at a picnic area on a hill. From the top of the road we had almost a 270° view.

There was a huge cactus growing in a road divider at the entrance to the picnic area.

There aren't many trees in the area, so I guess carving your names in a cactus paddle has to suffice.  Hey! I have a sister named Chris! When I showed this picture to her, she suggested that we might have a fan club in Palo Duro Canyon!

This pencil cholla looks like a king ruling over his adoring subjects.

We left the picnic area/viewpoint and got back on the main road, where we saw a buck and two does grazing on the dry grasses that line the road. We pulled over to watch them for a while and were surprised that while they recognized our presence by slowing moving away, they didn't seem overly skittish.

Eventually, they strolled across the street . . . 

. . . where they kept grazing.

A few miles down the road, we stopped to take a look at Lake Mackenzie, a reservoir created in 1976.

Bob likes dirt roads, and there were a few going around the lake, so of course we had to see where they went. I'm so glad we did. Otherwise, we would have missed this horse. 🙄

However, not far from the horse was this living, breathing mule deer, sitting right next to the road.

A little further back from the road we spotted his sweetie.

Back out on the main road we encountered the first of what would eventually be more than a dozen sightings of rusty, 2-D bison. The panhandle and central Texas are obsessed with 2-D bison. This tableau shows the whole bison family about to witness the killing of the patriarch. Ugh.

It was time for lunch and the nearest town was Quitaque.  Now, how would you pronounce that name? I was saying "kee TAH kway."  Nope, not even close.  It is "KIT-ee-kway." 

According to Wikipedia, this boom town had a population of 411 in the 2010 census. However, it has a surprising number of services.  For example, where else would you find a spot where you can park your bison?

Speaking of bison, they are everywhere it Quitaque.

Another rusty bison, but this one is 3-D.

No wonder this dude loves this town, right?

I think Quitaque gets a fair amount of tourism as it is very close to Caprock Canyon State Park, where we were planning on going after lunch.

However, Quitaque also attracts tourists because it is so darn quirky. Take, for example, the décor of the only grocery store in town. Have you ever seen a grocery store full of trophy heads? They seem to be guarding the produce. ("This is MY lettuce. Keep your hands off.")

They are also hovering over the picnic supplies. One buck by the front entrance has a cool pair of shades.

Do they make you want to stock up on toilet paper?

There are even two aoudads, a Moroccan animal also known as a Barbary sheep, flanking one of the deer heads.

We picked up snacks for the road at the grocery store, but we wanted some lunch, so we stopped at one of the two restaurants in town. Of course it was named "The Bison Cafe."

I was a bit skeptical until I went inside, and then I was sold.

Inside, the restaurant looked as chic as a California Starbucks--except for the thrift shop in the back. We had egg salad and avocado sandwiches that were quite tasty.

On our way back to the hotel we passed this most intriguing "art installation," a series of bicycles lined up inside a wire fence.

There are a few unusual bikes:

. . . and some have unusual passengers:

Each fence post in between the bikes is topped by a cowboy boot. The left boot below has "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" painted on it. The right boot advertises that "God is good."

The left boot below quotes Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," and the right boot just looks like a tired penguin.

Some people need the full armor of God for protection, but apparently Texans only need the footwear.