Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds

April 15, 2013

Canyon, TX, where we are now, is “high plains” territory, about 3000 feet elevation, so it has warm days and cool nights. (And they get snow--they recently had a 19-inch blizzard!) The cool night made for another good night’s sleep last night. When we got up, Jack found a tumbleweed outside the van, so we’re obviously in tumbleweed territory now.

 

I love my tumbleweed.

After breakfast, both of us did work on our computers till Jennifer and Austin got out of their classes, and then we met them to head to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, only about a 20-minute drive from campus. We were planning to see the excellent Panhandle-Plains Historical museum first, but turns out it’s closed on Mondays—too bad! We did get to tour their student center, and Jenn graciously bought us a couple of WT coffee mugs as souvenirs.

 

Longhorn cattle at entrance to Palo Duro Canyon State Park

This canyon, as I said previously, is the second largest in the U.S. It’s about 20 miles wide, 120 miles long, and 800 feet deep (as compared to the largest canyon, the Grand Canyon, which is 18 miles wide, 277 miles long, and about a mile deep—I did my research since yesterday). The land around here is SO flat and featureless, with little vegetation, and the canyon comes as a big surprise as you drive up on it. The land just suddenly opens up into vast space with beautiful striated red, tan and white rock formations and juniper trees. A  tributary of the Red River formed the canyon.

Looking out over the canyon

We stopped at the visitor’s center, near the top of the canyon, and toured the small museum there before heading down to the canyon floor, on a steep road with hairpin turns. The scenery was gorgeous.

This is a seriously BIG canyon! We stopped the van and took a hike near the river, actually looking more like a narrow ditch with fast-moving reddish water in this area. Austin was a daredevil and crossed the water on a small tree branch that someone had placed. (Jennifer held his phone!)

 Jenn, Austin and Carol climbed to the top of a large rock formation, while Jack stayed behind to photo-document. 

Having climbed the masts of the square-rigged sailing ship USCGC EAGLE, this looked like a piece of cake to Jack

After our hike we had a picnic, 

and were entertained by a black-crested titmouse (small colorful crested bird, for those non-birders in our readership). We also saw a mule deer. On the drive out of the canyon, we stopped at a wildlife blind and saw a number of other birds, including a large wild turkey.

Carol and Jack heading to the blind (or is it the blind leading the blind?).

 It turned out that Bob Woodward was giving a lecture in town tonight as part of the university lecture series, and Austin and Jenn asked if we would like to hear him. We said yes, and made a plan to drop the two of them off to change and get cleaned up, while Jack and I headed back to the RV campsite for some brief R&R. (During which time we heard about the Boston marathon explosions.) We were to meet them at the lecture hall at 7 pm. Unfortunately, Austin started feeling ill and wasn’t able to make it—sounded like a stomach bug. But the three of us attended. Woodward is an engaging speaker. After his initial fame for writing the Watergate articles that unseated President Nixon (as documented in the film All the President’s Men), he’s written 16 books that have all been national nonfiction bestsellers (12 of them reaching No. 1 on the bestseller lists) and he’s won 2 Pulitzers. He’s funny, and has a lot to say about the state of national politics and journalism. Smart guy. 

We said our good-byes to Jennifer after the lecture, and headed back to the campsite to write this blog and chill. This brings our series of college/university visits to an end. Tomorrow we drive to the Dallas area to visit some friends from Jack’s Coast Guard days.

State count: 8 [Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas]

Odometer count:

Surber, VA: 107,435

Canyon, TX: 109,227

Accommodations avg cost: 11 nights @ $22.36/night