Palo Duro Canyon

Monday, April 27

Day 20

After another terrific nights sleep, we had a great breakfast . Wonderful conversation. We saw Pat's beautiful quilts, wow what a talent she has! We learned a little about John and he helped us plan our route. We thought we were going to go to Lubbock but decided to head toward Amarillo as there is a huge canyon south of there, the  2^nd largest in the US to the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately there is 100% chance of rain, so no camping. Simply not worth it. We are hitting rain in unlikely places but at least we are missing the tornadoes. We drove all day in the downpour. We checked into the 2^nd hotel of the road trip so far and were happy we did. It was so cold and rainy and windy, it felt like a Pacific NW winter day. We heard that Amarillo, had more rain that day than they typically have in half a yea!  Amarillo is a town of big trucks and mega churches. The hotel had a deal with a nearby gym so we finally got a real workout in, stopped at a grocery store and picked up a rotisserie chicken and a salad and decided to stay in for a night of blogging, and the Mariner's game. It was weird to have the television on and to read a newspaper. The Mariners beat the Rangers, woohoo!

Tuesday, April 28

We checked out of the motel after an early breakfast and unfortunately left our food in the refrigerator. Darn, I was really looking forward to a chicken sandwich. We headed out to Palo Duro Canyon State Park and arrived just as the park was opening so there was hardly anyone there.

The land is completely flat until you suddenly run into the canyon!

 We descended 600 feet to the canyon floor and drove around the park until we reached a flooded road and had to turn around. There were actually a few really hardy tent campers there with motorcycles. I thought I was tough, but definitely not that tough. I bet they had a miserable night. We did a 6 mile hike through the canyon to The Lighthouse, the parks most famous landmark. I think we were the first on the trail, it was muddy but not as bad as we thought it would be. Some of the ground is really hard here which probably explains the flash floods. It was a beautiful hike. It is strange how you drive through completely flat prairie to get there and then all the sudden there is the canyon. 

 We are really glad we took the time to see it. After the hike we hit the road toward Dallas. Unfortunately, we got caught in a speed trap, where the speed changed 4 times in 2 miles with no apparent town and landed a nice $183.00 fine. Ouch. I can think of a lot more fun ways to spend that money than funding Estelline,Texas. We are feeling a little picked on but not worth staying here to argue in front of the judge. Pay it and forget it.

From Wikipedia:

Estelline is a town located in Hall County, Texas, United States. The population in 2010 was 145.^[1] The population was estimated at 141 in 2013.^[1] In 2012, Estelline was ranked #1 in a National Motorists Association listing of its "Worst Speed Trap Cities" in North America (with a population of less than 50,000).^[3] Estelline often refers to itself as the "Town of Estelline", with a "Town Hall" and a "Town Council", rather than the customary "city" label. However, under Texas law, all incorporated municipalities are considered to be cities.^{[4  
For more information see Wikipedia on Estilline, Texas}

I have to say, Jack never gets speeding tickets, until the good folks of Estelline.  So sad.  So be careful out there!  He did have a very pleasant conversation with the judge who answers her own phone and says she has her very 12th man flag in support of her son who works for Boeing.