The Traveller

Llano Estacado, November 2005

With Abby sick, though better, I wanted somewhere to hike that was less than a day away from home. I decided to revisit Caprock Canyons State Park and Palo Duro State Park in northwest Texas, camp a couple of nights, and see what developed.

West Texas Sunrise

Since this was something of a whirlwind trip, I chose not to write about it day by day, but to summarize the entire three days in the wild.

•Shot well on my drive, then set up camp at Caprock, this time in the Little Red tent camping area.

Reshoot, Leaning Tower of Brittain

•Hiked the surprisingly rugged Haynes Ridge Overlook Trail.

View from Haynes Overlook

•My campsite faces west. At night I can hear coyotes, like when we camped at Chaco. Midnight at Caprock: the moon, crescent, and a bright star set in front of me. Above, all the stars there are. Behind me, the flickering orange of my camp fire. It is breezy and warm, and I don’t need my camp coat. It is a good night on the llano estacado.

•I hiked so much in the last 24 hours that it seems like I have been here a week.

•The wind is insane in my tent at night. It keeps me awake with the flapping of my tent, and blows sand in through the rain fly.

•Trails I hiked: Canyon Loop, Eagle Point, Lower Canyon, Upper Canyon, and Haynes Overlook.

Upper Canyon

Natural Arch, Lower Canyon

•After breaking camp, I drove to Palo Duro Canyon nearby and hiked to the Lighthouse.

Lighthouse, Palo Duro Canyon

See the Llano Estacado gallery at richardbarron.net HERE.