Palo Duro Canyon

On the last weekend before I flew back to Thailand, I took a road trip with my dad up to Amarillo, in the panhandle of Texas.

We went to go hiking in Palo Duro Canyon, a Texas state park, and the second biggest canyon in the country (after the Grand Canyon).

We left in the morning and arrived six hours later in Amarillo. Throughout the drive, we kept seeing signs advertising The Big Texan Steak Ranch, a restaurant that offers a 72oz steak free for anyone who can finish the meal in an hour.

As it turned out, The Big Texan was just next door to our hotel! We didn't attempt the steak challenge, but we did eat there for dinner, and the food was really great!

The next morning, we headed out early to the state park, which is about half an hour away from Amarillo. It was funny approaching it, because the ground was so flat that we couldn't help thinking, where on Earth is this canyon!?

But then, there it was!

It was still early spring, and the air in the morning was a little chilly; perfect for hiking!

We started out on the park's most famous trail, to a formation called "The Lighthouse".

The trail itself was pretty flat, taking us through the canyon. At the end, another trail climbed suddenly steeply upwards to the Lighthouse itself. We began to climb, determined to get to the rock.

It's pretty amazing how nature can form something like the Lighthouse with just wind, water, and time. We were able to climb all the way to the flat part between the two "towers" of rock. Success!

We had packed a lunch, and in the afternoon, we hiked the Juniper Trail along the river, which I guess must have carved the canyon over millions of years. It wasn't flowing very much at that time, though.

In the evening we were exhausted after a fun day outdoors. We picked up a few Shiner beers and snuck them down to the hotel's hot tub, where we soaked our tired legs. It was an awesome trip, and another thing in my home state that I've never seen before!