A Big Colorful Hole in the Ground

The first account I had of was from my son. He had been out to Lubbock to attend the swearing in of a friend from college as a County Judge. My nephew, Ben, who lives in Lubbock, said, because my son had some free time, they should go see Palo Duro Canyon. So, according to my son’s account, “Off we went at a high rate of speed” as the West Texans are disposed to do. My immediate family members are life-long residents of the coast and East . We are accustomed to seeing trees and lots of greenery. The cap rock country is a different world to us. “We were cruising along slightly below the speed sufficient to become airborne, in that barren desert country,” my son recalled. “Ben told me I would not believe my eyes, and I did not!” ”! After a few twists and turns off the interstate, a road plunged down 800 feet into a vast depression in the ground. And this is exactly as I found it some years later. We went there to camp in the canyon and see this marvelous 16 thousand acre plus Texas treasure, The Grand Canyon of Texas (and the second largest canyon in the US).

The multi-colored canyon walls were striking but had little effect on Brigid. Her first sighting of a flock of wild turkeys that came “grazing” by our camper about day break was quite another matter. Her behavior reminded me of that of our son when at 5 years of age he saw an elephant for the first time. With howls, yodels and barking she raced to the window of the trailer with intermittent dives under the bed. With this performance Brigid announced the presence of something new and different. Although he did not howl, yodel or hide under the bed, as she did, the eyes of our son were just about as large as were Brigid’s as he hid behind his mother’s skirt.

Among the many other “sights to behold” in the canyon in addition to wildlife, are two very interesting and much photographed geological formations; Hoodoos and the "Spanish skirts.” For the most photographed geological subject in the park, the Lighthouse Hoodoo might take top honors. I was fascinated not only by the structure but also the name, Hoodoo. Geologically speaking hoodoos are (according to the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology) “tall thin spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins and badlands. They are composed of soft sedimentary rock, and are topped by a piece of harder, less easily eroded stone that protects the column from the elements”. But why these types of structures were so named in the first place was something that I was unable to determine. Sounds to me like something out of the bayou country of Louisiana, perhaps a threat made by Marie Leveau!

The “Spanish skirts” were given this name, supposedly, by Coronado as he and his band of soldiers trudged from first to last that barren country in search of the “Cibola,” the seven cities of gold. Broad bands of reds, whites, yellows and purples are layered through the formations. In fact Palo Duro Canyon is located on the Caprock Escarpment or, as referred to by the name first applied by Coronado, . Some translate this to mean Palisade plains. And the second definition given in the dictionary for palisades is “a line of lofty, steep cliffs, usually along a river,” ------an apt description of Palo Duro Canyon.

The presence of these brilliant multi-colors, flared out as the skirt of a dancer back home in Mexico, might lead one to come up with this name. An alternative explanation might be that these guys had been away from home for a long, long time! Reminds one of stories from sailing ship days, when sailors who had been at sea for months imagined the manatees on deserted islands to be women beckoning to them. In addition to strange wildlife and unbelievable geological formations, Palo Duro Canyon is a place of fantastic historical interest. It has been inhabited by ancient civilization going back for at least 12,000 years and referred to as “Palo Duro” which is reputed to mean “hard wood” like mesquite and cedar. These woods are known to be suitable for making bows and arrows for hunting and battles. And there were battles between the Native American inhabitants of the area and the U. S. military. In fact the last major such battles fought in Texas occurred in Palo Duro Canyon.

Palo Duro Canyon was home to an individual around whom much of the Texas “cowboy” mystique was developed, Charles Goodnight. Goodnight developed the first commercial cattle ranch in the . He also was a major developer and user of what became known as the Goodnight-Loving trail for driving cattle overland to northern markets. There is a replica of the “dugout” cabin that Goodnight lived in when he first settled in Palo Duro Canyon. It is also the home he brought his new bride to a few years later (It looks a lot like the “dugout” that “Rooster” Cogburn smoked members of “Little Ned” Pepper’s gang out of in the movie “True Grit”). When I heard that Goodnight brought his bride to this as their home, all I could think was that Mrs. Goodnight really must have been a VERY understanding young woman!

These past glories are presented to visitors in “Fireside Chats” by the park rangers and in the outdoor theater production, “Texas.”

During the period between 1933 and 1937 six CCC companies were sent to Palo Duro Canyon to develop road access into the canyon. In addition, they constructed cabins, a visitor’s center and the Park headquarters. We camped in the Sagebrush camping area. Some thirty or so camp sites with water and electrical hook-ups as well as a sun roof over the cement picnic table pad. This sun roof turned out to be a welcome amenity. Even in the fall of the year the Texas panhandle has some very warm sunny days.

Visiting Palo Duro Canyon was a most enjoyable experience for a “flat-lander,” who had recently been to Goose Island State Park. The words of this old country song came to mind:

“You can go from the mountains to the prairies Or down where the sea breezes blow And you will still be in beautiful Texas The most wonderful place that I know”

For additional details about this and all other State parks see the following Web site: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/