Hiking and Movies

Saturday May 21, 2011
Hackberry Campground Site 20
Palo Duro State Park
Canyon, Texas

This morning we set out to run up to the Little Fox Trail
which winds in a 2 mile loop around a canyon within
the canyon.

Plan was to take the strangely named
“Givens, Spicer & Lowry Runnning Trail”
hereafter referred to as GSL.
Sounds like a law firm doesn’t it?

Maybe that’s an idea actually.
Have every law firm “adopt a trail”
and pay for its maintenance as part of
their pro-bono work.
What do you think?

 

The GSL was 2.5 miles to the Little Fox.
Here’s a sample of what we saw.

 

 These are just a teeny part of the
beautiful GSL trail

which led us to the Little Fox Canyon Trail
and someone was there to meet us.

 

I suppose he was out for his morning hop around the trail.

Me too.

 

I’m pretty sure this is where he was
headed.  I stopped dead in my tracks when
I ran into this shady area all fixed up
by one Beacham Toler in February of 1995

If you lift up the handle on the red white and
blue box atop the pole, there is a notebook
into which lots of people, including us
have written a note. 

But even more fun were all the little figurines
that people brought with them to leave.
Maybe you can see the two on top of the two posts holding the sign.
They were in tree crevices, tied to limbs, on the ground
everywhere.
Just a really fun surprise on this trail.

 

 

 

 

 

What FUN!!

I had thought that if we walked/ran both trails,
to and from, we’d have a total of 7 miles
and surely at least
4 or so of that would be running.

But it turned out, according to my Garmin
running watch to be an 8 mile trip and
a lot of stop and go because it was so
lovely.  As you could see.

I’ve decided I just can’t run
places I actually want to see.
I keep stopping to gawk in awe
and there goes the sustained cardio
which is the point of the running of course.
J

See Sherry stopped.

So I have to figure out how to
make the running a separate morning activity. 

That works great except in
this part of the country with all the heat.
Here, if you want to hike, you have to do
it early in the morning or last thing at night.
Same thing with running which I could
never get myself to do so late after the
sun goes down.
Well it’s a dilemma that I’ll figure out later.

BUT, it really is amazing to
be running in such spectacular
surroundings.

It was 12:30 by the time we got back
and showered.  It was PLENTY HOT!!
So we decided to go over to the
Palo Duro Grille
which is a small restaurant
and gift shop in what looks like a CCC built
building near the Sagebrush Campground.

Although they claim

the food has nothing to recommend it.
Burgers, grilled cheese, chicken tenders etc
with previously frozen french fries. 
All of course for a premium price.
But we’d figured that would be the case.
It was just too hot to cook inside or out.

After lunch we went back to the Visitor’s Center
to see the two films they show.  One on the
history of the canyon from eons ago through its
Native American history and its
purchase by Charles Goodnight for use
as a Texas Longhorn Cattle Ranch.

The other was a more detailed account of
Quanah Parker the last chief of the Comanche.
He was the son of Patty Ann Parker
a white woman stolen at age 9 during
a Comanche Raid who later married
the Comanche chief, had 3 children with
him and when she was ultimately “rescued”
and returned to her white family, tried 3 times
unsuccessfully to return to her Comanche family.
Both were very interesting films and
a great way to spend the middle of a hot hot day.

When we returned to Winnona, it was still in
the 90’s and our 30 amp electric service
had turned into less than 10 amps.
We couldn’t run either Air Conditioner
or the microwave or the hot water heater.
All this for $35 a night.
BUT we could take all the cold
showers we wanted!!

We turned on the fans and
hoped the cool night air would hurry up
and show up.

Everything will be better (and cooler) in the morning.
J