Day one of vacation came bright and early – regardless of any tiredness from a previous night’s concert.
Off we headed to the Palo Duro Canyon in West Texas. I’d long wanted to visit the canyon, because people told me it was a Texas treasure and my grandparents spoke favorably of their experiences there. It took me so long to get around to going to the canyon that I finally put it on my 101 List simply to make sure I’d go.
We decided to do our visit right, booking a historic CCC-cabin on the rim of the canyon. These 1930’s cabins had been modernized to include air conditioning (unfortunately only in one room) and indoor plumbing (unfortunately without any privacy doors between the bathroom and bedroom).
What’s a little lack of privacy when you can step outside and see this?
It was terribly hot while we were there – a thermostat at the base of the canyon marked 130F while we were out hiking. To be fair, it was sitting directly in the sunshine. But still.
The heat didn’t dampen our desire to hike some. We clambered up a rocky trail into a pleasantly-cool cave, watching for snakes and other desert ickies all the while. Fun times!
And in the evening, after things marginally cooled, we had a chuckwagon dinner and watched the Texas! musical production. My grandparents told me it was a “must watch.” I couldn’t help but think that I had the privilege of seeing a show that they had watched many years ago – same experience, different generations. That was very neat.
Thanks for rekindling some great old memories. I went to the Texas! show for the first time in 1969 with my grandparents, and have been back twice as an adult, the last time being about 20 years ago. I'm glad the show is still going on, and from the sound of it largely unchanged over the years.
I'm so happy to hear that! We loved the show – corny and all. It was also a lot of fun to explain the Texas symbolism throughout to folks who were visiting from across the country.