The High Plains of West Texas!

May 4-13, 2024

Our time in the Hill Country was too quickly over and the West Texas region was soon upon us!  I’d been itching for some time in Texas’ state parks so, for this stay, we camped at San Angelo State Park!  This park was only a couple of miles outside of San Angelo, so it was really the best of both worlds.

Once we were settled in, we chose to spend one of our days exploring the park and another day exploring the city of San Angelo.  For our day in the park, we took advantage of the Dinosaur Trail to get our steps in.  This trail was amazing!  Most of it meandered through a desert-like environment, which doesn’t sound too exciting until you realize that it is spring time.  Yep!  The desert was in FULL bloom! There were prickly pear cacti for as far as the eye could see.  On top of that, there were so many other beautiful flowers.  The trail was only three and a half miles long, but we navigated it at a tortoise’s pace, as I was constantly pulling out the Seek app to identify various plants and insects.

Agarita

Lace Hedgehog Cactus

Reakirt's Blue on Cartclaw Acacia

The trail’s name is a little misleading in that there is no evidence of any dinosaurs on it.  However, we did find fossilized tracks from the Permian Period!  It’s not known for sure who made these tracks, possibly a Eryops or Dimetrodon who was walking here 300 million years ago (90 million years before the dinosaurs evolved)!  That was pretty cool to see!

Take only memories and leave only footprints!  I wonder what memories they took?

The park also maintains herds of bison and longhorn cattle.  Every Saturday at 10:00 am, they drive through each of the herds’ fields of thick vegetation, honking their horn and leaving a trail of food.  It sounds like an amazing sight to see!  Imagine a herd of bison and another herd of longhorn (separated by a fence) trotting up to the viewing area and chowing down right in front of you!  Unfortunately, we didn’t arrive at the park until that afternoon, so we missed this weekly show.  If you ever plan a trip to this park, make sure you are there on a Saturday morning.

We found ourselves attracted to the bird blind the park has built and took our morning coffee there to get our day started with our feathered friends.  No rare sightings were made, but it sure was a peaceful and relaxing start to a beautiful day.  I think the most exciting moment of our time was the sighting of a javelina just the other side of the bird blind!  The end of the day was pretty spectacular itself.  We’ve had a period of cloudy days, so it was exciting to see the sunset with all of its colorful hues.

For our day in San Angelo, we couldn’t help noticing that, in front of many businesses, a painted fiberglass sheep greets you.  This created a little curiosity in us.  A few questions later, we learned that, until the drought of 2011, San Angelo was the “Wool Capital of the World”!  With the decrease in the number of sheep due to the drought, Australia has now captured the title. 

San Angelo has a beautiful Riverwalk, much different from San Antonio’s.  One difference is the river itself.  The Concho River runs through San Angelo, closer to its natural state.  Rather than restaurants and stores lining the river, it’s more of a park-like setting with thoughtfully placed art and landscaping.  It provides a very relaxing stroll as you take in the sights and sounds.  

We also spent some time walking around the historic district, but it appears the development of this area still is in progress.  I personally think someone needs to open a quilt shop in one of the historic buildings that is currently vacant!  A coffee shop would be another consideration for a delightful addition!  After a bit of a stroll, we did find a wonderful coffee shop that not only offered delicious cold brew, but provided us the opportunity for a stimulating game of checkers!  I think I found the combination of caffeine and victory especially stimulating!

 

Sun's Out, Guns Out!

Howdy Cowboy!

Our next stop in the High Plains was Lubbock – Buddy Holly’s birthplace!  It was fun touring the Buddy Holly Center and learning more about him!  The Buddy Holly Center included a video detailing Buddy’s background and path to his all-too-short career.  We couldn’t see his birthplace, as all of the houses where Buddy lived as a child have been demolished.  There really isn’t one house that he lived in for very long anyway.  His family moved 12 times in his first 17 years of life!  His father was a craftsman and would arrange for the family to live in the houses that he was remodeling and updating before the home owner was able to occupy the home.  A pretty clever way of living on a small income!

One of the most interesting moments in the video was the interview with Paul McCartney.  The Beatles were on the verge of hitting it big when Buddy Holly and the Crickets were topping the charts with hits like “That’ll Be The Day” and “Peggy Sue”.  McCartney told how influential Buddy was in the Beatles’ early music and recounted how they would study footage of Buddy’s performances.  They were specifically looking at Buddy’s fingering of chords on the guitar, trying to “figure out how he did it”!  

This is where Buddy and his drummer, Jerry Allison wrote, "That’ll Be The Day"!

Buddy’s first electric guitar

Buddy’s glasses recovered from crash site

The guitar Buddy played hours before the music died

Across from The Buddy Holly Center is The West Texas Walk of Fame honoring so many wonderful local artists!  It turns out that Buddy Holly is not the only artist that the Lubbock area turned out.  Waylon Jennings, Mac Davis, Tanya Tucker, The Gatlin Brothers, and many others all sprouted from this region!  

The plaques on the wall behind Buddy honor West Texas music legends!

I can’t even imagine how big Buddy Holly would have become had he not chartered a flight on that fateful, cold February night in 1959.  It’s really such a tragic story.  Only two months ago, on a trip to Minneapolis, Dick and I stopped outside of Clear Lake, Iowa to visit the crash site from “the day the music died”.  There, at a humble, easy-to-miss spot along a gravel road, you find a giant pair of Buddy Holly glasses where you can park your car.  Once parked, you hike along a fence line for a half mile into the farm field.  At the spot where the plane crashed, there is a simple memorial to Buddy, the Big Bopper, Richie Valens and the pilot.  They had just performed at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake.  Conditions on the musicians’ bus were miserable.  The heater in the bus was broken and the bus itself kept breaking down and was in poor condition.  Buddy had had more than enough of the miserable conditions.  He decided to charter a flight to their next venue, taking everyone’s laundry with him so he could have it done for them by the time the bus reached their next venue.  He was looking forward to booking a room at a hotel and, for once, getting a good night’s sleep.  It was a snowy night, with temperatures well below zero and the visibility was extremely poor.  To top it off, the pilot wasn’t licensed for instrument flight rules and the plane they were on had an unusual instrument panel that was easy to misinterpret.  Only minutes after take-off, the pilot flew the plane directly into the ground.  Buddy died at the age of 23, only 18 months after his path to stardom had begun.

We spent the lion’s share of our second day in Lubbock looking at where other great minds are being trained for the bright futures ahead of them -- touring the campus of Texas Tech University! Especially enjoyable was taking in all of the art sculptures scattered across campus.  One of my favorites was Read Reader created entirely out of cast books.  The creativity couldn’t help but put a smile on my face!  I especially appreciated the use of a book representing the mortar board.  Literacy truly is a key on the road to success.  

Another favorite was “Headwaters”.  Again, the focus on literacy grabbed my attention.  The hands cupped in preparation of drinking in the “water” was a clever way of expressing one’s thirst for knowledge.  How insightful!  Even the sculpture’s title was incredibly clever.

"Headwater" fountain.  Fill your head with this water!

Bells ring from this bell tower after every home football victory!

Preston Smith, who went on to become governor of Texas.  Note the "TT logo" shape of the bench behind him!

Leading Will Rogers and Soapsuds to the barn

Not far from campus is the National Ranching Heritage Center.  This 19-acre park details the history of ranching in Texas.  There, you find over 50 authentically restored ranch structures, several of them donated and relocated from the 6666 Ranch.  For anyone who has watched the “Yellowstone” series, it was interesting to learn the 6666 Ranch is a real thing!  

Recess is over!  The back wall of this school was painted black for use as a chalkboard.

It was also fun to discover a wonderful exhibit of the costumes worn and props used in the filming of “1883”!  Dick and I loved this mini-series, as it did such a great job of realistically showing the challenges faced with traveling on the Oregon Trail and establishing a homestead.  

Sam Elliot and LaMonica Garrett Costumes from the "1883" mini series

Just outside of town is the Lubbock KOA where we parked our home during our brief stay in Lubbock.  Everyone was friendly and helpful there.  We especially appreciated their recommendations of where to find delicious meals!  It would be hard to find better BBQ than what The Shack offers (the name is very appropriate, so keep that in mind if you go) and tastier Tex-Mex than at The Original Henry’s!  Solid suggestions!

Our campsite came with a complimentary alarm clock!

Our last, but certainly not least, stop in the state of Texas was at Palo Duro Canyon State Park.  This park is nothing less than breathtaking!  It’s nicknamed “The Grand Canyon of Texas” and that’s no joke!  It is actually the second-largest canyon in North America.  We were simply stunned at the wide array of environments within the boundaries of this state! 

Our first night in the campground, we had heard there was an unusually strong magnetic storm which allowed viewing the Northern Lights much farther south than typically.  Although it was less visible with the naked eye, use of a low light camera revealed the red array from this phenomenon.  Petty cool!

Our big adventure while there was to hike the Lighthouse Trail.  This popular 5.6-mile round trip takes you along a red dirt trail that first leads you to the foot of a long rock formation.  You then follow along its base and around to the back of it before beginning your climb up to view this park’s iconic formation.  Along the way, we met Keller, Jacob and Colby, who are all mechanical engineering students at Texas Tech University!  I’m telling you, their momma’s all raised these boys with manners!  Keller and Jacob are fraternal twins, so it was like getting a sneak peek at Owen and Elliot in a few years!

             

We had almost made it to the top of the trail when the storm clouds opened up and began raining on us.  Honestly, I wasn’t too afraid of getting wet, but the lighting in the area did get Dick’s and my attention and we quickly began our descent and trek back.  It didn’t take long to get down, which felt good, as we weren’t quite the lightning rods we felt we were at higher elevations.  That’s the good news!  The bad news is the red dirt trail quickly turned into a sloppy red muck with a small stream running down the middle of it.  I couldn’t believe how slippery it instantly became!  Each hiking boot seemed to have gained ten pounds as the mud clung to them, making for a good workout!

Lighthouse trail turns muddy and super slippery!

It wasn’t too far on the way back before Keller, Jacob and Colby caught up with us.  They had continued up the last bit of the trail for a closer look at the Lighthouse and then found themselves helping other hikers down off the rock.  Every step, for the rest of the way back, these gentlemen were there to help me navigate any especially slippery spots on the trail.  It’s so refreshing to meet such delightful young adults.  The world’s future truly is in good hands!

Keller, Jacob and Colby (l-r) -- my guardian angels! 

With all of the rain, the trails were closed for the remainder of our time there.  That left us checking out other features the park offered.  Hanging out at the bird blind was an easy choice!  It was an interesting and calm way to start out a day.  With binoculars and coffee cups in hand, we enjoyed identifying so many species, including a black tufted titmouse, a canyon towhee, a female painted bunting, uncountable white-winged doves, a roadrunner, a golden fronted woodpecker, and too many Northern Cardinals and turkeys to count!  I’m sure there were more, but this list is what came to mind!

I feel a little like a spy!

Looks like these two lovers had a bit of a tiff!

No tiff between these two!

Where's your lover?

Along an interpretive trail, we found mortar holes left from people gathering to grind grain centuries ago.  It was fun to envision women and children at this very spot grinding flour used in meal preparation.  I’m so thankful for the modern conveniences we have today.  It does make me wonder what people will think of our food processors 300 years from now!

Was this the local spot for gossip?

We also were able to see the Big Cave, which is actually visible from the road.  I had tweaked my knee with all of the sliding in the mud, and restricted myself to hiking only on level portions of terrain.  Once it got to any uphill action, I stopped, knowing the downhill would have consequences for me.  Dang it!  Symptoms of not being in my 20’s anymore!

We did manage to find a couple of small herds of longhorn cattle!  The park has a herd of four longhorns, which were easy to view from the site where the CCC camp had once been.  All that remains of this camp today is the fireplace, but the longhorn seem to still like grazing there.  It made me wonder how long longhorn have been here.  I imagine they were here well before the CCC began construction of the roads and buildings in this park.

The other herd we saw was in the pasture surrounding Sad Monkey Mercantile.  This place offers food, coffee, beer, groceries, camping supplies and souvenirs and was a fun place to spend Mother’s Day afternoon!  Having checked out most of the points of interest in the park, along with the trails still being closed (we got a second round of rain the next day), playing checkers and having a favorite beverage seemed like a reasonable activity.  They make a decent latte and Dick had a taste of several local beers with a flight – all with a view of longhorn in the distance.  Hard to beat that!

Our binoculars gave us a great look at the longhorn in the distance!

I had to ask the barista about the name “Sad Monkey”.  It turns out it is the name of a rock formation inside the state park.  Apparently, the top of a peak in the park has what looks like the head of a monkey with a very sad expression.  I have a good idea of what made this monkey sad.  It is the all-too-real story of how Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie led a surprise attack on the first five encampments of Kiowa, Comanche and Cheyenne at dawn on September 24, 1874.  The survivors of this attack were forced to go to a reservation in Fort Sill, losing their traditional way of life forever.  We’ve heard the same story over and over from across the settling of the west.  I don’t know why it surprised me to learn of it in West Texas.  No matter, it always breaks my heart.

We drove into the nearby small town of Canyon to attend Saturday evening Mass at St. Ann’s Catholic Church.  Following Mass, they gifted each mother with a long stem rose!  Fresh flowers while camping on the floor of a canyon in the middle of a state park was not something I expected!  Thank you, St. Ann’s!

Juniper Campground, which is at the back end of the park, was where we stayed while there.  All of the campgrounds are located on the canyon’s floor and have spectacular views!  I couldn’t get enough of taking in what is referred to as Spanish Skirts.  All of the beautifully striped colors of these formations certainly do resemble the reds, greens and golds of skirts worn by Mexican folk dancers!  Add the sound of castanets to it and you would be sure there was a party going on – at least a party for the eyes!

Wild turkeys seemed to be everywhere!  Note:  Our campsite is in the background.

For now, we are leaving Texas and continuing our trek north toward home.  I’m going to miss the wonderful seafood of the gulf coast, the delicious BBQ and the wonderful Tex-Mex food that we have thoroughly indulged ourselves with.  I’m going to miss the southern hospitality and polite manners that go hand-in-hand with being in the south.  It’s been a pleasure, y’all!

Up next:  Kansas!