After resting up from our horeback adventure and having a good dinner at Joe Taco in Canyon, thanks to the recommendation of Kristin at Palo Duro Riding Stables, we headed back to the canyon to try and chase the light for some sunset photography. On our way back to the canyon, we spotted this windmill, just as some color began to creep into the sky.
Lone windmill
After entering the park we began to have doubts about any chance of a sunset as we noticed that the sky began to be covered with a solid sheet of cloud. This is not helpful for a colorful sunset, or any sunset at all for that matter. But we began to try and make the most of it, taking shots as we could before the sky, and light, was completely gone.
Sky becoming cloud covered.
We drove from place to pace, trying to find the best spot to catch the sunset. With the cloud cover iit was difficult to know exactly where the sun would be peaking out in order to frame it properly. Eventually, the clouds did part and we were able to finish up our time at Palo Duro Canyon with these photographs. At this point, words will simply get in the way, so enjoy our final moments in the Canyon.
Moonrise over the canyon wall
Sun beginning to set
Setting sun backlighting the rim
Karen taking in the setting sunlight
Setting sun on rim with rising moon
Michael taking his shots at the sunset light (no hat needed)
Fire in the sky
Sunset panorama
Backlit canyon flora
Farewell to the sun
While this brings a close to our time at Palo Duro Canyon, tomorrow we travel a little to the south to visit the Caprock Canyon State Park where there will be more canyon scenes and some wildlife. Be sure to tune in for that episode of the blog.
Michael & Karen
All words and photographs copyright 2023 M Hampton Photography
Welcome to part 5, or day 3 part 1 if you will. Today was our 31st anniversary and we celebrated by going horseback riding in the canyon. We selected Palo Duro Riding Stables for this because they have history here. They are a third generation operation, and we just loved everything we read about them. To jump to the end, we loved them and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for this experiance!
The beautiful bride and “Forrest”
Karen was assigned to ride “Forrest”. The story behind his name is that when he was young, he had an issue with his legs and had to wear special braces. Once the braces were removed, he was so happy he just started running and someone yelled “Run, Forrest! Run!” The name stuck. He was a great horse!
The bride taking a shot at the groom
We were blessed with a beautiful day for this ride. It wasn’t too hot and the trail meandered through areas of sun and shade. It also provided many magnificent views of the canyon!
Palo Duro canyon from horseback
During the ride we were regaled with tales of the canyon and the history of this family run business. There have been many of the Hollywood crowd that has gone through here over the years. One name that jumped out to me was Ben Johnson. He was an actor in many great western shows and movies in the past, and like us, originally from Oklahoma. If you have watched many westerns, you have likely seen him.
Obligatory Photo Stop
Michael’s horse was named “Coyote”. He was described as the herd’s alpha. Of course, they may have said that just to make Michael feel good. He was after all wearing his big hat. They also said that Coyote was a “union horse”, meaning that he decides to take union breaks whenever he feels like it. Any time we stopped he would need to take a moment to chew on whatever plant was nearby. A gentle nudge and he would be ready to go again though. His union breaks did present time for photo taking, so it wasn’t altogether a bad thing.
That smile alone was worth the cost of admission
As you can tell from the above photo, Karen had a blast, as did Michael. We have watched a lot of westerns and always comment about what amazing animals horses are. They are so strong and endure so much, yet at the same time can be so fragile. We just love them.
Jesse, third generation owner of Palo Duro Stables
According to their web site:
Jesse Sorenson is 3rd generation here at PDRS. Growing up in the saddle with a gun on his hip, Jesse spent his childhood entertaining folks from all over the world. Many of the horses in the PDRS herd are direct descendants from the horses that Jesse rode as a kid.
The trail leader for our ride was Kristin, Jesse’s wife and mother to their children. She had plenty of stories about the place and the many famous visitors they have had over the years. Both Jesse and Kristin were very friendly and again, I highly recommend their place if you want to see the canyon from horseback.
The neighbor’s horses
During the ride I noticed up on the rim of the canyon, three horses. We were amazed that there didn’t appear to be a fence along the canyon wall. But with that said, we found this to be a very picturesque scene.
Photo op spot
As our trail ride was ending, we came to the pre-assigned “photo op” spot, where Jesse took one of our cameras and took this photo of us together on horseback. What a great memory for our anniversary! Apparently, Coyote has a habit of mugging for the camera and making faces any time a camera comes out, so several photos had to be taken before getting one without him making a crazy face. Don’t tell me that horses don’t have personalities!
Let us take this time to once again give a big thumbs up to Jesse and Kristin at Palo Duro Riding Stables. We could not have asked for a more friendly couple to take us riding on our anniversary. If you are in the area and want to take a ride through the canyon, I can’t recommend them enough! Check them out.
Next time, we’ll be chasing a sunset in the canyon.
See you then,
Michael & Karen
All words and photos copyright 2023 M Hampton Photography
We finally made it to the Lighthouse! Other than the prickly pear incident (see part 3) we were in rather good shape. We still had plenty of water left for the hike back, and still had energy enough to explore around the Lighthouse itself.
Once the young girls finished their photo shoot up on the rock, we approached the formation. You can see in the photo below that there is a bit of a climb to get up to it, and then about a three foot “step” that we had to climb up to get onto the formation. We contemplated for about 30 seconds whether it was worth it before deciding that we had hiked nearly 3 miles to get here, we’re doing this! And with that, the Lighthouse was mounted!
Lighthouse within reach
Once on the formation, we found a shady area where we could set down our backpacks and look around. While there were still no clouds in the sky, the scenery in all directions was outstanding! And the size of the hoodoos was massive. It is one thing to see them from a distance and yet an entirely different context to see them up close and personal.
On the formation
A couple of young men were there at the same time and said there was a way to climb all the way to the top of one of them. We passed on that adventure but wished them well. When they came back, with one of them claiming to have made it at least part way up, they told us of a formation around the back side that looked like a pulpit. We made our way around and sure enough, it looked like it could pass for a pulpit with room for a congregation.
A lectern?
And even in the most rocky and apparent dead environments, Karen will still find a flower, or at least a colorful weed to shoot. And as you can tell from the shadow, the sun was approaching straight up in the sky at this point.
Karen eyes color
Standing on the Lighthouse, we had an unrestricted view of a good portion of the canyon. We could see for miles. In the photo below you can see just how unusually green the floor of the canyon was during our visit. This was certainly something we had not expected, thinking of this area as being more of an arid or desert area. Maybe we’ll have to come here again someday to see what this place looks like in a normal year. (Or I guess I could just google it. There are way too many other places we want to see first.)
View from the top
After spending some time on the Lighthouse and taking in the scenery, as well as making several photographs, we climbed down. Near the base we found this rock formation and we were left to wonder how many millions of years it might have taken for the rocks to arrange themselves in this manner, and just how lucky we were to be here at that moment in time to witness the event! (sarcasm and humor intended)
Millions of years in the making???
As we began our hike back to the trailhead, as you can notice from the above photos, there was still not a cloud in the sky. The sun was high and the UV rays were brutal. But we had plenty of water, clothing, Michael’s ten-gallon hat, and sunscreen to protect us. And we were not too proud to stop to rest and enjoy the flowers along the way. Speaking of which…
More color
Along the trail, there is a sign telling you to “arrive alive”. This is at a point right before the trail starts getting rough going toward the monument, about three-quarters of the way from the trailhead. It is a “this is your last chance to turn back or die” sign. Several people every year must be rescued on this trail because they were not properly prepared. We were determined to not be part of that statistic. But as the day wore on, to be honest, the heat and sun did begin to wear on us. One of us (I won’t mention who) started getting snippy, but I figured once we were done with the hike and ate something, the “hangryness” would dissipate and all would be right with the world again.
“Arrive Alive”… and we did
While on our way back we were on the lookout for critters. Remember the ranger yesterday told us to look for the Texas Horned Lizard, matting tarantulas, and even rattlesnakes? Well, we saw none of those. We did see a few regular lizards, and they usually scampered off the trail quickly as we were approaching. It seemed that none of the critters were interested in being baked by the sun any more than we were.
Beautiful colors in their own right
As we got closer and closer to the end of our hike, we noticed several people, even a couple with a baby in a stroller, just starting the hike. Now, I don’t know if they were planning to go all the way to the Lighthouse or not, but this was about 2pm with the sun, unfiltered, and high in the sky. We asked each of them if they had plenty of water and they assured us they did. One young guy was even running! Our thoughts were many, but at least one of them was “Oh, to be young again!”
We finished the hike, had lunch, and headed back to the hotel, where we showered, cooled off, ordered pizza, and reviewed the day’s photos. According to my smart watch, the total time on the hike was a little over six hours. Not too bad considering everything. Overall, it was a wonderful day and one we were proud of. We accomplished something we were not entirely sure we could and lived to tell the tale. And this isn’t the last day. We have an extra special day planned tomorrow, but that will have to wait for part 5.
See you then,
Michael & Karen
All words and photos copyright 2023 M Hampton Photography
