Caprock Canyon – Prairie Dogs

October 28, 2023July 3, 2024 by Michael

Prepare for cuteness overload! After spending days at Palo Duro Canyon and not seeing any tarantulas mating, aoudad sheep, or even rattlesnakes, we came to Caprock where we saw the official bison herd of the state of Texas, and these cute little guys–the little prairie dogs!

According to Google, Prairie dogs are burrowing, colony-forming squirrels that are native to the grasslands of North America. They are considered the keystone species of the western plains.

They can be destructive and create unwanted holes in prairies which cause injuries to animals and humans alike. They also compete with cattle for the grass that they both feed on, which is why ranchers are not keen on having them on their land.

On the other hand, the tunnels they create are also used by other animals, such as burrowing owls, to hide from predators.

Prairie dogs are very social critters. They live in families in their underground homes, and they take turns standing sentry to warn others to take cover whenever a predator approaches. Their high-pitched squeaks can be heard from quite a distance giving the others plenty of time to take cover.

On the darker side, their family love does not always seem apparent. The females of a few species are known to commit infanticide and eat the young of their extended family. Again, according to Google: Researchers hypothesize that this behavior increases the chances of survival for their own offspring. They believe that competition is so extreme that sometimes natural selection favors prairie dogs to kill the offspring of close relatives. Not what you expect when you look at their cute little faces.

There are at least two prairie dog towns at Caprock Canyon SP. One is right next to a parking lot, while the other is off a trail about a half mile from the parking lot. I was told by a park ranger about the burrowing owls but failed to find any in either town.

As we walked past the holes, the high-pitched squeaks sounded out across the field. Try as we might, we just couldn’t get very close without them diving for cover. Luckily, with a long lens and high megapixel camera, we got a few decent photos to share of the critters.

And with that, we come to the end of our Palo Duro adventure. With four days of driving, hiking, and photographing, it is time for the 9-hour drive home with a couple of days to recuperate before returning to our real lives and jobs. Reality is a harsh taskmaster, but to work we must go.

We shall return with more adventures, and hopefully, with this trip as a kick starter, this blog will start being updated much more often.

Be on the lookout for the next post.

Michael & Karen

Caprock Canyon – The Canyon

October 26, 2023October 25, 2023 by Michael

Welcome back. The main attraction of Caprock Canyon is the canyon itself. It is very picturesque, but once again we were plagued with dull, empty skies. No clouds to be found today. At least we weren’t doing any long hikes this time!

The rugged landscape makes one think of the stories we used to read in history books in school, about the explorers that were first scoping out this land from Europe. What must it have been like seeing all of this!

The park is the third largest state park in Texas covering a little over 15,000 acres. The geology of the area is very unique. “The park sits along the Caprock Escarpment, a long, narrow rocky formation as high as 1,000 feet. The escarpment is a natural transition between the flat, high plains of the Llano Estacado to the west and the lower Rolling Plains to the east.”(TDPW Website)

We drove around the park a bit, checking out several overlooks and were able to see the canyon from several different locations. Each stop provided a slightly different sight of what the canyon offers.

Caprock was very green this visit as well

At one overlook I was able to take a nice panorama that covered about 180 degrees. This landscape really takes you in.

A friend who grew up in the area commented that it is very rare to see this much green in the canyons. Makes us wonder what this landscape would look like in a “normal” year. This normally arid landscape has had a record amount of rainfall this year.

Spanish explorers began going through this area in the 16th century. Imagine if you will, traveling with a large contingent of men across the plains when suddenly you come up to a very large ditch which you have to figure out how to cross with all your equipment, men, and animals. This would have been the situation with the exploders as they approached this area. According to the TDPW website:

Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado crossed these plains in 1541. Spanish colonies in New Mexico appeared around 1600. Trade between Plains Indians and New Mexicans gradually grew.
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caprock-canyons/park_history

If ever you are in the area, the vistas are worth the effort to stop and check out. This park really deserves more time than we had to offer this trip, so if you go, plan at least a couple of days here.

Next time, we’ll share the cutest members of this park, the prairie dogs.

Until then,

Michael & Karen

Caprock Canyon – Bison

October 23, 2023October 23, 2023 by Michael

On day 4, we took a short drive from Canyon down to Quitaque, TX (pronounced “Kitty-cue”) to visit Caprock Canyon State Park. Among other things, this is home to the official Texas state bison herd. The first thing we noticed was that there were no actual signs warning that you are not allowed to rollerskate, so if you are so inclinded I guess there is nothing stopping you. (Ask your parents if you don’t get that reference, or click –> here)

It is hard to ponder what it must have been like with millions of these beasts roaming free across the praries of America. The natives alledgedly used every part of the bison in sustaining their lifestyle. Everything from the hides, to the bones had a use in their culture. I have read stories from eye-witnesses that reported that the prarie looked like waves of an ocean with so many of these beautiful creatures roaming the land. According the the TPWD website,

At one time, 30 to 60 million bison roamed the North American plains. Early Spanish explorers in Texas, including the Coronado expedition, said they were as numerous as “fish in the sea.”… From 1874 to 1878, hunters decimated the great southern bison herd. Estimates from 1888 were that less than 1,000 head of bison remained in North America.
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caprock-canyons/bison/story

I would not say that this herd is at all domesticated, but they do seem to be a little less “wild” than the bison in Yellowstone NP. That said, when they block the road, they still make it very clear that they are in charge. I can only imagine what it must have been like to feel the earth rumble as herds of thousands trotted across the land. It must have been an amazing experiance.

We grew up and went to school in a town in Oklahoma which had schools with both “bison” and “buffalo” mascots. Because the bison was the mascot of the middle school and the buffalo was the mascot of the high school, I grew up thinking that a bison was just a young buffalo. Well, needless to say, that caused a bit of embarassmnt and laughter in my later years when I hearned that real buffalo are native to Asia and Africa while Bison are the critters that we have here. So next time someone tells you they saw buffalo while visiting Yellowstone or other place here in the US, you can kindly inform them that what they saw were actually bison. I blame the public school system for my confusion. For a short video explaining the differences, click –> here.

Bison are not the only critters in Caprock, they also have a couple of prariedog towns, which we will visit in the next installment.

Until then,

Michael & Karen

M Hampton Photography

Sharing God's Creation One Click at a Time

Tag: TexasParksAndWildlife

Caprock Canyon – Prairie Dogs

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Caprock Canyon – The Canyon

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Caprock Canyon – Bison

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