Palo Duro Canyon State Park: December 2020

I got everything I wanted out of my New Mexico road trip over winter break.  And I got a few hours closer to home than I'd expected after leaving Valles Caldera.  So I decided to make an extra stop on my stretch drive home and visit Palo Duro Canyon State Park for the first time.

Having been to the actual Grand Canyon, I can tell you that Palo Duro deserves its nickname of "The Grand Canyon of Texas."  It is the second biggest canyon in the country, and the vistas from the CCC Overlook are majestic.

The Goodnight Peak Scenic Loop has its own impressive view of the canyon floor.

There's not much in the way of beautiful flora in late December in the Texas Panhandle.  The most I found that was photogenic were some Prickly Pear.  Violet...

...and Purple, which seems like a pretty subtle distinction.

Wildlife was also scarce, and on a few occasions when I saw a bird or even a deer I wasn't in position for a good shot.  That was not the case with this Black-crested Titmouse, who stayed wonderfully still for me in some very good light.

The road was closed right after the parking area for the Capitol Peak Trail.  So my final shot of the scenery was this view of Sunday Creek.

I did appreciate this colorful encouragement to not feed the wildlife.

I think I appreciated this sign south of Amarillo even more.  At least, I appreciated it enough to turn my car around and take a picture of it.  Not enough to follow it and peruse the advertised selection, however.

My first visit to Palo Duro Canyon definitely won't be my last!