Palo Duro Canyon

Part of the reason to go to TX was we had agreed to take care of my daughter Kelly children while she and her husband took a vacation. Rather than stay in the Dallas area we decided to load everyone in the bus and head to the Palo Duro Canyon for a week.  The trip up was a long day of driving..about 550 miles.  We arrived, checked in and went to our assigned campsite.  So far so good..

The weather was hot and dry but we hit the trails early before the heat really set in.  Our 5 year old grand daughter Lily was a real trooper.  We'd hike a couple miles almost every day and she was right there.  Picking up rocks and talking non stop while scaring any nearby wildlife into the next county!  Her big brother, Blue (nickname) was a really big help in dealing with her.

The canyon has quite a history. Famous cowboys (Goodnight and Loving) and indians (Quanah Parker)  lived, raised Texas Longhorns and even fought there.  Blue and I enjoyed a morning horseback ride and could only imagine what it must have been like in the mid 1800's.

We came across one of the dugouts that the cattlemen used while tending their herds which had been nicely preserved. 

We also attended a performance of the musical "Texas!" in the amphitheather one evening.  Very intertaining and well done by a cast of 40 or so (mostly) college kids.  Afterwards Lily met one of the cowboys and his horse.





The vistas are certainly striking as you can see.  I took 3 pictures of our bus from the top of the ridge overlooking the theatre.  The first picture on this post shows the bus using alot of telephoto.  The next two below were taken from the same spot.  Look closely and you can still make it out.

Can you see it now?  

The canyon is about 100 miles long and about 800 feet deep.  We enjoyed our stay and our time with the kiddos. They enjoyed cooking hot dogs over a campfire with S'mores for dessert. 

All in all, it was an interesting week and I doubt that any of us will forget the experience!  LOL!

Possum Kingdom Lake, TX

We're in Texas visiting 3 of my kids and 4 of my grandkids.  My eldest daughter and her husband have built a lakehouse up at Possum Kingdom Lake.  They also have opened a pretty cool bar/restaurant up there as well called Boondocks.  My oldest son bought a really nice storage yard with a 45 x 60 steel building from former Dallas Cowboy Jerry Overton.  It's just up the road from Boondocks.  I'm ashamed to admit I didn't take a single picture of the lakehouse (which is stunning) or Boondocks or my son's building.  Shame on me! 

My youngest daughter took Diane and I for tour of the area and I came across this sign.  Hope you can read it.  Another tidbit of history I never knew.  Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite all time western movies.  These guys were tough SOB's.  Can you imagine driving 1500 head of Texas Longhorn cattle from here to Denver? 

Vicksburg, MS

There is alot of history in and around Vicksburg.  We left Red Bay, AL and drove the Natchez Trace Parkway most of the way to Vicksburg.  We checked into the Ameristar Casino RV park and spent a couple days exploring.  We could have spent a couple weeks and not have seen it all. 

The first place we found was the ruins of the historic Windsor House.

It was built before the Civil War by a wealthy cotton plantation owner who died shortly after it was completed.  It survived the war because General Sherman said it was too beautiful to burn!  They fired their own bricks with a kiln on the property.  All the pillars are brick construction and plastered over.  It caught fire and was destroyed in 1890.  They say the ghost of a union soldier is seen several times a year walking the grounds.


While we were driving nearby we saw a church with a steeple like I had never seen before.

A hand atop pointing to heaven.  It seems to have been rather common as we saw a number of old tombstones with the same hand on them.

Along the roadside on the Natchez Trace Parkway we saw a marker for the town of Rocky Springs.  We stopped and walked back into the woods and discovered the remains of where the town once stood.  Rocky Springs was a natural stopping off point for traders and trappers that traveled the Trace.  It had a flowing spring and the local residents raised cotton.  All that remains is the Methodist church built in 1837 and the cemetery along with some foundations for the buildings.

The cemetery shows signs of age and vandalism and tells some sad stories as well.