Palo Duro Canyon
The “Little Grand Canyon of Texas“! This is such a special place for my little family. We have been almost every year for the last 5 years. Its such a wonderful place to visit for the day, but even better if you can stay for the week. So much hiking available!
Palo is located in the Texas panhandle; 14 miles from Canyon, TX and 25 miles South of Amarillo, TX. Descend 800 feet into the canyon and drive the 16 miles of paved roads to enjoy the canyon and all it has to offer. Enjoy the hiking trails, historic sites, biking trails and horseback riding.Â
Our trip this year was super eventful. We headed out on a Thursday morning and got about 20 miles from our house when we were kindly informed that our camper tail lights were out! So we pulled over and started checking it out trying to figure out what was going wrong. The friends that were going with us were also having some vehicle problems so they pulled over to work on their truck. We ended up dropping their truck off at a mechanics and parked in a huge parking lot to work on re-grounding our lights for our travel trailer. It took about 2 hours in the 28* weather, to get both of our vehicles fixed and then we were finally back on the road. The timing was so crazy how it all worked out and we believe that God was protecting us from something by delaying our trip. So even though it was frustrating, we were thankful for his protection.
We arrived at our campsite that evening, quickly set up camp and then jumped back in the trucks to go eat at The Big Texan! {More on this fantastic place to come!}
Of course this was my last trip before my hysterectomy, so you know it had to be painful one last time and mess with my last vacation of the year. I didnt get to hike near as much as I would have liked to but the rest of our group was able to go out and enjoy a couple of the many trails that they have available. The first day they went and hiked up the canyon and did the canyon rim trail. We even saw them on the top looking over at us!Â
I did attempt to go on one trail, but of course that day it was 90* outside in the sun and there was a bike race happening. So halfway through it, the girls and I turned around and went back to the beginning and enjoyed snowcones while the guys went on to the Lighthouse rock formation.
One of our favorite things to do is go and play at the hole in the wall. We make rock balance formations, explore the cavelike structure, and climb up the sides and explore the top. Â
So of course we took our friends to this spot and played for a few hours. When we were ready to head to the next area, The Rock Garden, we got in our vehicles and discovered that our friends truck wouldnt start. They worked on it there for about 20 minutes and then we decided to tow it back to our campsite to continue working on it. Unfortunately it wasnt something that could be fixed. They decided they were gonna need a new starter. Â
Even with all the problems that we had on this trip from vehicle problems to physical limitations; we still had a wonderful time relaxing around the campsite. Â
I spent a lot of my time swinging in my hammock, just chit chatting with my bestie. We use these hammocks and have never had a single issue with them ripping or falling apart at all. We’ve had ours for about 4-5 years now.  Â
In the evenings we used our gas firepits to stay warm (it was really chilly at night!) and enjoy a fire without the smoke and without effort! WIN! One of the first times we camped at Palo, they had a burn ban and we werent able to use a real fire. This is when we first discoverd the benefit of traveling with a gas firepit. Fire Ban..no problem! These are acceptable to use even during burn bans. I love that we just fire it up when we are ready for it, and when we are ready for bed we just turn it off and let it cool. I dont have to worry about a fire not being put out completely and we dont have to struggle with having dry wood for starting fires. Which also means, no smoke. This is both a good and bad thing for me. I personally love the smell of a wood fire and the nostalgia it brings. However, I hate when the smoke is really strong and has us all miserable with coughing and headaches. This is the firepit that we have and love. Â
So Monday moring we were supposed to leave our campsite to head home around 9am. However, with the truck problems, the guys had to drive into Amarillo, 25 miles away, to the Dodge dealership in search of a new truck starter part. They didnt have it there so they drove an 1 1/2 away from Amarillo to pickup the part they needed. While that was happening, the Amarillo dealership came down into the canyon and towed their truck up and out to their dealership. The guys met them back at the dealership and installed the new part, only to find out that it wasnt the problem afterall. So it took another couple of hours to diagnose and fix the problem by replacing a wire. While the guys were working on the truck situation we stayed back at the campsite with our kiddos packing up the campers and playing Escape Room board games. Â
By the time the guys got back, we loaded up and left it was 5pm.  Again, we felt like God had a hand in all of this. We were all woke up at about 4am to super intense high winds that had our campers rocking back and forth lke crazy. Weather alerts said that we had dangerous high winds with major gusts making traveling with bumper pull travel trailers very nerve-wracking. But by the time we left, the winds had died down and it was just below freezing weather! Â
We had a safe and uneventful trip home, thankfully! Long day, late night, and straight to bed! We were exhausted. Â
All in all, the trip was amazing; despite the hiccups. It was great to be able to rest and relax with friends one last time this year and before the hecticness of the holidays. Â
I’m already itching to get back into my camper! Where should we go next?
Adventures In Oklahoma
Hi! My name is Jaclyn. I'm a 35+ year old stay-at-home-mom who loves to shop, try new things, be the first to know about something great, and share all my adventures with my friends. Obsessed with cheeseburgers, vodka and coffee. Sharing all my adventures in Oklahoma and beyond!