2011 Trip across the US
2012 Trip across the US
2014 Trip across the US
2015 Trip to Alaska
2015-16 Southwest Trip
2016 New England Trip
The first three photos are from Rockhound. I forgot that they were in the D800 until I set it up for some night time photos here at Palo Duro. The hang glider was using the face of the mountain behind the campground to gain altitude. He would circle around the face until he was almost out of sight, then make a bunch of large circles, until he dropped enough to go back to the face & climb. He was there for over an hour.
I looked through the trail map this morning, and decided that a hike to the park's favorite formation, "The Lighthouse" was in order. Since it is an almost 3 mile hike with little shade and labeled "Moderate", I left early enough to avoid the late afternoon heat. Actually, other than long, most of the hike is easy. There is a "Fooled You" formation about a 1/2 mile into the hike that looks like it could be the lighthouse, but isn't. The last 1/8 of a mile is a steep climb up a narrow & rocky wash, much of which is on slippery sand covered rock - even more difficult coming down.
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| Hang Gliding at Rockhound | Hang Gliding at Rockhound | Hang Gliding at Rockhound | Not the Lighthouse |
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| On the Trail | Wildflowers | On the Trail | The Trail & First View |
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| The Last 1/8th Mile | The Lighthouse - Almost There | The Lighthouse | The Lighthouse |
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| A Tree | Wind Made Caves | A Roadrunner Running on the Road | A Roadrunner Running on the Road |
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| The Canyon View From the Lighthouse (Lagre 2.8MB JPG) |
After getting back to the truck, I drove out to the Mesquite Campground, and did find it more interesting than the Sagebrush campground I'm in. It did have one empty site, but I decided not to bother asking to move. I did find a Roadrunner crossing the road (naturally) and got a couple of photos.
On the way back to the campground, I stopped at the park store, hoping they would have quarts or 1/2 gallons of skimmed milk, but all they had were pints of whole milk, something I haven't had in years. I guess I'll have to have an Alaskan Amber with dinner! I spent the afternoon finding the right mix of sun & shade to be comfortable sitting outside. It is cooler than yesterday (82°F now at 7:00) but the sun still has a punch. There is also more wind than yesterday, so I wasn't comfortable putting out the awning.
I headed for the shower around 7:00. I'm beginning to think carrying a wrench & showerhead would be a great idea. I don't mind water saver showerheads, but some are extreme. The one in this shower shoots a very fine, high pressure spray. While it is warm (but far from hot) coming out of the showerhead, by the time it reaches you it is cold. Good for washing your hair since it is still warm (but feels line a pressure washer) but painful for washing the rest of you. While there is a shower curtain, the showerhead is aimed at it, and the spray gets under it so the drying area is very wet. On the plus side, there is a bench & plenty of hooks.
Dinner was a Chimichanga and asparagus. I'm not sure what the difference is between a Chimichanga & a Burrito, other than the Chimichanga has a more pie like crust. In any case, easy to bake in the toaster oven.
I'll try to post today's page, but the photos, even the thumbnails wouldn't upload, so if it makes it the table of images will be blank.
Until a good internet connection -
This page is maintained by: vermilye@oswego.edu
Last Update:
March 23, 2017
