New Mexico Tour, Day 3-4
[FIRST DRAFT]
After driving across Oklahoma, I arrived at Texas' Caprock Canyons State Park and Trail just after 6pm with a reservation in the South Prong tent campground (#ST049). The common parking wasn't ideal for sleeping in the van, but the park was strangely empty so it didn't matter. Perhaps, the Texas Parks and Wildlife limited camping reservations due to COVID.
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| South Prong Campground |
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| Upper South Prong Trail |
Before dinner, I hiked the the Upper South Prong Trail to the first outlook. The red rock bluffs were quite beautiful. As it got dark, the wind picked up. Too cold to sit in the wind, I retreated into the van.
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| "No water? You should turn back" |
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| Just imagine how many tries it took to get this selfie. |
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"Please close door when leaving ... So snakes do not come in"
(of course the door was open) |
After breakfast I realized I needed to ride some of these trails before I left. A quick out-and-back on the North Prong Spur trail gave me a sense on the park. The trail's red dirt was well packed, but more of a jeep trail than single track. Fun but I needed to get started on the main event -- The Caprock Canyon Trailway.
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| North Prong Spur |
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| Curious roadside sculpture -- Boots and Bikes? |
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| Can You? |
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| Megalith! |
Stretching across western Texas is the Caprock Escarpment, geographical transition point between the high plains and the rolling terrain of eastern Texas. The transition is a dramatic landscape of canyons, towers and sandstone bluffs.
The Caprock Canyons Trailway starts below the escarpment and winds its way up to the high plains. The trailway is 64-mile multi-purpose trail following an railroad right-of-way featuring trestle bridges and 582-foot tunnel.
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| Clarity Tunnel |
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| Home to thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats |
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| I didn't see any bats, but I did see plenty of guano! |
I rode my cross bike based on the recommendation of the park ranger, but parks of the trail were very rocky and my mountain bike would have been a better choice.
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| Unintentionally chased this cow and calf for 15 minutes |
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| The perfect spot for lunch |
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| Route |
After Caprock, I drove an easy 2 hours to Palo Duro State Park.
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State:
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Texas
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Date:
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2020-09-28
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Route:
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North Prong Spur, then Monks Crossing to the top of escarpment (within sight of first road)
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Distance:
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35 miles
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