Last week, we made a side trip from Route 66 in Texas to Palo Duro Canyon, which is about 30 miles south of Amarillo. It’s definitely worth checking out.
The canyon lies in an unlikely spot. Like much of the Texas Panhandle, the nearby terrain is as flat as a tabletop. But, suddenly, when less than a quarter-mile away from the park’s gate, the land falls away and you see the colorful canyon reveal itself. It’s not nearly as deep as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but it will impress.
Here are a couple of videos about Palo Duro Canyon, if you haven’t seen it yourself:
ABSOLUTELY worth the side trip! I camped there a few years back on the way to ABQ. Obviously gorgeous scenery, and from what I hear, the 2nd biggest canyon in the US. Many of the campsites have “hosts”, which are usually a friendly retired couple in an RV the size of Rhode Island. They around to give you info/help you out/warn you about this or that as the case may be. There are showers/facilities etc. The only problem I had, was walking out of the shower one morning and realzing there are two huge ass wild turkeys standing there looking at me like I was tresspassing. I was.
Don’t forget “Texas” the musical at the outdoor amphitheatre there in the summer too, if you can catch it, it’s quite the suprise too, especially after enjoying the canyon and a spectacular sunset!