Grand Tour of Texas: Day 3 Palo Duro Canyon to Midland

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Day 3 of the Grand Tour of Texas!!!!

I woke up bright and early and headed over to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. The canyon is huge and the ground floor is far bellow and expansive. You get to see the whole of the canyon at various view points. You drive down to the canyon floor to go on various hikes. I decided to take the Lighthouse Formation hike since its what the park is known for and because it seemed like an easy 4 miles...which turns into 8 miles because, well you have to come back right? These are all things I didn't think through as I head off into my first hike in years!

The erosion and various strata of rock kept me interested as did all the dry creek beds. The hike itself was long and I ended up trying to block the pain of blisters, horrible, horrible blisters. After a couple of hours of hiking I made it to the base of the Lighthouse rock. The hike then goes almost straight up. The pain of being tired and feeling the fire-pain of my blister combined with the vertical hike nearly killed me! The only solace I could find was that at least I'd die with a view of the beautiful canyon floor as it lay out before me.

After huffing and puffing and nearly dying I made it all the way to the top. The rock is a lot bigger than I thought it would be. But the hike was definitely worth it. The walk back was slow due to my blister. Once I took my boot off I noticed the puss and blood. It was gross. The skin had worn off and it was burning.

I drove to Lubbock afterwards and looked around the town. Texas Tech looks like a nice campus. I also searched everywhere but couldn't find the famed Buddy Holly statue, just his glasses.

I drove out of town as the sun was setting. It was spectacular with bright yellows and oranges! Headed to Midland or Odessa. The whole place sort of stinks of gas and petroleum. The rolling plains of panhandle Texas have given way to a flat land that stretches for miles. Sleep will be welcomed today after my blister travesty.

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Photos

Buddy Holly Museum
Those are big glasses!

Ruining the Sunset With My Mug
My shirt almost matches!