Palo Duro Canyon,TX, "The Other Grand Canyon". A Little Rain Did Fall.

For "Travel Tuesday" let's stay right here in my adopted State of Texas.


As the saying goes:   "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could!"


There is another Texas saying:  "That when the Palo Duro Canyon was discovered it used to be deeper than the Grand Canyon, but they scraped all the land around it flat, and filled in some of Palo Duro Canyon, so that the Grand Canyon could keep it's reputation!"


And another: "If B...S… was white, Texas would be covered in snow!"
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Palo Duro Canyon, Texas, Jewel of the Texas Pan Handle!

"This Texas State Park is 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles wide and a depth of 800 feet. It is the second largest in the United States behind the Grand Canyon, which is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and a depth of 6,000 feet. The Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River carved Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

It has a long way to go to catch up with Grand Canyon, but it is certainly making some headway. It was named Palo Duro meaning "hard wood", because the early Spanish settlers noticed the abundance of mesquite and juniper trees in the area. It is truly a beautiful spot with colorful linear lines passing over the land, while being outlined by the trees of many years ago. Any geologist or enthusiast will find a home here."

Now, is this your idea of Texas?   I didn't think so.













"Two of the more distinctive features in Palo Duro Canyon are Capitol Peak and Lighthouse Peak . Lighthouse Peak can only be reached by a hiking trail if your desire is to see this very remarkable formation close-up."


Notice the flat top of the canyon walls - Roads leading down into the canyon




















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I think Jo and Fred Wishnie describe their feelings about it so well:  http://www.mytripjournal.com/travel-549471 
"We finally made it back to Palo Duro Canyon, a place I have loved ever since we stayed here our first year out.

We often have conversations with people we meet, who after learning we live in our RV and have been to 47 of the "lower 48" states plus Alaska, will ask "So what's been your favorite place?"
We pretty much answer in unison, Alaska! It would be hard not to have that be the answer, as anyone who has ever been there will know.    Sure, Yellowstone National Park and Yosemite N.P. come right after that.

But pretty shortly the next place that comes to mind is Palo Duro Canyon. It is one of those special places that is hard to describe. Magical is the word that comes to mind. We spent our first Thanksgiving on the road here in November 2006. I wondered how it would feel the second time.

So how does it feel, this second time? Naturally, as the old Sade song goes, it's never as good as the first time. But I have to tell you, it's pretty darn close. It is still magical to me, and I think it will always be."  Jo Wishnie.
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Other blog descriptions:
http://rjrvtravels.blogspot.com/2010/10/oct-5-2010-beauty-all-around-us.html

and:
http://blog.rv.net/2011/04/good-news-from-texas-state-parks-palo-duro-canyon/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RvnetBlog+%28RV.net+Blog+Daily+Updates+Feed%29

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History:

History of the Area:
"Man has inhabited Palo Duro Canyon for approximately 12,000 years. The Clovis and Folsom people first resided in the canyon and hunted large herds of mammoth and giant bison. Later on, other cultures such as the Apaches, Comanches, and Kiowas utilized the canyon's abundant resources.

Early Spanish Explorers are believed to have discovered the area and dubbed the canyon "Palo Duro" which is Spanish for "hard wood" in reference to the abundant mesquite and juniper trees. However, an American did not officially discover the canyon until 1852 when Captain Marcy ventured into the area while searching for the headwaters of the Red River.

In 1874, Palo Duro Canyon was a battle site during the Red River Wars. Col. Mackenzie, under orders from the US Government, apprehended the Native Americans residing in the canyon by first capturing 1,400 horses and then later destroying the majority of the herd. Unable to escape, the Native Americans surrendered and were transported to reservations in Oklahoma. Then, from 1876 until 1890, most of the canyon belonged to the J.A. Ranch and was operated by Col. Charles Goodnight.

On September 28, 1874, Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie at the head of the Fourth U.S. Cavalry attacked and destroyed a large Indian encampment in Palo Duro Canyon. Mackenzie’s troopers formed part of the Red River Campaign of 1874 - 75, which saw no less than six military columns placed in the field (in a bid) to force Kiowas, Cheyennes, and Comanches to return to the reservations. On the 28th, Mackenzie’s scouts followed the Indian trail to the edge of Palo Duro Canyon. The soldiers descended the steep slopes to the valley floor 700 feet below.

Taken by surprise, the Indians abandoned their villages, allowing Mackenzie to capture more than 1,100 horses that were later slaughtered to prevent recapture. Although few Indians or soldiers were killed, the unrelenting pursuit of the troopers and the cold weather ultimately forced the Indians to surrender, thus bringing to a close the Red River War. Part of the battlefield is located within Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

"This was almost a bloodless battle except for the carnage of the horses. Only 4 Indians were killed and no cavalry soldiers died. But left without their horses, camp and supplies, the Indians finally gave up and went back to their reservations at Fort Reno and Fort Sill. So the battle was successful from the viewpoint of the U.S. government.

"Not our proudest moment in terms of how the Native Indians were treated in this author's opinion."

Activities: Park activities include camping, horseback riding, hiking, nature study, bird watching, mountain biking, and scenic drives.

While in the park, stop by and enjoy our Visitor Center located on the Canyon Rim. This rustic native stone building was constructed by the CCC in 1934 and houses a Museum and Museum Store. The store is located in the Visitor Center and features books, pottery, jewelry, and educational items pertaining to the Canyon."
More about Palo Duro at: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/palo_duro/
and   http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/texas/palo-duro-canyon-state-park
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Texas Legacies, For more information, go to the Texas Legacies web site.
TEXAS Musical Drama in Palo Duro Canyon State Park

There is a musical production that is performed every evening during the summer.  The musical is part Texas history and the 5 Diamonds Ranch history.    The musical is performed in the park in a special outdoor amphitheater.  The backdrop for the stage is the Palo Duro Canyon walls itself.  True Texans will find the musical more moving than a trip to the Alamo in San Antonio.
See the Intro Video


A LONE HORSEMAN, carrying the flag of the great state of Texas appears atop a 600 foot cliff, signaling the beginning of the most spectacular outdoor musical drama in the world. With a burst of fireworks and a moving swell of the music, the horseman gallops away. Suddenly, a cast of more than 60 actors, singers and dancers takes the stage to kick off the show that millions of fans from all around the world have come to see.

Only a state as big as Texas could host a show as big as TEXAS!
THE BEAUTIFUL PIONEER AMPHITHEATRE, carved out of and nestled into a natural basin in the majestic Palo Duro Canyon-the nation’s second largest canyon-comes alive once again with the Official Play of the State of Texas. http://hubpages.com/hub/State-Park-in-Texas-Palo-Duro-Canyon-Dramatic-Attraction

The 43rd anniversary season will run Tuesday through Sunday from June 4 to August 20, 2011.


Tickets are available on-line, by phone at (806) 655-2181, and at the TEXAS Office in Canyon on the Square at 1514 5th Avenue in the nearby town of Canyon.

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Palo Duro Canyon is over 600 miles from me, so it isn't somewhere that I can just drive over to see!







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Today, well, early this morning:

I could see flashes of lightening in the distance when I took the dogs out for their 'last call', last night, then power went out about 1.00AM.  That woke me up, as I am not used to sleeping in total quiet and dark.

I could hear thunder, and we got a few drops of rain.  When the power was restored, for some reason, my computer, which was off at the time, came on.  So I was going to turn it off, but got sidetracked looking at some emails.  The rain had quit, but a little while later the power went off again, and I saw some emergency vehicles going down the road.  So someone was getting some bad weather down the line.

I thought I had better get this published now, as there is no knowing what will be happen later today.

Help Save the Honeybees, And Save Our Plants And Crops. Cargo Trailer.

For "Mammal Monday", let's change to:  MALISSA: in Greek, name meaning “honey bee.”

So for "Malissa Monday":   Preserve Our Ecosystem and Save the Honeybees.
 
"Honeybees pollinate the crops that we enjoy every day —
if they were no longer around to do so, plants' abilities to reproduce would be decimated.
We need to make sure that the substances we put on our crops are not threatening other species of insects and animals. If we don't, we're simply trading one bad outcome for another.
Honeybee populations are in danger because they are ingesting a harmful pesticide called clothianidin. Take action for the bees!

Honeybees are vital to our ecosystem.

They pollinate plant species that make up a large portion of the crops we consume. Without bees, plants would not be able to reproduce and the core of our agricultural system would crumble.
Right now is the time to take action in favor of saving our bees. Bee populations have begun to see sharp declines in recent years. There are several theories as to why this may be occurring, but the most widely-accepted is that pesticides meant to protect us from other harmful bugs are having the unintended effect of killing off the bees.

The chemical — clothianidin — is very toxic to honeybees. Clothianidin has not been tested properly, and therefore should not be viable for use as a pesticide. We need to know a chemical's full potential before it is used on the food that we consume
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Sign the petition asking the EPA to ban clothianidin until they truly assess its effects on humans and honeybees."
At: http://www.therainforestsite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=4&campaign=Honeybees&ThirdPartyClicks=ETE_022411_Honeybees_3
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Two pounds of honey requires that bees make about ten million trips to individual flowers.
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A Bee Abode

"Give struggling bee populations a break by giving them a home

• If you are not a do-it-yourselfer, you can buy a bee block, nest, house, or hive online or at garden and specialty stores.
• If you don’t have dead trees or logs lying around your backyard sanctuary for bees to use as nest sites, you can create the nooks and crannies favored by cavity-nesting bees with an easy do-it-yourself project: a bee block.

Build a bee block

You can buy bee blocks and other bee homes at garden or other specialty stores, but if you want to make your own, here are directions:

• Into the side of untreated 4 x 6 inch lumber or similarly-sized stick of firewood (the length is not important), drill a range of holes approximately 1/2 inch apart.
• Drilling at different diameters (about 3/32–3/8 inch) and depths will accommodate different bee species. For example, 5/16-inch diameter and 2–4 inch deep holes will favor mason bees. Don’t drill the holes all the way through the wood, and try to make them as smooth as possible on the inside.
• Adding a roof will protect nesting bees from rain and strong sun.
• At a height of about 2–4 feet, firmly attach your bee block to a stake and place it in the garden or affix it to a building, fence, or tree. Face it in an east or southeasterly direction so it catches the morning sun.
• Line the holes with specially made paper straws or tubes (you can find these online by searching for "bee paper straw," or you can make your own of parchment paper or newspaper) for easy cleaning at the end of the season. Don't use plastic straws; they can allow mold to grow and have been linked to bee deaths.

Maintaining bee blocks

• To reduce the occurrence of parasites, fungi, and diseases, pull straws out of nest blocks with tweezers at the end of the summer, and store them in a cool place over the winter (shed, fridge) in a ventilated container so mold does not develop.
• Wash out the block with a mild bleach solution
• Let it dry and store it for the winter
• In spring, insert new straws and place the occupied ones you collected the previous season in a protected, east-facing location somewhat near the cleaned out block. Dispose of used straws when the bees emerge. "

Learn more about bee homes

Helpful alien: The familiar honey bee is actually foreign to North America.

You can find lots of information online about befriending bees. Here are a few places to start:
»The Xerces Society's Nest for Native Bees factsheet
» The U.S. Department of Agriculture's page on building a bee (or nesting) block
»The National Sustainable Agriculture Center's information on helping native bees.
»The Blog at Help Save Bee's page on building a mason bee house

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Help bees in other ways

"Bees often get a bad rap because a very few species might sting if they feel threatened near their nests. Actually, the majority of North America’s 4,000 native bee species probably won't sting you under normal circumstances.

Did you know that bees are nature’s most important and efficient pollinators? But they are disappearing at an alarming rate.

So get to know your native bees—and learn how to bee-friend them.

You need bees to pollinate your flowers, but if having bee home in your yard doesn't appeal to you, or if you've set up your block, hive, or nest and now want to do more, you can give them food and a safe habitat."
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/bees.html#What_you_can_do_to_help_bees
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Today:

"Pebbles" will finally eat kitten food out of a bowl, but as they are orphans, they want some motherly love, so I give her and "Pal", a bottle last thing at night. Puny little "Precious" is growing, but she doesn't want a bottle any more.


Today, Jay and worked some more on the little shelf/drawer cabinet by the door, in the cargo trailer. Here it is with 5 drawers installed. I have 8 of these little drawers, but we won't be using all of them. All eight of the drawers would be too high, as one couldn't see in the top one. 
The drawers cover the seams in the paneling, just like I intended. We cut two sticks 4-1/2' long, (total 6" with the 1 x 2"  ledger boards) to gauge the depth of each cubby hole, to keep them evenly spaced.  It will have a door or two over the drawers and shelves, on the front of this cabinet.

Ray will still has some more painting to do to it on another day.

Why Did Jesus Fold The Napkin? On My Father's Side. Easter Candy. Easter Lays An Egg.

He who does anything because it is the custom, makes no choice. ~ John Stuart Mill
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Why did Jesus fold the napkin?

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What do colored eggs, baskets, bonnets and sunrise services have to do with the Bible? Nothing!
Discover the truth about Easter.

Would Jesus Christ Celebrate Easter?

"For millions of people, Easter Sunday is the most important religious observance of the year. But if Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee today, would He observe this holiday?

by Jerold Aust

"Each spring the excitement of Easter fills the air. Many churches prepare special Easter programs about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At home, parents color Easter eggs and then hide the brightly colored holiday symbols around the house and lawn so that, come Easter morning, their children can excitedly hunt for them.

Stuffed Easter bunnies and chocolate rabbits are seen everywhere in the weeks leading up to this major religious observance. Then there are the Easter sunrise services, where churchgoers gather to hear about Jesus' resurrection and honor that miraculous event by watching the sun come up in the east.

But what do colored eggs and the Easter rabbit have to do with Jesus Christ's resurrection? How did these seemingly irreligious symbols come to be associated with that event?

Can we find any historical or biblical record of Jesus or His disciples celebrating Easter or teaching parents and children to dye eggs and display bunnies on this holiday? Did Jesus or His apostles instruct any of His followers to meet to honor His resurrection at sunrise on Easter Sunday—or at any other time, for that matter?

If Easter was not sanctioned by Jesus or instituted by His apostles, then where did it come from? In other words, if Jesus were living among us as a flesh-and-blood human being, would He observe Easter or encourage others to do so?"

More at: http://www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn93/would-jesus-christ-celebrate-easter.htm

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$2 Billion Spent on Easter Candy: Are the Smiles Worth the Risks to Children?

"$2 Billion for Easter Candy Alone - We have an explosion of obesity and cancer in this country, and the food industry has been forewarned--just like the tobacco industry the sugar industry will soon be the target of class action lawsuits.
With the ever-increasing rates of obesity in the United States, food companies are being warned that tempting consumers to gorge on unhealthy foods could lead to lawsuits, increased regulation and financial consequences.
Several obesity studies have already pointed the finger at snacks and soft drinks as the main fuel behind the growing obesity epidemic

The warning comes just as the United States sold over $2 billion worth of Easter candy.

Investment bank JP Morgan issued the warning, saying that food companies’ share prices could be at risk, especially from potential litigation similar to what has faced McDonald’s.

Confectionery and soft drink manufacturers could be most at risk. Recently, the theory that an excessive intake of carbohydrates, particularly in the form of white sugar and flour, is a major factor in obesity has begun to gain acceptance. The theory was introduced to the mainstream through diets such as the Atkins Diet.

In the United States, where close to 28 percent of men and 34 percent of women are obese, it is estimated that the condition cost $117 billion in 2000, an amount that is closing in on the $140 billion costs associated with smoking.

Industry groups such as the Grocery Manufacturers of America and the National Restaurant Association say that food manufacturers are not to blame for the obesity epidemic, to which they say a number of factors contribute.

According to analysts, increased regulations could take the form of anything from restrictions on advertising to stricter labeling requirements. There could even be restrictions or bans on distribution to certain areas, such as schools, hospitals and government offices."
Financial Times April 18, 2003
 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/05/10/easter-candy.aspx
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Jesus Wasn't Crucified on Friday—or Resurrected on Sunday!

Jesus crucified on Wednesday, not Friday

More at: http://www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn63/jesus.htm
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Does keeping Easter honor God?

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Please don't let your pets get into the chocolate, grapes or raisins.   Have a safe and happy Sunday.