Day 11: Palo Duro Canyon SP

Well, we left New Mexico today, and are now in the panhandle of Texas, staying in Amarillo. Our first stop of the day was Palo Duro Canyon SP, where we hiked the 6 mile Lighthouse trail. The thermometer at the beginning of the trail claimed it was around 115 degrees. What a coincidence! Because we collectively lost about 115 pounds. The heat was bad enough, but there was limited shade so the sun was pounding on us the entire walk. Like every other long hike, the beginning part was easy, but we quickly became exhausted and were ready to return to the refreshing AC of our car. The trail itself was fairly level, but the last two-tenths of a mile were absolutely brutal. I stayed at the bottom, resting at a small picnic area, while Dad and Jessie continued to venture up to the Lighthouse. After Dad and Jessie slid back down the path, from what they described to be a spectacular view of the surrounding canyons, we began the long hike back to the car. It was a tiresome walk, but we made it out alive - barely. Before leaving the park, we stopped at the visitor center and each bought a large bottle of delicious Dr. Pepper. With the AC blasting in our faces, we made our way over to the Cadillac Ranch.

On our way there we drove through a huge dust storm. It was like nothing we've ever seen before and definitely really cool. Jessie was a little worried, but we drove through it no problem. I have to say was one of my favorite parts of this vacation so far. Ten cars were half buried out in the middle of a field, all covered in graffiti. Dozens of people were there too, many of whom were spray painting pictures and messages onto the cars. At first we walked around, snapping pictures of phrases we thought were amusing or intriguing. One guy spray painted "Billy drinks Pee" onto the hood of a car. When he saw us laughing he explained that Billy was his new father-in-law. We continued to laugh as his phone rang off the hook with updates as his family members commented on his work of art. Before walking away, he gave us the spray can he had been using so we could write something too. It took us a while to think of what to write, Dad ended up writing NIU, complimented by a Huskie head that I painted, while I wrote both "Jesus is Lord" and a 'hey' to my best friend Tay. Once done writing messages, we passed the can over to a little kid, took a couple more pictures, and then left. It was a short drive to our hotel, and after such a long day we were all ready to take it easy for the rest of the night.

Tomorrow we venture into Oklahoma.