Caprock Canyons State Park

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CanyonAg77
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2:50p, 7/29/18
AG
I promised to start this a long time ago, finally getting to it. I did a photo thread a while back on Buffalo Lake NWR, now doing one on Caprock. I also want it to be the go-to spot on TexAgs when anyone asks about CC. So if you have advice, things to do, etc. specific to CC, please feel free to add your thoughts or photos.

I have a lot to add in the next few days, so watch this spot. But a small teaser for right now.




And the Buffalo Lake thread, for those who missed it.

https://texags.com/forums/39/topics/2774278/replies/46988771
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jtp01
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3:06p, 7/29/18
AG
Dang it Canyonag. WHY would you share information about Caprock Canyon??? Now its going to be crowded.

We really enjoy Caprock Canyon Park. Mainly because it's not always crawling with folks. The State Bison Herd is always fun to watch them interact with one another.
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CanyonAg77
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9:38p, 7/29/18
AG
For those that haven't been there, the good news/bad news is its isolation. CC is a long way from any major city (100 miles), and there isn't a town of >2000 population within 50 miles. The entrance town of Quitaque (Kitty Kway, or Kit-a-Kway), four miles from the gates, is slowly coming back from the dead. There is a convenience store, grocery store, restaurant, bed and breakfast, and a couple of gift shops.

So you have to have your supplies before you come, and as jtp01 says, you're not going to be very crowded. Sorry to mess that up.

The RV park in the camp looks nice, and there is a small fishing lake in the park. But the great attraction is the canyon scenery of the big brother Palo Duro Canyon Park, but without the crowds. PD is too famous, too close to Amarillo, and too busy with the musical Texas in the summer.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caprock-canyons

A recently added feature of the park is the official state buffalo (bison) herd, from the famous JA Ranch. It's the surviving remnant of the southern herd, first protected by one of the JA founders, Charles Goodnight, the inspiration for Captain Call in Lonesome Dove. They've removed any animals with cattle DNA, so its as close to the great herds of the 1800s as you'll find.

Here's a general view of the park:



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CanyonAg77
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9:42p, 7/29/18
AG
One of my favorite places is along Eagle Point Trail, the Natural Bridge. Erosion has created a cave/natural bridge, about 50 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 8 feet tall.


[url=https://flic.kr/p/4CnzDN][/url]Natural Bridge by Drifter 77, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/4CnzMJ][/url]Natural Bridge by Drifter 77, on Flickr

Cliff swallows like it, too.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/4Ciidv][/url]Nests by Drifter 77, on Flickr


[url=https://flic.kr/p/4CnArd][/url]Cave by Drifter 77, on Flickr

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CanyonAg77
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9:49p, 7/29/18
AG
South of natural bridge, at this point in the trail, you need to walk down the creek a little to the east. There you will find some formations of "alabaster gypsum", a harder version of the gypsum layers that layer all through the red mud of the canyon formations.

Here's some of the normal layers

[url=https://flic.kr/p/4Cij3B][/url]Gypsum layers by Drifter 77, on Flickr

Here's the alabaster gypsum

[url=https://flic.kr/p/4CnAf7][/url]Gypsum by Drifter 77, on Flickr

Because it's so hard, some people will use it for carving. And where the creek runs through it, it creates a narrow channel, since it's resistant to erosion.


[url=https://flic.kr/p/4Cijcv][/url]Streambed through gypsum by Drifter 77, on Flickr


[url=https://flic.kr/p/4CijnH][/url]Water erosion by Drifter 77, on Flickr
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CanyonAg77
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10:14p, 7/29/18
AG
One of the neat features about the park is the trailway system near the park that follows the old Ft. Worth and Denver railroad line from South Plains, through Quitaque, and on to Estelline, the latter a well-known speed trap on US 287. It includes the 742-foot long Clarity Tunnel, the last active railroad tunnel in Texas when the FW&D abandoned the line in 1989.

https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/Clarity-Tunnel-remains-favorite-destination-8426584.php



Pretty much the same spot as my opening photo.



Built in 1928, it's now the home of a huge summer colony of Brazilian free tail bats.

The easiest access to the tunnel is south of Quitaque, via FM 1065 then west on FM 689 to Monk's Crossing. From Monk's Crossing, the closest place to park, the tunnel is 4.5 miles south on the rails-to-trails, and there's no other road access, so a 9 mile round trip. A challenging walk, an easy bike. Lots of the trail has large railroad roadbed gravel to hike on, but the 4.5 between Clarity and Monk's is a much smaller gravel, very smooth, almost like a cinder race track. There's a slight descent, then a climb to the tunnel, but it's all easy grades, as railroads had to have very gentle slopes.

To me, the first 3 miles out from Monk's is not that interesting, then it starts to get prettier and more dramatic the next 1.5 to the tunnel. The really spectacular stuff is from the tunnel on west.

On the way to the tunnel, note the fine cinders on the trail.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/KRNiRP][/url]Untitled by Drifter 77, on Flickr

Past Clarity

[url=https://flic.kr/p/29tnE5N][/url]Untitled by Drifter 77, on Flickr

The west end of Clarity

[url=https://flic.kr/p/28sbV29][/url]Untitled by Drifter 77, on Flickr

Some old fat guy on the trail

[url=https://flic.kr/p/28aEtwD][/url]Untitled by Drifter 77, on Flickr

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WestTexasAg
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11:48p, 9/3/18
AG
Been there. Cool place.
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CanyonAg77
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In reply to jtp01 • 6:08p, 10/28/18
AG
Quote:
Dang it Canyonag. WHY would you share information about Caprock Canyon??? Now its going to be crowded.

We were over yesterday, and there were about 60 frat daddies from TTech spending Saturday night at the far NW corner of the park. Obviously, we got as far away from them as we could.
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Capt_Crunch 14
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In reply to CanyonAg77 • 10:38p, 10/30/18
AG
In the 4 years since I've moved back to Lubbock from A&M, one thing I've learned is to stay away from Caprock and Palo Duro on the weekends Tech football is on the road.
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CanyonAg77
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In reply to Capt_Crunch 14 • 11:50a, 11/12/18
AG
https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/kamc-news/tech-fraternity-party-leads-to-citations-and-investigation-at-palo-duro-canyon/1569237984
Quote:
CANYON, Texas - Four people involved in a fraternity weekend trip were arrested in Palo Duro Canyon on charges ranging from possession of marijuana to possession of a controlled substance, according to open records from Palo Duro State Park Police.

The Texas Tech chapter of Beta Theta Pi entered the park without reservations, and many of them did not pay the entry fee, according to Travis Forest, a park ranger with the State Park Police at Palo Duro Canyon.

"They're making their day a bad one because they show up to the park," he said, "and all of a sudden, they don't have reservations."

The trip was quickly shut down by police, who said it turned into an investigation of drugs, alcohol and underage drinking.

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CanyonAg77
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8:03p, 11/12/18
AG
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/weather/article221552660.html

Bison in the snow
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Capt_Crunch 14
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In reply to CanyonAg77 • 9:19a, 11/13/18
AG
All the pictures the park shared on Facebook looked so cool. The red of the canyons contrasting with the white of the snow is something I'd love to photograph myself one of these days.
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hoodlum98
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2:26p, 12/7/18
Capt_Crunch 14
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9:07p, 1/4/19
AG
[img][/img][img][/img]

Took these New Years Day at Caprock. It was cold but these guys didn't seem to care.
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EnglishElhew07
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7:12a, 1/30/19
Good pics. We were there on New Years as well.
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CanyonAg77
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1:12p, 10/6/19
AG
Went to Caprock this weekend, beautiful time of year there. So a question, when you meet this guy on a trail, who has the right of way?



Just kidding. You head for the tall grass, don't make too much noise, and hope he stays on the trail. Then you take a photo with a telephoto lens.



Since the main herd was far away, I assume these were a pair of bachelors, hoping to compete for breeding rights next year.



Here was some more of the herd, near Lake Theo



Note that the bison in the middle is not a teasip fan, as he is sporting the rare "Horns Down".

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CanyonAg77
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6:17p, 10/6/19
AG
The gypsum formations are pretty interesting, usually you see them in stream cuts, layered with the red mud layers. But where they are on the surface, rainfall often makes them buckle into domes, that then collapse.



This type of gypsum is very crumbly, but as shown in some of the earlier posts, there is a different, relatively hard type, referred to as alabaster gypsum. The hardness makes it resist water erosion and leads to some neat features, such as


Of course, the sunsets are unmatched



And I tried to get artsy with the moon over a sculpture at the interpretive center.

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CanyonAg77
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6:24p, 10/6/19
AG
A fascinating thing we saw at the park, near the north end of the Eagle Point Trail, were a crapton of butterflies. They would come in pairs, or singles, or small groups. We saw at least 100, probably missed at least that many. My guess is that they are migrating Monarch Butterflies. Almost impossible to photograph, but that doesn't mean I didn't try.





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CanyonAg77
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12:00p, 2/12/24
AG
https://fb.watch/qa5oGZkMlU/

Sorry its Facebook, but cool video
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