I had been to this park ten years ago with an old army buddy MarkB and hiked the 6.2-mile Lighthouse trail, named for an eroded mesa top that resembles two towers. He was living in Lubbock at the time and had never been to this place. Even he was in awe of the surrounding geology.
I wanted to hike this trail again as I remember how pretty the trail was. All I could remember was the Lighthouse in the end. The trail to the Lighthouse, however, was blank in my memory. I wanted to relive the old memory. It did not disappoint.
Anyone visiting the Amarillo area and who loves the outdoors should visit this state park. Entrance is only $5 for a day pass.
This park is a geologist's wet dream, as there are layers that date back from the Permian Age (250 million years ago), to the Triassic Age (225 million years ago), Miocene-Pliocene Age ( 2-10 million years ago) to today's Quarternary. If stating this makes me appear smart, well, I just copied this off the board in the Visitor's Center. The various layers are differentiated by different rock color: red is the oldest, then grey, then yellow and white.
I got to the park shortly after sunrise. There was a line to sign in, as the guard shack was not manned yet. I wanted to start early to beat the heat. This place has little shade and it can get hot in the canyon floor. The trailhead is five miles down the park road. The hike starts out fairly level and doesn't reach any steep grade until that last half mile up slick, eroded red rock. The trail is well-marked with blue stakes and the distance covered. Star thistle, blanketflower, Gaillardia line the path.
There were already plenty of people getting started when I got to the trail head at 7:20am. I had the dogs on leash for the duration of the hike to the Lighthouse, as there were other dogs on the trail and several mountain bikers who passed us by. No question that this is a busy and popular trail!
The humidity quickly wore on me. It was 84% at 8am, with a threat of rain by 11am. My cotton t-shirt was drenched by the time I got to the Lighthouse, and my hair looked like I had just walked out of the shower. There were other people lazing around the rocks and I took a private path away from the crowd so that the dogs could relax. This place is like a mini-vortex, with millions of years of earthly existence right before our eyes. I can see why so many people come to this park to hike this trail.
I lingered around for 40 minutes as more people of all ages and abilities arrived at the Lighthouse. The trail was crowded on my return hike, with people of all ages, sizes and abilities hiking up to the towers. Three hours later, back at the truck, I came to an overflowing parking lot.
It was late morning, the trailheads across the park were filling up, and I had no where to go. The dogs were tired and I just wanted to find a shady (ha!) spot to park and read a book for a few hours while the dogs napped. I had no other plans for today. Would I witness a Super Storm blast across the Texas Panhandle? The hike was done, the dogs were tired, and I just wanted to relax for a few hours. My book of choice was "Cancerland" by David Scadden, MD. Not the most uplifting non-fiction for those who are cancer survivors or who lost loved ones to cancer.
The late morning showers never materialized, although I could see a darkened horizon to the south. At 4pm I drove back to Amarillo and again stopped at the Long Wooden Spoon brewery. I really like their #8 Texas Witty Twister and the #11 Devil's Claw Green Chile Cream Ale. Kim and Jared are such gracious hosts. This time we chatted more and I met a few more locals. One family brought their border collieX dog Jack along, an eight-year-old dog they adopted from the Amarillo animal shelter. He was just a puppy but was going to be destroyed because his 72 hours were coming to an end.
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