Caprock Canyons State Park, TX

Friday, May 26
Lake Colorado City
We stayed here in 2013, back when the drought was pretty bad, so there was little water in the lake. Now, the lake is looking pretty good, very picturesque, surrounded by red, rocky cliffs and cactus. It's hard to get to the water though, so no swimming for the dogs. Typical of reservoirs, the lake walls are steep, and in most place dense with cactus and brush. It's a good lake for boat fishing, and there's an area set aside for shore fishing, so a little something for everyone. It was HOT, but we managed to chase the shade and rest up a bit from all the loading up chores. More fun tomorrow!


Saturday, May 27
We're up and out early, and on to the next stop, Cap Rock Canyons State Park.

Access to the park is through a little town named Quitaque. You could work all day at trying to figure out how they pronounce that, so I'll save you some time. . . they put the phonetic spelling up on the sign coming into town, . . .  it's "Kitty-quay". Quitaque is billed as The Bison Capital of Texas, as the state park is home to the Texas State Bison Herd. The bison theme is evident all over this little town, population 411. Yes, that's about all it's been for many years, but it the cutest, cleanest little town we've ever seen. This beautiful mural is on the wall of what turned out to be a solid block of empty shops, the windows of which are all filled with wonderful museum type displays.

All the shop doors along the block are emblazoned with the Quintaque Country Club logo.  There are a few business still in operation - cafe, gas, groceries, farm supplies etc. There's also a pottery studio, beautifully interpreting the bison theme on their walls.

Our first afternoon in the campground was spent trying to keep the rig below the 102 degrees outside. The weather was predicted to be cooling, and it did. A terrific wind came up during the night, and by 5:30 the next morning (Sunday) the temperature had dropped to 56. Seems there's no middle ground around here!

The natural history of  this park is interesting, and old. These brilliant red spires were carved by river erosion into layers of sandstone laid down  280-250 million years ago, when this area was still under the ocean. Now, the land is high plains prairie, covered with grass, junipers, and a wide variety of other plant life. The park is a network of trails of various lengths, allowing everyone to get up close to the geology, but you can see a lot just following the park road to the various campground sections. The views are spectacular! These cliffs are a deeper red than any we have seen previously.

 Archaeological evidence puts humans and bison here 10-12,000 years ago. A nicely arranged information area has a replica of the bones found locally and also a nice shelter with additional information, and a lot of cliff swallows that are also taking advantage of the shelter.

The park is home to bats, a fern cave, antelope, prairie dogs, many varieties of birds, and . . . as evidence shows, some very large rattle snakes!

   
It makes sense that in an area with protected prairie the original occupants would thrive, so the park is home to the Texas State Bison Herd.
This is a unique herd of southern plains bison.
At his wife * Mary Ann's urging, famed cattleman Charles Goodnight started the herd in 1878. It is one of the five foundation herds that saved this animal from extinction.

From the park brochure, "Following the death of the Goodnights, the herd eventually faded from public awareness until wildlife conservationist Wolfgang Frey learned about the remaining herd of 50 or so bison on the JA Ranch and contacted the state of Texas in 1994. After genetic testing by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, a rare genetic marker was discovered within the herd revealing it to be perhaps the last remaining group of southern plains bison. The JA Ranch donated the herd to Texas Parks and Wildlife, and in 1997 they were moved to Caprock Canyons State Park. Unique not only in its historical importance but also in its rare genetic makeup, the herd has been designated."
  ( * The link from Mary Ann's name provides a great history of the herd - worth the read!)

We heard from a ranger while we were at our last stop they were nursing a snake-bit buffalo calf here (sorry - bison - old habits - bison calf), so upon arrival we asked about it. It turns out, the cow had abandoned the calf, and that's why they had to bottle feed it, and it was also being treated for the rattlesnake bite. 'Not sure which event came first, but the little one is reported to be doing well.

We stayed in Honey Flat, space 14. Most of the full service (water and electric) campsites are comfortably wide, set back from the road, and carved into the brush so you have a bit of privacy. The park also provides a range of tenting and no service options. Restrooms with showers are available, but limited.

We've really enjoyed our stay here and there's plenty to do if we come back again. It's a beautiful park!


Caprock Canyons album

Tomorrow we depart for Kansas.