Out West

Our Gates/Kasprzak Spring Break tradition continued this year and we headed out west!  Started our adventure in a HipCamp site in Cisco, TX.  The campsite was next door to this old abandoned "zoo resort" where you could walk through and see the old animal enclosures, read the history and see the pool/play areas.  In its prime, it was probably pretty awesome.   

The kids made their own homes in the old abandoned cabins.  Even used debris and old wood to make their own furniture.  It was only mildly concerning to see them hauling giant 2x4s around full of rusty nails...  lol

After two nights at the zoo, we headed out to our 2nd stop, Caprock Canyons State Park.  This place was so amazing and beautiful.  Could have stayed much longer.  Free range buffalo and prairie dogs!

Caprock Canyon has a giant trailway that used to be a railroad.  They have repurposed it for bikes and hiking.  The dads and kids went on a 10 mile ride to the tunnel.

When our time was up at Caprock, we headed to our main reason for the trip:  Palo Duro Canyon State Park!  Caprock Canyon had their campsites on top of the canyon and you hike down into it.  Palo Duro you camp inside the canyon which meant a nailbiter trip down the switchbacks with the camper, but we made it!

Lighthouse hike!

No buffalo or prairie dogs here, but we did see turkeys!

One day was a bit rainy, so we opted to head into Amarillo and see what fun there was to be had there.  Turns out, not much.  

RV museum was the highlight.  That's sort of sad...  lol  But, this place was pretty cool.

"Route 66" is just a sign on a creepy road with zero shops or anything decent to do...  

We opted to check out Cadillac Ranch - which is just as weird as it looks.  An art installation where cars are sticking out of the desert and you can spray paint them.  It was SO COLD and SO WINDY that the Kasprzaks opted to skip this one.  Ha.

So then, in true rural town fashion, we found a bowling alley.  

 With the exception of the disappointment with Amarillo being totally lame, the trip was a smashing success and we are already looking forward to the next one!