My Wife Tried To Kill Me at Caprock Canyons State Park

Official State Bison Herd

This trip started innocently enough on a Saturday morning. We traveled the less-known path from Midland to Quitaque (pronounced "kitty quay") by taking 349 out of Midland to Lamesa then over to Gail before turning north to Post. Out of Post, we took the 207 through Ralls before finally taking some back roads to Quitaque then to the park. We pulled into the park and saw a few of the OFFICIAL Texas State Bison grazing in the distance.

We entered the ranger hut to find out that the camp site assignment system had gone awry and we were to pick ANY slot we wanted in number 1 through 25! Great! Now we can pick which one we wanted. As we drove through the Honey Grove Camping area, we realized that slot 22 was the one we wanted! Especially since it and #1 were the only two slots remaining open! Geez. But since we were really happy with the area, we decided to stay (OK, we really didn't have a choice.)

Hand-held camera star photo

After a great supper (cooked by yours truly), a highly competitive game of cribbage, gazing at the Milky Way (BTW, it is REALLY dark at this park!), and one half of a case of Woodchuck Hard Cider, my Sweetie dropped into a semi-coma. (Note: I must edit this to ensure you know that one half of a case of cider is 6 bottles and that we each had 3 bottles and this cider is only 5% alcohol and was spread over several hours and we had steaks, tortillas, macaroni salad, and a large green salad with bell peppers, tomatoes, and carrots. The semi-coma comment was intended to be humorous as I, too, was very tired and fell asleep quickly.) The coyotes started singing, the temperature dropped dramatically, and the wind picked up to gusts around 18 to 20 mph.

We totally crashed. Up the next morning at the crack of dawn (man, those ciders sure do make their way through you) for the call of nature, we get organized and on to the trails sometime around 0930. We decided to do the Lower Canyon Trail which, if we were to take it as a loop, would be just under 7 miles. Should be no problem. Whoops! Our backpack concealed water bladders can't be used because the drinking hose on both have been destroyed by being frozen and then packed before they thawed out! That cuts down the amount of water (Gatorade/water/ice) that we can carry by nearly 3/4 gallon. 

"How much further?"

Starting out on the trip, we saw many simply gorgeous and stunning views of the area. The pictures here do not do justice to the unbelievable beauty of the area. What we particularly liked are the contrast between the blue sky and the Permian Quartermaster formation red sandstones. And when the moon crept into the frame, the pictures took on a completely different mix.

Of course, one of the most scenic parts of this area really is the gypsum deposits you see throughout the park. Although most of the layers are only an inch or so deep, some can be several feet (or even yards) deep and can be inter-bedded with the red sandstone. Many places contain the gypsum layers precipitated in the small fractures within the sandstone (and vice versus).

The last 3.5 miles of the trip were mostly down to the wash, walk across sand, walk back up the canyon, walk down to the wash, walk across sand, etc. We did meet a couple riding their horses on the trail (twice, actually!) but we saw evidence of no others.

On Sunday, we prepared to come home and almost-disaster struck. Our PUP* uses an electric motor to raise and lower the top. Well, now the motor was sparking instead of dropping. Thanks to my Darling and Sweetie, she figured out we had one of them thar emergency hand cranks. Although it took a while and a lot of elbow grease, we did get the PUP down and secured for travel.

Driving the big rig home.

So, how did "My Wife Tried to Kill Me at Caprock Canyons State Park" become the title of this piece? Well, the 7 mile hike was just about 1.735991 miles too long for me. I almost gave out and my Sweetie almost had to take the keys, get the truck, and drive to the nearest part of the trail to drag my lazy ass out of the boonies. But, I actually made it (thanks to her pouring water all over my neck).

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* Remember what PUP is? That's a Pop UP tent camp trailer. Weighs in at a modest 2,400 pounds but you can't haul it anywhere if the lid ain't on tight!

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So, how would I rate Caprock Canyons State Park?

Well, the campsite we had was very good. You could barely see any of the other campers and the campsite was completely full the first night. Of course, they, like many other Texas State Parks' campgrounds, have the sites very close to one another. Fortunately, the noise was low to begin with and gone by 1930! Well, except for the coyotes!

The bathroom and shower facilities were good. The nearest store was in Quitaque but it was open 24 hours a day.

Totally loved the second night as most of the campers left. We were basically alone with 4 or 5 other campers on Sunday night.

The trails are numerous and well maintained.

Caprock Canyons State Park definitely deserves a 3 camper rating!