Palo Duro Canyon State Park and Buffalo Lake NWR (Texas)

We continued our journey west today, stopping at Palo Duro Canyon State Park.  Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States.  Sadly due to the rain all of the park's trails were closed all day to prevent erosion.   We drove the park's roads and took photos in the rain at park overlooks.   

Seeking to get a hike in, we travelled to nearby Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge and hiked the Prairie Dog Trail and the Cottonwood Trail.   The Prairie Dog Trail is a short 0.4 mile roundtrip trail out to what at one point was likely a prairie dog town, although there were no prairie dogs in sight.   It was a nice walk however.

The Cottonwood Trail is longer - 2 miles roundtrip.  I hiked it one way for a mile and Viv picked me up at the end as it was raining hard at this point.   The trail travels through a short grass prairie with views of some small canyons.