Palo Dura Canyon, Part 2, May 31, 2012

This morning we hit the Lighthouse trail at 6:30.  It was barely daylight and we were not alone.

The Lighthouse Trail is a 6 mile round trip. 

Most of the trail is easy and level, but the last .1 mile is NOT.  It is UP HILL with los of loose gravel, not my kind of climbing.


A little ways beyond this area, I decided I could not go on, think when I slipped and landed on my keester help decide that  fact. 

Here I am working my way down the slippery slope I had just climbed up.  Why do photos never show how steep the trail really is?
Bob, aka mountain goat, went on up the trail to the top, to see the Lighthouse formations up close.


Below we were inspecting a creek bed, checking out the meeting point of the two layers.

Here is a close up of the demarcation line.

The following information is from the park brochure.  “The bottom layer, some 250 millions years old, belong to the Quartermaster Formation.   They are the bright red claystone and bands of gypsum.  Next the Tecovas Formation can be seen with its yellow, gray and lavender mudstone.  The sandstone and coarse gravel of the Trujillo Formation can be seen as you further ascent the canyon.  The next layer of rocks are from the Qgallala Formation with the sand, silt, clay and limestone.”

Bob spotted this 16” lizard, mostly tail, along the trail.  Don’t know what kind it is.

Tomorrow, headed to Borger TX where Bob worked for a few months back in 1969.