Capulin Volcano We arrived too late to visit the National Monument last night, so that was our first duty this morning. It had snowed last night, the low in the high 20's, the furnace definately did it's duty. This was also the first time we travelled with Cassie, Mary's cat. She did well during the traveling and finding a comfortable blanket to spend the night, next to Mary's pillow. Capulin Volcano was preserved as a National Monument because it almost has a perfect cinder cone. We drove up to the top and did a little exploration, particularly the beautiful views. We're right at the edge of volcanic rock versus the start of the Great Prairie. It was very visible both from the rock formations and from the snow cover (on rock) versus the grass (with less snow). The rest of the day was spent heading to Amarillo, Texas. We visited Palo Duro Canyon State Park in the late afternoon. After looking for miles at the prairie, all of a sudden there is a big canyon about a 1000 feet in depth. At the bottom is the Prarie Dog branch of the Red River. The temperatures were almost 10 degrees warmer down there - largely because the wind disappeared. This was also the site of a major Indian battle, where the U.S. Calvary killed only a few Indians, but captured or killed 1400 horses. This forced the Indians to give up and go to the reservation in Oklahoma.
Palo Duro Canyon
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