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In October, Troop 221 traveled to Palo Duro Canyon. Click the image to see the whole gallery.
The Troop visited Palo Duro in 2010 but didn't get the chance to camp in the canyon. After that visit, the boys voted to return in 2011 to spend the weekend in the Canyon. The majority of our group took advantage of the PISD holiday and left Plano Friday morning. We arrived in the canyon mid-afternoon and setup camp in the Youth Camp area. A smaller, but very committed group, left Plano around 7:00 pm and arrived really early Saturday morning. Our campground was at the far end of the canyon; far enough that we couldn't hear or see anyone else. We're fortunate that we frequently find ourselves with amazing views of the night sky; Palo Duro was among the best that we've seen.
Saturday started pretty slowly; that was to be expected since some of our crew had spent less than a handful of hours in their tents. After breakfast, we drove up to the Lighthouse Trailhead, tanked up and set out to hike to one of the most photographed structures in Texas. The Lighthouse is the geological signature of Palo Duro Canyon. The Lighthouse trail is close to 6 miles round trip and the elevation gain is 940 feet. The trail was pretty easy until the last leg up to the actual structure. Once we reached the top, the views were awesome. Most of the boys, and a few adults, climbed even further up the structure next to the lighthouse.
We spent at least a couple hours enjoying the view. We ate snacks and took tons of photos before heading back towards camp. A few of us competed on the way back to see who could pick up the most trash. Between us, we picked up more than 50 items over the 3 miles.
We made it back to camp in time for a late lunch. After lunch, the older boys played football while the 1st Year Scouts worked on knots and lashings with Mr. Cure. Scoutmaster conferences are always a privilege; doing them in a setting like Palo Duro Canyon is even cooler. The group enjoyed a pretty lazy afternoon before rolling into dinner. After dinner, the patrols competed in a dessert contest. The rules were pretty simple; no charcoal (due to the extreme fire danger). The older boys made no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies, and the other 3 patrols made a variation of a dessert pancake. Some were great, some were scary. The Phoenix patrol won the contest with a nutella creation. The racoons managed to get into our trash that night and one of the pancakes was so bad that they left it behind.
The evening concluded with a great campfire program. The boys put on some great skits and we ended the evening with Roses, Buds & Thorns. Sunday morning came quickly and with it came the long trek back home. We've talked about camping in Palo Duro for several years and I'd have to say that it was worth the wait. There is so much to see in Texas.
Thanks to all of our dedicated drivers; we couldn't do what we do if you didn't get us there. Also big thanks to Mr. Buercklin & Nathan for taking pictures this weekend.
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