The Pretty Place Text

Mother and I drove to a roadside park on the South East side of Palo Duro Canyon. The state park is only a small part of this huge canyon. The Prairie Dog fork of the Red River runs through this area and we drove over the river bed. There wasn't much water in it. We went late in the afternoon/evening so I could watch the sunset from the view point that most of these pictures was taken.

A few days ago there was quite a bit of rain in the area so everything turned very green very fast. It is much greener here than around my mom's house. Other than her yard and plants of course. Those pictures will follow in the next couple of days, although I have tried to write a post to go with them. I haven't had much luck on her computer, and if I don't get them posted before I go home, I won't have them. All pictures were taken with her camera and I am hoping I can get a camera of my own soon. It sucks not having a camera when I see something I would like a picture of, or a person I would like to have a picture of.

Anyway, this is a very magical place for me. I stood at the overlook, and watched the scenery change as the sun moved toward the horizon. There were two birds, I think they were eagles, but they never got close enough for me to tell for sure, catching the wind as it tunneled through the road cut in the canyon wall and riding it for all it was worth. I didn't' see either of them flap their wings a single time. There is a picture of one of them here and I had zoomed in on him as close as I could with the camera I had. If you click on it, it will be bigger, but probably not clear enough to tell for sure. I would like to think they were both eagles.

I stood, I prayed, I felt a calmness come over me and I felt a little closer to God. It isn't difficult here, it is a very beautiful place for me. I haven't shared it with anyone except family before, at least not in person. I hope you like it and if you ever get a chance to see the canyon, whether here or Palo Duro Canyon State Park, I highly recommend it. The one picture I took at dusk, I don't have the tools on this computer to lighten it, but I wanted it to show the deep red clay dirt of the canyon and the purples that show at dusk. The sunset was not a painted sunset, but it was a good one just the same.