Palo Duro Canyon - Day 2

Day 2- We had a relaxing morning and then loaded up the car to geocaching in the state park. The line to get in that Monday morning around 10:30AM was the longest experienced all week but the kids had blast geocaching and us adults got to see the first true edge of the main part of the canyon, the 2nd largest in the US to the Grand Canyon. 

Of course, we couldn't be trampling through trees and brush without running into some cactus!

We headed the half mile to the Palo Duro Stables where we ate our packed lunch, and embarked on a gorgeous 2 hour ride from the top rim into the actual canyon. This ride was a definite highlight of the trip... yes the ride and horses were amazing but it was the 4 generations of owners and the stories behind how they actually live on the 250 acres inside of the actual canyon that made it so memorable. The story Jessy shared of his father and grandfather an how they had purchased the 400 acres for around .97 cents an acre was a true testament for the love they have for this land. Getting a glimpse of how the 4 of them live, along with their 3 year old daughter, in the extremely primitive and dilapidated "pioneer" town at the base of the canyon, proves how devoted they are to this land and business their family has been known for, for decades. I can't recommend Palo Duro Riding stables more.

Soon after we got home, Addison, started feeling extremely sick to her stomach and the dreaded stomach bug that had slammed into our house nearly 2 weeks ago with Carter and then Delaney, had in fact seemed to hit Addison. She stayed in bed from late Monday afternoon until Wednesday morning. Poor girl.... but she loved all the TV she got to watch on vacation!

One if the highlights from today was seeing the pack of 30 plus audads come to the house and eat the corn we had put out for the ML earlier in the day. We even got several of them to eat out of our hand. (upload pics from Blake's phone.)

We got steaks for this evening and grilled them outdoors.

Kelly, Blake and I took the kids exploring in he immediate smaller portion of the canyon that backed up to the house.

We couldn't' believe this was the view from our backyard!

Since Kelly was there, there also was a puzzle at all times. This is how you would find the 4 of us and Carter except you could hear Andy and I celebrate out-loud anytime we found a piece... I know, we are such amateurs.