Surprised by Beauty

After our last photo shoot outing a few weeks ago, my daughter and I decided to go farther afield for subject matter. Road trip! I had been wanting to see Paladuro Canyon again as I realized we had not been in about 18 years and Naomi was so young then she did not even remember it. (She sometimes doesn't remember things from last year so she is not a reliable witness). Anyway, it's only 90 minutes to get there, so armed with Starbucks coffee and a full tank of gas we headed north on I-27 for the world's most unscenic drive.

 The most important part of any trip is where to eat, so we pulled off the highway at Tulia and went to the El Camino restaurant, as recommended by two friends. I don't know how long it has been in business but it had that dark paneled, scratched booth Seventies vibe to it that my parents would have felt right at home in. We both ordered the chiles rellenos with enchiladas, floating peacefully in a sea of cheese. The waiter tried to bring us some queso on the side in case we needed cheese with our cheese. As it was, we were sinking into a lactose torpor and still had another 45 minutes to go, so we regretfully declined.

 I did however get in a nice shot of the bathroom stall before we left. Art is everywhere, right?

 From there we drove north to the town of Canyon (the Palace Coffee Shop on the square is highly recommended) and took a right to the canyon. If you have ever taken this drive you know what a wonderful surprise it is. For ten more miles there is nothing but the usual flatland, the fields, the cows, a windmill, a stunted tree or two that has been tortured by the wind for decades.....and then suddenly, bam! the earth just opens up and there it is. Paladuro.

After a few initial photos we stopped by the visitors center to read about the 200 million years of layers, from the bottom up, like a giant earth cake. I found out from the dioramas and clusters of bones that besides dinosaurs and mammoths, Triassic rhinos used to wander through here. Rhinos! All millions and millions of years ago (unless you're a Creationist and then that would be about 7,940 years ago). So off we set down the canyon on a lovely, cool Fall day to photograph rock and dirt so old it was almost as many zeros as the national debt. I thought we would be alone but it was an RV heaven down in the campgrounds. people looking for that one last long weekend out in nature, or at least out in their deluxe homes on wheels, some of which looked like there was possibly a hot tub and a dance floor inside there. The rest of the canyon was still, barely a bird call or a ripple of a lizard in the bushes. One deer stood looking at us from the middle of the road then ambled on. The light was so bright that every surface, every rock face and leaf gleamed in the afternoon sun. Here are some of my photos, no retouching on the colour.  The orange rock and cerulean sky really were that vivid:

 This is the place where Georgia O'Keeffe first painted the West, where she discovered those brilliant, earthy Southwestern colours that caught her imagination before moving on to Santa Fe. Paladuro hides itself in the flatlands, waiting to surprise and enchant those who discover it, showing the ancient, timeless majesty of what lies just beneath the skin of the world.
www.paladurocanyon.com