Palo Duro Canyon State Park with the Carful of Kids

Along the rim of Palo Duro Canyon, 30 miles southwest of Amarillo, Texas.

The carful of kids were last seen in Boulder, Colorado, taking some kid-friendly tours and learning about weather and tea. We have been on a road trip through the Rocky Mountains and into Canada for nearly a month seeing some epic scenery. Since we are back in our home state of Texas, we need a unique place to spend the night.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park (11450 Park Road Five) is located 30 miles southwest of Amarillo, off of Interstate 27. It is open daily and the admission for every one over 13 is $5 and kids 12 and under are free.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park is home to the second largest canyon in the U.S. At 120 miles long, 20 miles wide and 800 feet deep, it's the Grand Canyon of Texas. With its beautiful red and orange striations, this is a great stop on a road trip.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1933 to 1934. The CCC did extensive work constructing public lands during the Great Depression as a part of the New Deal.

The CCC built the road into the canyon, the cabins that dot the canyon floor and the cabins along the rim. They also built a lodge that is now the Visitors Center.

This area has a long history of human existence that began around 12,000 years ago. The Apache, Comanche and Kiowa used this area extensively. On September 28, 1874, Colonel Mackenzie and the fourth U.S. Cavalry invaded and captured the Comanche Indians' horses and winter supplies. This battle, later call the Battle of Palo Duro, lead to the surrender of Quanah Parker at Fort Sill.

This is Cabin 4 in the Cow Camp Loop.

The carful of kids have a reservation for one of the CCC-built cabins in the Cow Camp Loop at the bottom of Palo Duro Canyon. One of four stone cabins ($60/night plus the daily adult entrance fee), my carful of kids love them. Of course, it is hard to keep my boys from climbing the walls.

Each cabin has been updated with modern conveniences while keeping its historical integrity. Each unit has a pair of bunk beds with electricity and an air-conditioning and heating window unit. The inside of the cabin is rustic enough to satisfy the adventurer in your family.

This cabin features two rooms with a pair of bunk beds; you will find a window unit and an overheat light.

Outside of each cabin is a picnic table with a fire pit and hanger for your lantern. If there is a burn ban in affect, which happens in a drought; you can plug your electric skillet into their electrical outlet.

The restrooms with showers are located nearby in the Mesquite Camp Area. Palo Duro Canyon State Park also features 79 electric sites with water and numerous walk-in sites along with an equestrian camping area.

The cabins are clustered together but obscured from each other.

The carful of kids love this park and we have visited several times during our road trip adventures. The cabins can't be beat for their backdrop, historic appeal and price.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park has recently added an event center that is available for rent. It blends seamlessly into the surroundings and is an asset to the park. Another favorite summer of the park is the annual musical production, Texas! performed at the Pioneer Amphitheater, Tuesday through Sunday.

After a great night in our cabin, the carful of kids are ready to see their pets and sleep in their own beds. We really appreciate the time you spent with us as we explored the national parks of the Rocky Mountains.

Up Next: Our Winter Break road trip to ski Lake Tahoe

Know before you go:

• Make reservations months in advance for the CCC Cabins of Palo Duro Park.

• During the summer, the temperature at the bottom of the canyon can be very hot.

• There is a store at the bottom of the canyon but no gas station.

• The rim cabin are not the best option for kids due to their siting along the rim of the canyon.

Teatime in Boulder

Hairnets for the Celestial Seasonings Tea Tour.

The carful of kids spent approximately a month on the road exploring the wonders of the Rocky Mountains. With stops at Scotts Bluff and Devils Tower national monuments and excursions into Glacier and Banff national parks, we spent the majority of our time wandering through Yellowstone National Park, the first national park in the world.

The carful of kids are ready to sleep in their own beds so we are homeward bound. After a quick stop in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for a picture under the antler arches in town square; we are on the highway headed for Colorado.

The carful of kids love Colorado so after a day of mostly driving, we want to explore Boulder for a few hours. When I plan our trips sometimes I schedule a quick stopover to see if I want to incorporate an area into a future trip.

Boulder, Colorado, is 25 miles northwest of Denver and the home to the largest university in the state, University of Colorado. After a quick drive through the campus on a unofficial campus tour, we head over to a fun tour for Moms.

The carful of kids sample tea after the factory tour.

The Celestial Seasonings factory tour (4600 Sleepytime Drive) is a great stop for tea-loving Moms and their kids, 5 and older. The tours run every day, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the factory is closed most major holidays. The tour is FREE.

There is a cafe with lots of samples and you will be given a sample pack of tea to take home. If you are a tea addict like myself, there is a gift shop with varieties you can't find in the grocery store back home.

Due to food safety regulations, you and your children will be required to wear hairnets. Children under 5 are not allowed on the factory tour. The tour guide walks us along the production line giving us insight into what ingredients make up their herbal teas. The highlight of the tour is the Mint Room.

Mint is so strong that it is stored in its own room. If you have ever been on the fence about mint, you will know after this. Some people can't even walk into the Mint Room. While other devoted fans, like my daughter and myself, can't get enough of the sinus-clearing aroma.

After a stop in the gift shop for tea and tea accessories, the carful of kids are on the road to our next stop, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (1850 Table Mesa Drive). It is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and it is FREE.

Making and playing with clouds. How cool is that?

This is a great stop for school-age kids who are interested in weather. There are tons of cool interactive displays demonstrating the effects of our atmosphere on our weather.

Wind and sand experiments for the whole family.

After several hours getting a taste of Boulder, the carful of kids need to get back on the interstate headed to Texas. I have one last stop planned that's a family favorite.

Up Next: Palo Duro Canyon State Park

What I learned from my trip to Yellowstone National Park with the Carful of Kids

The carful of kids left Central Texas to explore the Rocky Mountains; we stopped by the Black Hills of South Dakota and Glacier National Park. We headed across the Canadian Border to wander through Banff and Jasper national parks with a stop to explore a glacier. The last leg of our trip, we spent about a week taking the Grand Tour of Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone was the first national park in the world when it was created in 1872; an idea that other countries would adopt to protect the special places in their country. Yellowstone, a name derived from the descriptive French and Native American name for the area, has the highest concentration of geysers in the world and half of the world's geothermal features. All thanks to the Yellowstone Caldera, an active supervolcano.

My 12-year-old daughter loved the pools of Yellowstone.

Yellowstone is my favorite national park in North America for so many reasons. You should make every attempt to visit and experience the wonder and majestic beauty for yourself. It is a must outdoor enthusiasts.

For your First Trip to Yellowstone

I delayed the trek up to Yellowstone so my eight-year-old would be old enough to remember the trip. This trip is best for school-age kids. Yellowstone requires a fair amount of walking and the sights are more interesting to older kids.

My eight-year-old son enjoyed looking for animals, like this bison.

For your first trip to Yellowstone with your family, I suggest the Grand Tour, the circular tour that the first visitors took over 100 years ago. You can map your own Grand Tour starting from any of the five different entrances--though the West Yellowstone and Jackson Hole Entrances are the most crowded.

I suggest that you spend at least four days in Yellowstone National Park. There is so much ground to cover and each area is unique. If you are visiting Grand Teton and Yellowstone in the same trip, I found you can see the majority of Grand Teton in one day.

The carful of kids played games on the mezzanine of the Old Faithful Inn.

On your first trip, stay in several different locations. My first trip to YNP, we camped in the Canyon Campground and drove from there. I have to say, that was too much driving. Stay inside the boundaries of YNP; the park is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. You will spend a lot of your time getting into and out of the park if you stay outside of YNP.

On my first trip to Yellowstone NP we didn't plan ahead and make reservations. MAKE RESERVATIONS as soon as you decide to visit YNP. To get a room in the Old Faithful Inn during the high season (July and August) will require reservations more than six months in advance.

The two nights at the Old Faithful Inn were a highlight for everyone. 

When the carful of kids decided to visit Yellowstone, it was January. I started researching and reserving rooms and found the majority of rooms were booked already. Remember, you can reserve lodging in YNP 13 months in advance. I checked for cancellations religiously through the website and was able to reserve the places I wanted.

I will tell you the brutal truth, the older I get, the less I like to tent camp. In Yellowstone, I found the camping crowded and cramped. Showers were not included. Depending on the fire danger, you might not be able cook outside with a flame. The RV sites are also very limited.

The Best Areas in Yellowstone for Kids

No trip to Yellowstone is complete without visiting Old Faithful Inn and Old Faithful Geyser that erupts every 35 to 120 minutes with a certain amount of predictability. The geyser basin is great for kids and should be explored; spend at least a day in this area, more time if you have it.

Some rooms don't have attached bathrooms but this is one of the Tub Rooms.

I reserved two nights in the original section of Old Faithful Inn, it might be one of my favorite hotels ever. There are cabins in the Old Faithful area as well.

I really liked the Roosevelt Lodge, up at the Tower-Roosevelt Junction in the Northeast corner of YNP. The cabins are great for families and the Old West Cookout should not be missed. Reservations area must for this excursion.

The kids loved the stove in the cabin at Roosevelt Lodge.

Mammoth Hot Springs is a great area for families since the kids enjoyed climbing the terraces to see the travertine towers. The elk in this area will grab your kids attention too. The Mammoth Hot Springs Cabins are a great choice for families, like all the cabins in Yellowstone NP.

Animals of Yellowstone

The animal viewing in Yellowstone is better than any of the other national parks that I have visited. It is really hard not to see animals, they are everywhere. For the best opportunity to see bears or wolves spend some time in Hayden Valley or Lamar Valley at dusk or dawn.

Bison and Elk are fairly easy to see in Yellowstone National Park.

Getting to Yellowstone

Most visitors drive up through the southern entrance at Jackson Hole, I did the first time. This time we drove south into the park from Bozeman after picking up Dad at the airport.

If you are flying in and renting a car, I recommend Bozeman. It is less expensive to fly and stay overnight in Bozeman instead of Jackson, Wyoming. The shopping is plentiful with all the grocery stores and outdoor outfitters located within a few miles of each other. You will not find touristy attractions in Bozeman however.

The Antler Arches of Jackson Hole, Wyoming are a great photo op.

For that reason, you might prefer Jackson, Wyoming, it has plenty of souvenir shopping and the antler arches at the Jackson Hole Town Square is a photo op that should not be missed.

Basic Information 

Yellowstone National Park is open every day and the 7-day admission is $30 for a private vehicle or you can purchase an annual America the Beautiful Pass for $80 to gain entry into the majority of the national parks and monuments. There are seasonal road closures in the majority of the park except for the North and Northeast Entrance that are open year-round to vehicle traffic. There can be a wait to get into the park at the entrances.

Up Next: Headed Home.