Over the first two days of November 2008, I drove from southern Arkansas back to my home (at the time) in Colorado. I took the scenic route, enjoying two beautiful canyons in north Texas, and spending a day at the southern Colorado city of Trinidad. Let’s mess with Texas first.
For anyone who is unaware: Texas is freakin’ HUGE. And east Texas is loaded with traffic. So, I spent almost an entire day driving from Texarkana to Lubbock. I made a couple of stops in the Wichita Falls area, one for dinner, the other for gas. During the gas stop I took the picture seen above because I couldn’t believe that (1) gasoline was under two dollars and (2) re-animated monkeys are apparently a dessert in Texas. It also appears there is a chain of gas stations in Texas called “Cedric’s Damaged Face”. Be that as it may, I eventually arrived in Lubbock, where I spent the night at an old Holiday Inn. I used my membership points to get a free suite for this one night. And what an interesting “suite” it was: they had simply removed the doors between a pair of adjoining rooms. I had my choice of four double beds and two bathrooms (which were right next to each other). I felt like a king! A sad, lonely king, with no minions around to do my bidding. Or my taxes. But it’s not that time of year.
Early the next morning, I left Lubbock, intent on seeing three roughly parallel canyons located “between” there and Amarillo, but away from the main highways. The first of these was Tule Canyon. See it here first…
Tule Canyon, north Texas, USA (photographed November 1, 2008)
OK, that was pretty neat and definitely a bigger, better canyon than I would have expected in Texas. I’m intrigued now…what will the next canyon be like? What’s the next canyon even called? It’s the Palo Duro canyon. Just before the road drops into the canyon, there’s a park/overlook. Here’s some o’ what I done seent there…
A massive cluster of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.)Here’s a sentence you don’t hear every day……”Someone’s been vandalizing the cactus!”This canyon is steep-n-deep enough they had to make a significant rock cut to get the road down into it.Don’t let the nearby mesa fool you……the actual opposite rim of the canyon is on the horizon.Overlooking Palo Duro CanyonThe floor of Palo Duro Canyon has several, umm, subcanyons.The north rim of the canyon is a different color.Looking back down on the road traversing Palo Duro CanyonPalo Duro Canyon, north Texas, USA (photographed November 1, 2008)
The third canyon was a complete lie. The Canadian River canyon wasn’t jack squat. Just calling it a “canyon” makes me feel dirty. OK, maybe it wasn’t THAT bad. But it was lame enough that I only took three photos. Here they are:
Canadian River Canyon, north Texas, USA (photographed November 1, 2008)
At this point, I had a long way to go and a short time to get there. I needed to cross northeast New Mexico to Interstate 25, then go north to my next hotel in the city of Trinidad, Colorado. Given the lack of time, I didn’t have much of an opportunity to photograph New Mexico; only got this sunset:
The next day, I set out on foot to photograph Trinidad, Colorado. As regular readers already know, I love to wander around downtown areas and photograph old buildings. For this, Trinidad turned out to be the jackpot! So, after I jacked it and smoked some pot, I captured these images of Trinidad:
Detail of First National Bank of TrinidadDetail of First National Bank of TrinidadKinda looks like this section was built later, but in the same style.Side and back of First National Bank of TrinidadIf I’m reading my filenames properly, this is the Baca House……which appears to have shutters that actually shut!Novel Concept: Build a staircase into your driveway.This place looks like it belongs in Hell, Michigan.Front entrance of the Bell BlockThese bay windows adorn the side of the Bell Block.No, this isn’t The Addams Family house. It’s the Bloom House.This old house is now a B and/or B.an old breweryMy hotel had a nice view of coal.In some parts of town, the brick sidewalk won’t let you forget for a millisecond where you are……in other parts of town, the sidewalk isn’t quite so insistent.This street is an interesting mix of concrete, asphalt, and brick. It also offers a nice view.An original Carnegie Library, built in 1904. Stained glass window on the Carnegie LibraryAt first glance, I thought this was a school. Turns out, it’s a church.City Hall, built in 1909.The grandest basement entry you’ll ever see. On the side of City Hall.This was the Columbian Hotel.Notice the cornice (“ledge” near the top) on this building. I had always assumed cornices were molded concrete and/or carved wood……I never suspected they could be hollow and made of pressed tin.Here’s that interesting pavement again, this time in front of the courthouse.Can’t tell you anything about this building. So, I’ll shut up.Built in 1883 or 1889…couldn’t quite read the date.What? Has the monkey-eating phenom reached Colorado?Downtown Trinidad is bigger than I had expected. This was quite a prosperous little city in its day.Most of the buildings along the main drag are still in good shape.Many of the buildings on the lesser traveled downtown streets show signs of neglect……while some are in flat-out bad shape.This is the E.S. Bell building. I wonder if this was the same Bell whose name is on the Bell Block (somewhere above)The E.S. Bell building appears to have housed a taxi company at some point.Now there’s a classic fire house if ever I did see one!The old Trinidad Water Works. The signs indicate the State Historical Fund was somehow involved with this building.I couldn’t help but notice the unusual color of the fire hydrants.Same color, older modelTrinidad Opera House, built in 1882It seems Dr. Frankenstein also built houses.The Savoy Hotel and Cafe inhabit a building that was completed in 1893. Avoid their truffle.Antique steamroller on display in a parkWhy do we still call them steam rollers when they aren’t powered by steam any more?The local synagogueFor info on this locomotive……just keep going……it’s right here.This place has been known as the Fox Theater……as well as the West Theater. Yes, it’s the same building. The entrance is at the top of a big hill.Trinidad, Colorado, U.S.A. (photographed November 2, 2008)
At this point I must confess that, apart from ThrowBack Thursday posts, I have been MASSIVELY slacking over the last few weeks. As such, I might skip the next couple of ThrowBack Thursdays in an attempt to get caught up on other things. We’ll see.
Voyages with Parkinson's 