CAPROCK CANYONS #4

TURKEY, TEXAS

I just can't leave Caprock Canyons without talking about Turkey, Texas. Not a lot there. It has a population of about 550; used to be a shipping point for cattle, grain and cotton. That all dried up years ago and the only thing left of the good ol' days of the railroad is a wonderful little hotel. It was built in 1927 to accommodate the "train people." What a treasure! It is still in operation and is listed with the State and National Historic Registries. The bedrooms are decorated as they were during the good old days. Old furniture, old tubs, old quilts...some of the rooms even have quilts on the ceiling. You can't help but feel lost in another time and place when you are there. And the rates are great! You can rent a room from $65.00 to $85.oo. The price depends upon whether you have one or two beds and a shared or private bath. There is one suite which rents for slightly more, or you can rent the entire hotel for about $1,500 +tax per night. I'm not positive about the number of rooms. I think maybe there are about 15. Could be wrong about that. If you were interested in renting the entire hotel, you would need to call and check on that. Not only do you get a great "back-in-time" room but the current owner serves a wonderful full country breakfast every morning to her overnight guests. What a deal! In addition, she serves lunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and has fish for supper on Friday night. Of course, you will have to pay for these meals. Too bad!

If you decide that you want to give this quaint little place a try, don't expect to get a room during the last weekend in April. That's when Turkey is host to thousands, yes, I said thousands (usually between 10-15 thousand) who come to celebrate the annual Bob Wills Reunion. It's a big thing! Especially for Turkey! If you're not up on old time country music and have no idea who Bob Wills is, well he was known as the King of Western Swing. He had a sound like no other. He grew up on a farm just north of Turkey and became a barber there in the 1920's. He loved his music and since barbering did not interfere with the week end dances or holiday celebrations, he spent lots of time playing the music he loved. He formed a band called the Texas Playboys. Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys had a new sound, and that sound became known as Western Swing. During the festival, you can hear Western Swing all through the streets of Turkey. A couple of years ago some of the original band members were still showing up. Don't know if that's happening anymore, but there's lots of western swing music making everybody happy.

Another interesting fact about Turkey: Bob Wills' daughter, Rose still lives in Turkey, and what an attractive, friendly person she is. I met her in the grocery store in Turkey. She was ahead of me in the meager line (we were the only two in line). As she walked out the door, the cashier (who owned the store) asked me if I knew who that was. When I replied that I had no idea, he said, "That's San Antonio Rose, Bob Wills' daughter." Bob Wills wrote and sang the song "San Antonio Rose" in honor of that daughter. Well, I couldn't get out the door of the grocery store fast enough. I had to meet her. And, so I did. She and her husband were parked right next to Skip. I walked up to her and said that I understood that she was the daughter of Bob Wills, and she just smiled a sweet smile and said yes, and there we stood and talked for quite some time. She and her husband even invited us to come by their house, but we had all the supplies in the pickup that we needed to get back to the campers at Caprock Canyons. Besides, as gracious as she was, I think it would have been a bit inconsiderate for strangers she had just met on the grocery store parking lot to park themselves down in her living room. But what a neat encounter. I have a picture of the two of us, but I won't print it because she might not want that to happen. I think of "San Antonio Rose" often.

Let me tell you, if you camp at Caprock Canyons and you need food supplies, you will most certainly need to go to Turkey to the grocery store. It's the only one around. Quitaque has a convenience store attached to a service station, but if you need more than just a six pack of cokes and some candy, then it's on over to Turkey...not far, maybe 10-15 miles. There's also a great little Mexican food restaurant in Turkey, really good, authentic Mexican food. Can't remember the name, but you can't miss it. It's the only one in town, and it's on Main Street.

I have pictures of Turkey and as soon as I find them I will print them to this post. I know they are in my computer or on a disc somewhere. I will find them.

Guess that's about it as far as Caprock Canyons and Turkey, Texas goes. It's really a sensational trip. Maybe the best part about it is that there is nothing to do. You are not distracted from the beauty, the peace, the quiet or the darkness that envelopes you without the presence of city lights. You should go. Get in touch with yourself and your family. It's a good place to be.

CAPROCK CANYONS STATE PARK #1

CAPROCK CANYONS STATE PARK

WOW!!!!

If you love the outdoors, you are GONNA LOVE THIS PLACE! No matter where you live, you are going to drive and drive and drive just to get to the entrance of this park. While you're putting all that mileage on your vehicle you're thinking, "Where in blazes is this place?" Well, let me tell you, it's a long way from any place but Turkey, Texas. As you drive these many miles of "not a lot" you can't help but wonder what kind of a park can this be...no trees, no flowers, just lots and lots of flat land as far as the eye can see.

You arrive in the little town of Quitaque, Texas, turn at the sign that says CAPROCK CANYONS STATE PARK and keep driving for a mile or so. Then, there's the gate. You drive through and you are still thinking to yourself, "Was there a reason we chose to come here? Who talked us into this?" Just about the time those thoughts pass from your mind, you see it, beautiful red rock canyons and rock formations. Oh, it takes your breath away. And now you're thinking, "I can't wait to tell my camping buddies about this place!" Just wait. The best is yet to come...the peace, the quiet, the stars that you feel like you can reach up and grab, and the total absence of any city lights. Oh, My! This is NICE!

We found Caprock Canyons by accident. We had been to Gruver, Texas (in the very top of the Panhandle) to the funeral of a family member. On the way home we had time to spare so we decided to take the route that was designated "scenic" on our Texas map. That was Hwy 207 right straight out of Gruver. Now, it takes a long time to drive that highway until you get to the designated "scenic" part of the map. Even after you get to that part of the map you are wondering if maybe the map maker didn't make a mistake in labeling this area. We drove and drove and occasionally I would say, "Oh, Skip, Look! Way out there on the horizon...there's a windmill!" And of course we saw a few cattle and acres and acres of land with great irrigation sprinklers covering them. But the main sight was the horizon where the blue of the sky met the brown, and sometimes green, of the land. As we were laughing about how scenic this route was, the earth suddenly opened up in front of us. It was amazing. It was breathtaking. It is hard to describe. An author named Henry Chappell once labeled it as "Mountains Beneath the Plains."

That's what it is. Deep canyons with pinnacles rising to the top of and sometimes above the highway. And, the highway dipped and curved and ascended and was totally "scenic." We were not disappointed. We continued along this path, pulling over at ever possible point so we could enjoy this beautiful, stark landscape knowing that it would soon end and we would be back to the flat plains of Texas. It did end. And, about the time it ended, Hwy 207 ended and we turned left on Hwy 656 toward the little town of Quitaque. When we reached Quitaque it was getting late but we saw a sign for Caprock Canyons State Park. Being the State Park lovers that we are we decided to check it out even though we didn't have our camper with us. We were not too excited, it didn't look too special, but then like I said before, it hit us! It was late afternoon and the sun was shining on these spectacular red rock formations, painting them a beautiful warm orange as only the setting sun can do in that special time before it disappears. As we dipped down into the valleys and climbed the inclines we were amazed. The road through the park is only about six or seven miles long, but it was a beautiful six or seven miles that was heavily populated by white tail deer. We were only there for a little while but we declared that we would be back soon, and we were going to bring the family. And that we did. We came back for Spring Break. That foray will be described in my next blog. In the meantime, get out your map and find Caprock Canyons 'cause you're going to want to go there. See you in a day or two.