Pink Clouds Hanging Over Caprock Canyon State Park - Travel Blog Post #2
Pink Clouds Hanging Over Caprock Canyon State Park - Travel Blog Post #2
By Anna Kay Thomas
The visit to Caprock Canyon State Park with my parents in November of 2025 was my first-ever canyon experience and certainly full of adventure. How exciting was it, truly? Let me count the ways…
We had been traveling for almost a week and weren’t sure if we were up to hiking. As we came closer, the decision to go on a quick and easy walk was made. The three of us had unintentionally not eaten that day when we arrived at the park around 2:30 PM, but surely it wouldn’t be an issue since we would be in and out.
At the visitor center, I got a map for our walk and postcards for my cousins and friends. There, we learned that on over fifteen thousand acres of this state park, the official bison herd of the state of Texas (about two hundred head) roams and happens to be the last of the Southern Plains subspecies of bison. The bison of this herd are descendants of the original Goodnight herd, which the Mother of the Panhandle, Molly Goodnight, rescued to preserve the species.
Everything (lots of signage) warned us not to get within fifty feet of bison. If we happened to be that close to them, we shouldn’t move or make noise. There was quite a bit of emphasis on this subject, in fact. With all of this in mind, we courageously headed out on a trail.
Taking turns carrying our two water bottles and pausing to look around us, we walked over four miles in awe of the beautiful red mud and sandstone cliffs. They loomed over us with sparkling white veins of gypsum and many unique hoodoos (columns of rocks that stand apart formed by erosion). It wasn’t until the sun started setting that we began our journey back to our parking spot.
We were rounding a corner, not paying attention, when I looked up and froze. Two bison bulls stood right in front of us on the path! I alerted my parents, and, thankfully, we were right next to a path that led to a primitive campground. Immediately turning and moving, we hurried up it. Heavily overgrown on each side, and without good off-roading gear, there was only one way to go, up. Once we got to the top, we found that the path was the only exit with a steep drop-off surrounding the entire campground.
We decided to wait until the bison moved on, surely to rehydrate at the nearby watering hole that we had passed on our way back. But every time we checked the path, there stood a bison, standing right in front of our only exit. The bull remained there for over an hour.
Because we had only prepared for a quick hike by bringing the two water bottles, we then found ourselves in a pickle. The sun was setting, the autumn evening air was chilling, the buffalo chips that we found on the path were concerning, and we still hadn’t eaten that day. We were very unprepared adventurers. This being so, we called the park management numbers listed on the fold-out map that we had gotten at the visitor center for assistance. When no one from the park answered the phone, it was then up to the lovely 911 dispatchers. After being wonderful and helpful (as one would hope), they promised that help was on the way.
Later, a nice park police officer drove up in a UTV to where the bison had been awaiting us, and he fearlessly led us past the bulls, who were only six feet away. As the officer dusted off the seats of the side-by-side, he kindly offered us a ride. The bison walked around us as we rode off.
It was amazing to see the canyon at sunset with pink clouds hanging above, and really fun to get a ride back to the car after such a big day. But when we turned a corner, another bison faced us head-on! The officer made chuffing sounds and revved the engine, lurching us forward a bit and making the bison run off the path. We got back to our car in the dark and laughed as we shook hands with the officer over our excitement.
Driving through the park to get back to the road, two more separate encounters of bison blocking our path added to the experience. We sat there with stars coming out for the peak of the Leonid meteor shower, feeling comfortable in the safety of the car. Eventually, they let us pass, and we began our late-night trip home, still hungry and laughing all the way home. Until our arrival home at around midnight, it was quite the trip.
If the Thomas family does something, we usually get the full experience with everything working out well in the end! The moral of the story, though, is always go on a hike prepared, avoid bison encounters, and appreciate your friendly neighborhood park police officer.
I hope you enjoyed this account of my travels. Wishing you the best on your own treks!
Reflective Question:
If you could hug any scary-looking animal without consequences, which would you choose? (I think I am adding bison to my list!)
Photography by Anna Kay Thomas