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Palo Duro Canyon March 2007

Out in west Texas 20 or so miles south of Amarillo is Palo Duro Canyon. The canyon cuts deep to the west into the escarpment that shelves the eastern border of the high plains of New Mexico. This place is called many things by native peoples including the llano del muerte. Prior to the early 20th century this plain stretching west to the Rockies was waterless, it's hidden springs known only to a few. But Palo Duro was a sanctuary for native american people for centuries providing water from now-named Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River that still flows through the canyon, and whose high walls provided protection from the high plains' winds of winter. Today, the JA Bar Ranch, the earliest enterprise to enter the canyon and one of the oldest and largest cattle ranches, now leases this canyon to the State of Texas as a State Park. After camping overnight, the photoshoot began just before sunrise taking the park's loop road and ending around 10 in the morning at the top of the canyon's west rim. 172 exposures were made with the Nikon D200 with lensprotector only.

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