Every person you meet knows something you don’t : learn from them.
H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Oh, give me a home, where the buffalo roam and the skies are not cloudy all day…
On our drive we just had to stop in the small town of HAPPY, Texas; population 613. I just couldn’t resist the photo op. 😊 We laughed hysterically at the ATM in the middle of nowhere saying it is the Happy State Bank.
Continuing our drive in the Texas panhandle; approximately two hours southeast of Palo Duro is Caprock Canyon State Park. We were very impressed with this canyon. We loved the vibrant red and orange colors of the steep and rugged canyon walls and bluffs.
As breathtaking as some of these views are, the highlight for me had to be the Bison. Roaming freely here is the Texas State Bison Herd. I think they are amazing creatures. It saddens me greatly that greed almost made these incredible animals extinct. According to the literature that the park provided; during the years of 1876 and 1878 the buffalo were hunted to near extinction. All this for their hides.
On the encouragement of his wife, Mary Ann, Charles Goodnight (a local rancher) obtained two bison calves and managed to grow his herd to 250 head by 1929. After their deaths the herd did dwindle to less than 50. In 1994, genetic testing was done. It was discovered that these bison had a rare genetic marker that revealed these might be the last remaining group of southern plains bison. With this, in 1997 the bison were moved to Caprock Canyon and became the official Bison herd of the state of Texas. We are so glad we came here and could help with the efforts to maintain this herd.
Side note : Did you know that a prairie dog is another name for a ground hog type animal? To be honest, I didn’t. It is another animal that lives in this park. They are small noisy little critters. Interesting to watch but not as mesmerizing as the Bison.