ROS AND JOHN RV LIFE: Copper Breaks State Park, Texas

Saturday 8th April 2023

We packed up and finally moved away from the Dallas Fort Worth area. We needed to be around there for our flight and it was nice to have shopping nearby but the traffic and airplane noise were bad plus add in the almost weekly tornado warnings.

We drove 200 miles to Copper Breaks State Park, Quanah, Texas, the drive was easy and we arrived just after 2pm and got set up quickly as the pitch was easy access and level.

Passed a huge area of wind turbines

Wild bluebells filled the roadsides

The picnic tables are set under a roof for shade

https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/copper-breaks

THE PARK TAKES ITS NAME FROM THE GRAY-GREEN STREAKS OF RAW COPPER THAT BAND ITS MANY RUST- COLORED MINI-CANYONS AND ARROYOS. AN ANCIENT INLAND SEA HELPED FORM THE AREA INTO A BROKEN BADLANDS OF GULLIES, MESAS AND JUNIPER “BREAKS.”

Four prominent hills about 10 miles east of the park near Highway 6 make up Medicine Mounds, a ceremonial and religious site of the Comanches. The mounds are on private property and trespassing is prohibited.

Can just see the 4 hills

The Google image shows the creek leading to the lake

Bone dry creek, bad droughts and the lake is very very low

The International Dark Sky Association has designated Copper Breaks as an International Dark Sky Park.

The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale measures how well you can see objects in the sky at night. Light pollution and sky glow can interfere with your ability to see “celestial objects.”

The scale ranges from Class 1, the darkest skies available on Earth, through Class 9, inner-city skies. Copper Break’s Bortle Scale rating is 2.

The first night there we were just about ready for sleeps, I'll just go open the door see the stars. WOW! It was like being in a planetarium, they surrounded you. No craning the neck upwards or squinting to see the stars here.

Easter Sunday we went for a hike around the park and walked 4.5 miles. The trails are well trodden though not very well signed. We saw an area of dry reeds and when we looked at the map saw this was meant to be a pond but it was totally dry.

The landscape feels so different here from anything we have experienced so far. The far reaching views, rocks, cactus, brush and red dirt. It is also very hot and dry with a lot of wind.

People only seemed to stay for two or three days. I can understand this as it's not on a major highway - you have to divert to go there - plus apart from hiking (which would be brutal in the height of the Summer heat) and star gazing there is not a lot to do and there is nothing nearby for entertainment.

As there are no facilities here apart from a bathhouse I had to make sure we had all the laundry done before arriving plus I stocked up the fridge, freezer and cupboards with enough food for two weeks. I had made some dump and freeze meals that could be defrosted and cooked in the Instant Pot and these worked out great. They were stews or soups so they made a lot and we ate them for two meals and I only had to add a bread roll, garlic bread or a salad. Lucky for me John is very easy going about food!

Middle of the first week John was ill with a very heavy cold that lasted for days and really hit him hard so we didn't get to do any long hikes on our middle weekend, we just chilled and did a couple of smaller walks.

Is that a stone?

No, it's a tortoise!

A few nights we were woken with sounds of howling that sounded like werewolves baying at the moon. I thought they were wolves but after a Google search we think it was coyotes.