Caprock Canyons, Texas

after a much needed hiatus from traveling and camping, the allure of the road came calling this past weekend. a month away from what has come to define us, in our own eyes and the eyes of others, gave us a new perspective on the future direction of our travels.

the drive, the park, the trails and the sights of this past weekend were all familiar to us, we've made this exact trip twice before, but the feeling within us was new and exciting. we are learning that the beauty of all our travels this past year comes not from the places we've been, but instead from the fact that we were able to experience them together. 

Developed - Caprock Canyons

shot on: kodak portra 800

i spent all day at caprock canyons shooting a roll of fuji, when i got to shot 36 the spool kept spinning. i opened the back of the camera to find a jumbled mess of film, it most not have caught when i first loaded it. i quickly loaded another roll of film and tried to rattle off some shots before the sun went down, here are a few of the photos that i managed to get.

Caprock Canyons

The past year and a half we've put more miles on our car than most do in five, driving and exploring texas and the american southwest. we've been to countless texas state parks and have enjoyed each one for its own unique features, but the one that has stood out the most was caprock canyons. it offers the striking red rock scenery of arizona while only being a (relatively) short seven hour drive from austin.  

growing up in the northeast afforded us with easy access lakes, mountains and a very cold ocean. it was definitely a great place to spend our formative years and instilled a deep admiration for the outdoors in us. but drive seven hours in the north east and the scenery will more or less be the same. the forest may be a little thicker or the water a little warmer but you will not find anything like you do in the west.

the grandeur of texas and the southwest has always drawn us in with its open roads, small towns and sweeping views. the contrast between what humans have created and the vastness of the landscape makes us feel small in a wondrous way. knowing how much open space exists out here is inspiring and only further fuels the fire in us, making our thirst for exploration grow even more.  

 

in our late teens we had dreams of living out west, seeing and doing things that seemed foreign to us growing up in new hampshire. california or arizona were in our minds but texas just fell in to place. in the years between high school and now we lived in philadelphia but still always referred to new hampshire as "home", living the city life was fun but it never felt quite right. after only being in texas a little more than a year we know that we have finally found our new home. 

full gallery can be viewed by clicking here!

Caprock Canyons State Park

hey y'all, taylor here. last week marked my 24th year. i feel very strongly that my age reflects nothing about me, even so, I feel the obligation and desire to celebrate. lucky for us, my idea of a birthday hoopla is doing what we normally do any ther weekend; camp. 

we left austin at 2 am in shorts and t shirts, drove 7 hours north to quitaque, tx and while stopping for coffee at a gas station, we got out of the car and realized..it's damn cold outside! we arrived at caprock canyons sp, greeted by a few dozen bison with the red rock structures off in a distance creating the most beautiful backdrop. 

we drove a few miles down into the canyon and set up camp right on the edge of a red, sandy plateau overlooking a near dry stream filled with the footprints of the locals. 

hiking out of the riverbed we were greeted with miles upon miles of buttes and canyons. 

 

when the sun went down, we sat close to the fire to stay warm as the temperatures dropped to a brisk 38 degrees. 

we woke up early the next morning to several howling coyotes and to see that some critters had visited hour camp in the night. caprock canyons was a perfect place to celebrate the next year i have to forward to... i know it will be an exciting one with many adventures!

click here to view the rest of the set.