Hello all. We are newbies to the forum. Love the site... full of great information!
Thought I'd just jump in with a trip report from a couple of weeks ago...
My wife and I decided on a spur-of-the-moment, quick 1 night camping trip to Copper Breaks State Park (located about 128 miles north of Abilene, near the OK border). We had planned on driving from Amarillo to meet grandma in Vernon to drop our kids off for a couple of days. I thought while we were down in that area we could check out Copper Breaks for the 1st time. (Our outdoor activities have been pretty limited the past year with a new baby, so we have to take full advantage to any opportunity available!)
The Shortcut that Wasn't So Short
Being the Google Maps fan I am, I printed out a map showing a back way from Vernon to near the state park. I figured why backtrack to Quanah when there's a more direct route. At the zoom level I used, I assumed the route would be paved...
The journey from Vernon started out nice enough. We were finally alone and excited about our little adventure. The area had received a good rain earlier in the day, but things seemed to be drying up. Skies were partly cloudy.
We cruised along the back way enjoying the drive, when all of the sudden, BAM, a bird hits the windshield! My wife and I look at each other surprised. I start telling her that I haven't hit a bird in probably 10 years. As I finish that statement, BAM, a second bird hits the car. Shocked, I'm wondering what is going on... I wasn't speeding... just taking our time cruising along. (Later, I would realize these were signs from God that I shouldn't be on that road!)
We drive a few more bird-free, uneventful miles then come to a spot where the pavement ends and dirt begins! We stopped for a minute. I knew it had rained earlier, but the dirt road didn't look too bad. You could see tracks where other vehicles had traveled on. My wife wasn't too sure about going on. I told her
things would be fine... not to worry. We go!
The first couple of miles in weren't too bad... the Pathfinder was moving along well, we were happy, my wife was talking to me. Then, we get to an intersecting road where you could tell the earlier traffic had turned. Ahead of us lie an untraveled, soft and muddy road!
Being the smart guy I am, I shift into 4 wheel high and continue on... the mood in the car got a little more serious. My wife started planning for the worst. I jokingly mentioned that we had all our camping gear, so if something happened we could just set up camp wherever... it was the wrong thing to say. The next ? minutes (felt like forever) were full of anxiety as the car would sway back and forth as we inched along the road. We crossed a couple of water covered areas in 4 low. I put the white-knuckle superman grip on the steering wheel (for extra traction I guess?). My wife became upset, and then fell silent as she stared at her cell phone praying for a signal. We're were in the middle of nowhere... almost got stuck a couple of times until FINALLY, we round the bend and HALLELUJAH there is the highway! We made it!!! Whew!
We get on the highway, the mud starts flying off the wheels and we head to the park. As I pulled into a parking spot at the visitor's center, my wife starts speaking to me again... "that was not smart."
The Park
I was very impressed by the visitor's center. It was much more than I expected. Kind of a park office/interpretive center/museum/store combination... very nice with several cool exhibits. The staff was super friendly. They assigned us a spot in the Kiowa campground. We drove down a slight incline to the campground. It was very nice with many large trees and bathrooms with showers.
Kiowa Campground
Unfortunately, there were several families camping there... which normally that is not a problem, but we had earlier dropped off our kids, so we were looking for something a little more secluded. We kept driving (and the mud kept falling) until we found the perfect spot on top of a hill overlooking "Big Pond". We had the area to ourselves! It was starting to get dark, so we set up camp, lit the fire, kicked back with a little wine and watched the thunderstorms to the north light up the sky.
Our Camp
The next morning was beautiful! We got up early and packed up everything. Walked down and hiked around "Big Pond." Met a nice couple there who were fishing for catfish. We hopped in the car to check out the other areas of the park.
Big Pond
View of Lake Copper Breaks from the Southwest
The Hike
We parked our car on the southeast end of Lake Copper Breaks by the fishing pier. I wanted to hike down to the Pease River and have a look around. The first 20 minutes or so of the hike was great. We hiked around the edge of the lake, down behind the dam. Wonderful scenery! We get to a point where we were walking parallel with the river. I stop to look for a good photo shot of the river... my wife keeps walking. She stops about 25 yards down the trail and says "hey, it looks like something's been nesting next to the trail." About that time we both hear SNORT, SNORT, SNORT. The noise was right next to her! Wild boars, hogs, javelinas, whatever you want to call them! My wife bolts and takes off past me. I stay put and listen for them again (being about 20 yards away). No more sounds, no anything. Now, I've heard too many stories about how mean those hogs can be, so I didn't push my luck. I turned around, caught up with my wife and we headed back to the trail head. We had to be back home by 12:30, so our short stint at the park was over. We stopped back by the visitor's center on the way out to tell the ranger about the hogs nesting next to the trail.
Leaving the park, I turned South on Hwy 6 because I wanted to drive over the Pease River and see what the bridge and river looked like there. As we were driving over the bridge, I look to the east and see a bunch of wild hogs... about 8 of them crossing the river! I make a u-turn and get back on the bridge in time to take these pictures as about 10 more made their way across.
Wild Hogs Crossing the Pease River
Who says a short trip can't be an adventure? Through it all we ended up having a great time. I can't wait to head back to Copper Breaks with the kids! So much history in the area... Native American, Cattle Trails, Copper Mining in the 1870's. I hear the park is popular for stargazing. For more information on the park check out this link...
TPWD: Copper Breaks State Park
Adios,
trailhike
trailhike
To Camp or Not to Camp -Lets go Camping- Have Fun
I had a puddle of rust colored evidence beneath the Xterra.
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