Storm Chasing Day 4

Today was a sightseeing day the conditions necessary for severe storms had all shifted to the East out of chasing country and to far away for us to chase, instead we took a drive through Texas and New Mexico to the Capulin Volcano National monument. On the way to Capulin we saw a real glimpse of Texas off the Tourist trail.

The first stop after leaving Childress was Amarillo for a quick pit stop we then went on to the town of
Hartley via the interestingly named town of Dumas, home to many amusingly named shops and businesses. Upon arrival in Hartley we got a real glimpse of the industrial scale of the agricultural industry in Texas, the picture below shows a grain elevator which happens to be one of the safest places in the even of a Tornado.

The Safest place if you’re caught in a Tornado they are always left intact.

Next stop was the town of Dalhart for some lunch, a few of us gambled on a local Taco vendor and were treated to some truly authentic Mexican food.

Some Authentic Tacos New Mexico style, possibly a gamble…

Back on the road we drove none stop towards the Capulin Volcano national monument taking in the sights of the Texas Panhandle and New Mexico.

A little farm on the prairie

The view of Capulin Volcano, a perfect example of a Cinder Cone Volcano

Upon arrival at the volcano we ventured inside the crater where my inner geek enjoyed looking at the igneous rocks and the unique geology that was crated when the Capulin volcano burst into life 60,000 years ago forming the cinder cone almost instantly.

Me at the bottom of my first crater of the trip, Geology Rocks!

The dark volcanic rocks provide a perfect habitat for snakes and lizards, I didn’t see any rattlers but there were plenty of lizards about the place.

A lizard and some volcanic rock

Heading back out of the crater to walk the rim there were some spectacular views as far away as the snow caped rocky mountains as well as the rest of the 8,000 square mile Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field, Bendy Dave was a particular fan.

Bendy Dave enjoying the view and taking in some sun

The highest point on the rim was home to a lot of insects which provide a great food source for some swallows which were flying around at high speed snatching insects from the air and whizzing over our heads close enough for us to hear the rush of air as they went by. The picture below is one of the swallows flying, no coconut to be found though.

I’m not sure what the airspeed velocity of a swallow is

After exploring the park it was back to Amarillo where I enjoyed my first of 2 visits this trip to the Big Texan Steak Ranch which has featured on Man vs Food and is also one of the stops used by the Storms Chasers on TV, season 1 episode 2 if you’re interested.

At least 4 other storm chasing groups were there, which bodes well for tomorrows chase.

Severe weather is forecast for the Panhandle tomorrow so a good chance of tornados and a very good chance of electrical storms so hopefully some more weather pics on the way.