Natalie's Dedication:

To my kids: Thank you for showing me that being a creepy crawly loving, strange, awkward, opinionated, and weird person makes a good mom, and it makes creature loving conscious kids.

Episode Description: Caprock Canyons State Park (Part 1 of 2)

I’ve said it quietly before… but in this episode, I finally say it out loud. Caprock Canyons State Park is my absolute favorite Texas State Park, and this conversation explains why.

In Part 1 of this two-part series, I sit down with Interpretive Ranger Natalie, who knows Caprock from the inside out. We start with her journey into Texas Parks & Wildlife, what sparked their career, what led them to this rugged corner of the Panhandle, and how Caprock quickly becomes more than “just an assignment”.

We talk about first impressions and the moments that stop people in their tracks, the scale of the canyons, the silence, the unexpected beauty, and why Caprock feels so different from anywhere else in Texas. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at what a typical day looks like for park staff.

This is a personal one for me. If you’ve ever stood on the rim at Caprock, felt the wind cut through the canyon, or locked eyes with a bison on the trail, you’ll understand.

Part 2 drops next, where we go even deeper into trails, wildlife, visitor tips, and what makes Caprock a place people keep coming back to.