A Goodnight Dugout

 

This replica of a dugout used by the great cattleman, Charlie Goodnight, was reconstructed in Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

In 1876, within the bounds of the present Palo Duro Canyon State Scenic Park, Goodnight constructed his first temporary living quarters, a dugout topped with cottonwood and cedar logs, with abandoned Comanche lodge poles as rafters. Subsequently, farther to the southeast in Armstrong County, where the canyon floor widened out for ten miles or more, Goodnight built a comfortable three-room ranchhouse from native timber without using any nails. He also built corrals and a picket smokehouse at the site, which he affectionately dubbed the Home Ranch. (from this site)

 

This is an old jacal in the Big Bend National Park. Known as Luna's Jacal (the family that built and lived in it), it is more exposed than Goodnight's dugout.

Here is an earlier post I wrote regarding Luna's Jacal.

I am all for getting back to more natural styles of living, but I think these two home styles might not be on my short list!