Friday, February 2 – We've experienced great weather here at Seminole Canyon State Park on the Mexico border in Southern Texas. Day highs have been in the upper 70's with nightly lows in the 40's. Great weather for the many outdoor activities available here in the park. We certainly hope this weather continues for our visit to Big Bend National Park.
We started the day’s adventure at the Visitor Center to see the introductory movie which we missed on our first day here. It is a nice overview of the history behind Seminole Canyon and the native Americans that inhabited this area 4,000-12,000 years ago. Seminole Canyon received its name in honor of the U.S. Army’s Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts, garrisoned at Fort Clark. The scouts protected the West Texas frontier from marauding Apache and Comanche bands between 1872-1941. No scout was ever wounded or killed in combat.
We then walked through the small but very well done museum included as part of the Visitor Center. It included artifacts and displays of not only the first people that passed through this area in search of food but a very well-done history of the significant impact the railroad had in the late 19th century. We certainly recommended this museum to all passing through the area.
Two items in upper-left corner are shoes, other items are pieces of mats.
A scene from the rock shelter.
An excellent job explaining how the railroad was built through this area.
We then exited the Visitor Center through the rear door and took the Fate Bell Shelter Trail for 1/3 or a mile to the Windmill Nature Trail. This is a short trail of about a mile that skirts along the rim of the canyon to an old windmill used to pump water during the time the railroad was being built. Many of the plants along the trail are identified by small signs at their base. We really enjoyed reading and identifying the many plants growing in this dry rocky environment.
A bit of a rocky trail.
Pretty scenery.
What is left of the windmill.
Narrow leaf Yucca.
Agave.
Sotol.
Cenizo.
Huisache tree (We Sach tree)
We had a nice surprise while on the trail. As we approached a group of trees, two very large deer ran out and up the rocky hill across from us. Marsha quickly turned the camera on and was able to get a snapshot of one of the beauties.
Earlier in the day, we actually looked out our back window and saw several deer playing about 500 feet from our backyard.
We returned to the Visitor Center via a short walk on the park road from the end of the Windmill Trail. We jumped in the truck and headed a couple miles west to the Pecos River High Bridge viewing area. This is really something to see! The river gorge was a huge barrier to anyone or anything wishing to continue moving West. Not only is it a pretty significant sized river, but it is nearly impossible to reach the river's edge because of the deep canyon it is in. The Pecos River is considered the beginning of the famous “Wild West.” Of course, this was a tremendous roadblock to the railroad as it was heading West. If traveling along US-90, be sure to pull over to the Pecos Viewing area to see this amazing river gorge.
Can you see how the river has gone dry?
We have another adventure planned for tomorrow, so stop back and and see what we get into.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.
