Museum of the Big Bend

I've spent a lot of time in the Big Bend region of Texas in the last 20 years or so. When I worked for Region 18 Education Service Center in Midland, Texas, I routinely visited the 30+ schools in our assigned area, especially those in the Big Bend region. After all the time I've spent in the area, I'm sort of embarrassed to admit that I had never visited the Museum of the Big Bend in Alpine, Texas. On our recent trip to the Davis Mountains, I corrected that oversight.

Main entrance to Museum of the Big Bend on the campus of Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas

The museum is located on the campus of Sul Ross State University in Alpine, home to  just over 2000 undergraduates. Admission to the museum is free, but donations are appreciated. The museum is staffed by some very friendly and helpful West Texas folks who will make you feel right at home.

As museums go, it is not very large. However, the exhibits are well done, and they are designed to introduce visitors to the distinctive natural history, human history and confluence of cultures in the Big Bend region. One notable exhibit during our visit was the Big Bend Plein Air exhibit. En plein air is a French expression which means “in the open air” and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors. The Plein Air paintings currently on display were produced by the Plein Air Painters of the Four Corners region (the area where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico meet).

The museum is a great place to start off a tour of the Big Bend region as it will introduce visitors to the history and culture of the area. Flash photography is not allowed, so some of my pictures may seem a bit dark.

Replica of a carreta such as was used not only in the Big Bend region but in many areas of the American Southwest

Chuck wagon display.

Plein Air Exhibit

Buffalo Soldier Exhibit

Davis Mountains Scenic Loop

The Davis Mountains Scenic Loop is a good way to get to know the Davis Mountains. The loop begins and ends in Ft. Davis, and is about 80 miles long, give or take a few miles depending on your source. The highest elevation on the loop is about 6700 feet, and there are plenty of beautiful views and interesting sites along the way.

It really doesn't matter if you go in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. I've driven the loop two times now, and I've gone in a counter-clockwise direction both times.

From Ft. Davis, follow Texas 118 northwest up Limpia Canyon, following Limpia Creek and its beautiful cottonwood trees. About 3 or 4 twisting miles outside Ft. Davis, you'll pass the entrance to Davis Mountains State Park on your left. Just another mile or so past the park is the Prude Ranch, which provides various outdoor activities for young people and their families. Just beyond the Prude Ranch is Limpia Crossing, a private development consisting of home sites on small acreages.

The next few miles provide some of the most interesting views on the loop as you approach McDonald Observatory atop Mount Locke. If you keep your eyes open, you will see the observatories atop Mount Locke throughout the drive, even as you approach Ft. Davis near the end of the loop.

Observatories atop Mt. Locke (McDonald Observatory). Note top of observatory atop smaller mountain on right.

Mountain scenery along highway on the approach to Mt. Locke.

Up to Mount Locke, the road has been quite good, with smooth surface and solid shoulders. Once past Mount Locke, though, the quality of the road declines a bit. It becomes a bit bumpier, for example, and the shoulders disappear. The country takes on a little wilder look, too. There is little traffic along the loop, though, so take your time and enjoy the scenery.

One of the most beautiful places along the loop is Madera Canyon. There is a large roadside park here, so this shady area is a good place for a picnic lunch. The trailhead for the Madera Canyon Hiking Trail of the Davis Mountains Preserve of the Nature Conservancy is located here as well.

Trailhead to Madera Canyon Hiking Trail

View from Madera Canyon

Madera Canyon Roadside Park

A few miles past Madera Canyon, take Texas 166 to your left (west). You will now have Sawtooth Mountain in your sites. It stands at 7687 feet. Also in this area is Mount Livermore (Baldy Peak) at 8378 feet. It is the tallest mountain in the Davis Mountains and the fifth tallest in the state. The 4 tallest peaks in the state are all in the Guadalupe Mountains in Culberson County.

It's easy to see how Sawtooth Mountain got its name.

Of to the right, just before you come even with Sawtooth Mountain, is the Rock Pile. It looks exactly like what its name implies. The Rock Pile is on private property, so stay on the road to admire it. In fact, most of the land along the scenic loop is privately owned.

The Rock Pile

At times along this stretch, you'll cross cattle guards, so watch out for grazing livestock. Also start looking south, as some of the views extend to the Mexican border.

At Ranch Road 505 (the Valentine Highway), Highway 166 begins turning east. Soon on your right you will come to the Bloys Encampment, site of the Bloys Camp Meetings. Established in 1890, the camp meetings provided an opportunity for families in this remote area of mountainous West Texas to congregate each year to worship and seek fellowship. It has grown over the years and now attracts about 2500 people each year. It is quite a story of faith and frontier fellowship.

Some of the facilities at Bloys Encampment

About 10 or so miles outside of Ft. Davis, the Davis Mountains Resort is located on the left. This is another development providing small acreage and home sites. This development gained national attention in the late 1990s when one of its residents declared his home was the embassy for the Republic of Texas and that Texas had been illegally annexed to the United States. After numerous encounters with local and state law enforcement officials, he was arrested and removed from the property.

Closer in to Ft. Davis is an interesting road side park on your left. It looks much like a rock pile itself. It is reputed that Kit Carson carved his initials on a rock in this Point of Rocks park in December 1839, but I have been unable to verify this. In fact, there seems to be some confusion over which pile of rocks the name carving incident actually occurred. Some of the local literature I have read says it is the Point of Rocks roadside park (shown below) while other sources indicate the name carving incident occurred at the Rock Pile, mentioned a few paragraphs above. I have also been unable to find a picture of the name carving.

Roadside park

10 miles later the road intersects with Texas 17 for the final 2 or 3 miles back into Ft. Davis. Below is a map of the loop with points of interest indicated.

Guide to the Scenic Loop

1. Davis Mountains State Park
2. Prude Ranch
3. Mt. Locke and McDonald Observatory
4. Madera Canyon
5. Rock Pile
6. Sawtooth Mountain
7. Bloys Encampment

Images of Davis Mountains State Park

Below are some pictures that I took from Davis Mountains State Park on our recent trip. I say "from" because some of the images are of places outside the park, but were taken from vantage points within the park.

This was taken from our campsite, spot #24. If you look carefully at the hill, you'll see a road that switchbacks up. The road is called Skyline Drive and offers good vantage points for seeing the country around the park.

Donna really enjoyed sitting out. Daily highs stayed below 90 during our trips, and mornings and evenings were a bit nippy. From our site, we could watch vehicles climbing Skyline Drive at all times of the day.

I zoomed in to show how the road has been cut into the hill. At top left, the road goes around to the backside of the hill and then travels along a ridge for at least a mile or so to a scenic outlook.

The next 6 pictures are taken from Skyline Drive.

Camping area as taken from switchback. Our trailer is center left, next to covered picnic table. Keesey Creek runs left to right in picture, and most of the trees are located along the creek.

Indian Lodge up the valley.

Entrance to park off Highway 118. Follow the road up past Prude Ranch on to McDonald Observatory.

Mitre Peak, about halfway between Ft. Davis and Alpine.

Large tomato hot house along Highway 17 just outside Ft. Davis on the way to Marfa.

Donna in the scenic outlook with Ft. Davis in background.

The next pictures are taken from other areas of the park.

Trailhead for the Montezuma Quail Trail along the main park road.

Indian Lodge, as seen from main park road.

Patio of the Indian Lodge. Entrance to Black Bear Restaurant is through door under covered area to left.

Bird viewing area from inside the Interpretive Center. There is also a viewing area outside. Interpretive Center has a few displays, and some programs are presented here. There is a small garden outside as well.

Davis Mountains State Park: August 2015

Donna and I just returned from a week long trip to Davis Mountains State Park. This park is an old friend to us. We have been camping there for over 30 years. When our daughter was young, we'd pitch a tent in a campsite along shady Keesey Creek. Summers there have always been great. The mile-high altitude and clean mountain air means cooler temperatures, with daily highs usually in the upper 80s or lower 90s and nightly lows around 60 degrees, give or take. With the weather so hot lately in the San Angelo area, we were seeking relief from the high temps, and we found it in the Davis Mountains. A couple of nights, the lows hovered around 52. Now that is some crisp weather for August in Texas!

The 2,709 acre park is located about 4 miles northwest of the small but interesting town of Ft. Davis. The Civilian Conservation Corps began work on the park in 1934. Oak and juniper trees are common throughout the park, especially along Keesey Creek, which roughly parallels the main park road from the entrance to the Indian Lodge. In recent years, the park has acquired additional land across Highway 118. This land now forms the Limpia Canyon Primitive Area. This area, ranging from about 4,900 feet of elevation to 5,700 feet, provides primitive and equestrian camping and 11 miles of equestrian trails.

The park offers more than 100 camp sites, ranging from primitive hike-in sites to 30 and 50 amp full hookups. To my knowledge, the park is one of the few in the state park system that provides cable TV hookups. Because of its remote location, you need cable or a satellite system to pick up TV reception. We were unable to even pick up a radio station or a cell phone signal. WiFi was available from our site, but the signal was week. We were able to check email and do some basic web surfing though, such as looking at maps, researching places to visit, and so forth.

Our campsite, #24. All sites in our camping loop have covered picnic areas on cement slabs.

Typical water only site along Keesey Creek a short walk away from Indian Lodge.

View from back of our trailer. Both the Headquarters Trail and the Montezuma Quail Trail are visible from our campsite, and we spent a great deal of time following hikers' progress on these trails. The Montezuma Trail goes over the top of this mountain near the center of the picture, then heads south (left) behind the mountain.

View of our campground and mountains beyond. Our trailer is second rig from left.

This picture is from same position as one above, and taken just seconds later. That is our truck and camper on left. Note the hikers on the trail. There are 2 of them. In very center of picture is hiker with yellowish shirt, black pants, and small dark backup. Other hiker is to the left in darker colors than blend into landscape.

As regards full hookup sites, there are 2 areas to select from. All full hookup sites, by the way, are pull through. Sites 1- 16 are located along Keesey Creek and have pretty good shade. Most of these sites are pretty level as well. However, the trees on some sites really crowd the pads and would probably be difficult for larger rigs. But during the summer, these sites are probably preferable. Sites 17 - 27 are on a slope, but the actual pads are fairly level considering. You will probably only need to level from front to back. There is little shade available for these sites, but views are much better. You might consider these sites during cooler months when the sun would be welcome. We stayed in site 24, but next time we will probably pick 23 or 27. Because of the slope, some sewer connections may be located above the outlet on your rig, thereby causing gravity to work against you.

But when you're in the Davis Mountains, you really don't want to spend your time watching television anyway. There is so much to do in the park and surrounding area.

Bird watching is very popular, and the park provides the Cadillac of bird blinds along the main park road. An additional bird viewing area is available at the Interpretive Center. Hiking is also very popular at the park. In addition to numerous shorter trails within the park, the Skyline Trail connects the park to the nearby Fort Davis National Historic Site. See park map for trail details. We really enjoyed sitting in our site and watching hikers cross the slopes of the mountains around us, especially on the Montezuma and Indian Lodge trails.

Exterior of bird blind along main park road.

Interior of L shaped bird blind.

Park staff is very active, offering numerous programs and activities. During our stay, the following programs were available:

• "Hike with Homeless Dogs!" A short hike along Skyline Drive Trail with homeless dogs.
• "Plants and Animals of the Davis Mountains" A discussion of the plants and "critters" of the park and surrounding area.
• "Strong Backs and Willing to Work!" Program about the Civilian Conservation Corps and its impact on the park and Ft. Davis.
• "Highlights of the Davis Mountains." Program on the wildlife, plants, history of the park, and other places of interest in the area.
• "Are You Curious?" Learn about some of the interesting "critters" in the park.
• "Weekly Birding Walk to the Seep!" 1.25 mile loop to the seep in the Primitive Area.
• "Welcome to the Davis Mountains!" Program about what makes the Davis Mountains special.
• "Weave Your Own Basket" Learn how to make baskets with natural materials.
• "Knots for Campers" Learn how to tie knots.
• "Full Moon Hike up the Mountain!" Walk up the mountain at night and learn about the moon, stars, and night "critters".

Programs highlighted in yellow above are the ones we attended. These are just some of the activities held the week we were at the park. I do not if we just happened to be there at a good time, or if they always offer this many activities, but we enjoyed the ones we attended. Learning about the park and area only enhances your stay and makes it so much more enjoyable.

Amphitheater, located next to our campground loop.

Interpretive Center. Bird blind behind center can be viewed from both inside and outside on right. Center is just a short walk from our campground and marks start of Skyline Drive Hiking Trail.

One of the great things about this park is the Indian Lodge, a 39 room hotel constructed to resemble an adobe village. Rooms are rustic and well maintained and provide nice lodging if camping isn't your thing. The Black Bear Restaurant at the lodge provides well-prepared and reasonably priced meals daily. At the end of a long day of hiking, it's nice to take the short drive or walk to the Black Bear for a good meal if you don't feel like cooking.

Entrance to Indian Lodge. Office in center. Tall building on left is the Black Bear Restaurant.

Walkway/balcony outside upper level rooms of Indian Lodge.

View from upper level walkway of Indian Lodge. Note pool below. View looks in an easterly direction toward park's entrance.

We were a bit disappointed during our stay to see only a few critters. One evening a mule deer wandered through our site. The next night, a javelina sauntered through, while a small family passed on the other side of the campground. We saw numerous rabbits and birds, but nothing larger. The Davis Mountains are home to some interesting animals, including mountain lions, aoudads (barbary sheep, which are really goats), mountain sheep, golden eagles, montezuma quail, and many, many others. There is a large bird population.

For previous blog entries on the Davis Mountains and surrounding areas, see the following:

• "Trip Report: Davis Mountains State Park" (August 2011)
• "Trip Report: Fort Davis National Historic Site" (August 2011)
• "Trip Report: McDonald Observatory" (August 2011)
• "Trip Report: Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens" (September 2011)
  

  
  

We Like to See Wildlife

Donna and I love watching animals, whether it be birds at our feeders, dogs romping in the neighborhood, or wild animals in their own environment. We see quite a bit of wildlife on our walks. Even in our neighborhood, I've spotted a good many deer in areas along the edge of development.

We took a 4.5 mile walk in San Angelo State Park yesterday (Saturday). About a mile into the walk, a young white tail buck burst onto the road about 50 yards ahead of us, then leisurely trotted down the road away from us for about 100 yards. We watched as his fluffy white tail bounced in the air before he finally turned from the road and scampered away into the thick brush.

About a half mile later, I spotted a slight movement in the tall grass ahead of us and to the left of the road. I saw the dark silhouette of a head peaking up from the grass, and thought it looked like a fox. I made note of the location of the animal, then we continued walking along the road in his general direction. I then saw a rush of movement to our left, and noticed 3 or 4 deer in the brush. They had spotted us and were darting away. I lost sight of the unknown animal, but as we neared the sight where I had last seen it, I spotted movement again. Sure enough, a small grey fox was wending its way through the brush. He stopped and sat for a moment. He appeared to look at us, but he didn't seem afraid. In a moment, he got back on his feet and continued on his way in the general direction the deer had taken.

Near the end of our hike, we came across the park's bison herd in their contained area off the main park road. It is very unusual for them to be so close to the road. They are such magnificent creatures. I'm truly thankful that some of their ancestors escaped the carnage of the hide hunters of the 1860s and 1870s so that we can see these huge and powerful animals today.

Seeing all of these animals just whets my appetite to be out in the country someplace. I guess it's time we took a trip in our trailer.

It's Been Quiet Here

I've not published in the past week simply because there has been nothing to share.

The weather continues to be hot in San Angelo, topping out at 100 or so nearly every day. We've now had almost 30 days of 100-plus temps for the summer, and we're not done yet. We've had no rain for about a month and a half as well, so everything is very dry. There have been two wildfires south of San Angelo in the past week. We could use some rain. A front moved through the area yesterday. Our self-pronounced "weather authority" predicted rain for this week, but we not received any yet, and I don't think we will. At least the temperatures have cooled off for a day or two, though. I'm sure they will return to 100 or so in the next few days.

Donna and I have been to the movies twice in the past week. First, we saw Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation with Tom Cruise. It offers the normal excitement of other entries in the Mission Impossible series, so if you are a fan, you'll probably enjoy this one. Personally, I tire of watching improbable and impossible stunts, all choreographed beyond any possibility of reality. And because of that, I enjoyed the second movie we attended, The Gift, with Jason Bateman. Normally, Bateman is cast in comedies, but he really did a good job in this psychological thriller. The movie carries the viewer along a series of twists to the unexpected ending, and the supporting actors also did a wonderful job.

And we continue to walk. Since it is so warm now, we try to get out early, around 6:30 or so. Most of our walks are in the 4 mile range, often along the O. C. Fisher Dam but sometimes in San Angelo State Park and even in our neighborhood. On our 4.5 mile walk yesterday morning, we saw about 8 deer. It is always a pleasure to view wildlife. A few mornings ago, two wild pigs crossed over the dam in front of us.

Classes resume in most Texas schools next week, and that is when we like to travel. Once the young 'uns get back in the classroom, the parks empty out and travel becomes more enjoyable for us. I'll be posting some new trip reports soon.

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable summer. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to fall, my favorite time of the year.

Elmer Kelton's "Sons of Texas" Series

If you've read my blog for long, you know I am an avid fan of Elmer Kelton and his novels. (See "Good Reads: Elmer Kelton's Texas Rangers Series" from February 2012, for example.) I've mentioned before what I believe to be Kelton's greatest strength as a writer, which is characterization. I've just completed reading his "Sons of Texas" series, and was impressed by his historical accuracy.

If you love Texas history, pick up a Kelton novel; it's a great way to learn the history of this state. Personally, I've always loved the Texas colonial period, which lasted from 1821 to 1836 when Texas gained its independence from Mexico. While a history book can teach you the facts of that period, Kelton's "Son of Texas" series can whisk you away into the everyday life of that tumultuous time.

The "Sons of Texas" series consists of 3 books that revolve around the Lewis brothers.

The first book, Sons of Texas, follows Michael Lewis, second oldest son of Mordecai and Patience Lewis of Tennessee. He first comes to Texas with his father when the elder Lewis leads a group of men to this unknown part of the world on a horse hunting expedition in 1816. Later, Michael and his younger brother Andrew return to Texas in 1821 to settle in Stephen F. Austin's colony along the Colorado River.

The second book, The Raiders, picks up 3 years later, in 1824 after Mexico achieved independence from Spain. This second book primarily follows Andrew's activities, though Michael and his young family also are spotlighted. The Raiders ends shortly after the Fredonian Rebellion of 1826-27.

The final book, The Rebels, follows the growing Lewis clan during the turbulent years of 1830 through independence in 1836. This book mainly follows James Lewis, younger brother of Michael and Andrew, when he, his sister Annie, and their cousin Frank and his family come to Texas to settle near Michael and Andrew and their families.

Each book deals accurately and realistically with historical events of the time. Among these are the Fredonian Rebellion mentioned above, the restrictions on American immigration into Mexican Texas, the battles of Velasquez and Anuhuac in 1832, and the major battles of the Texas war for independence. These incidents are vividly brought to life and are humanized for modern audiences. Difficulty of travel in this time when roads were primitive or non-existent is realistically depicted. Especially noteworthy is travel during the Runaway Scrape as settlers fled Santa Anna and his approaching army in 1836. Perhaps most importantly, the reasons for the war are developed, with views from both sides clearly shown.

If you want to learn about this period of Texas history, turn to an Elmer Kelton novel. You won't be able to put it down.