Category Archives: On the Road

photo of Hoodoos of Big Bend Ranch State Park

Wildflowers in the Big Bend

Teardrop Trail Log: March 27, 2016

We were a little early for the big flush of wildflowers, but there were quite a few blooms — especially cactus — anyway. These are a few of the beauties we encountered in the Big Bend area.

 

photo of Big Bend Ranch State Park

Big Bend Ranch State Park

Photo of Santa Elena Canyon Trail

Hiking the Santa Elena Canyon

Teardrop Trail Log: March 26, 2016

After a lunch break at Castolon, we drove on to the Santa Elena Canyon entrance. The park ranger in Castolon mentioned that parking might be a problem, and we could see why as we approached the canyon. It’s a very popular attraction in the Big Bend, and a modest amount of parking. Cars were parked on either side of the entrance road for quite a distance. Luckily, someone had just left, creating a space, and we slipped right in. Another advantage of a smaller vehicle! A short walk on the road, and we entered the trail.

Photo of switchbacks on the trail

Switchbacks!

It starts out with a longish beach “paved” with boards which really help with the deep sand. A turn or two and you get the first unobstructed view of the canyon. Amazing. With walls up to 1500 feet directly bordering the river, the views are really dramatic. After crossing Terlinqua Creek, you begin climbing the improved trail on the U.S. side of the river. A series of switchbacks consisting of paving and stairs, form the first part of the trail.

Photo of The view from the top

The view from the top

With a vertical rise of several hundred feet, the 1.7 mile trail provides a decent workout, but a walking stick is helpful as the trail is on the edge of cliff faces at several points along the trail. Great views, but a little challenging for those who aren’t as sure-footed or suffer from vertigo. The paving ends once you reach the highest point of the trail.

photo of The trail near the river

The trail near the river

Later, the trail descends back down to the river level with sandy, grass and plant-lined paths that end up at the river. It’s very shallow here, and in places you can walk across the river to the Mexican side — many hikers do. In all, we spent 2-3 hours enjoying the canyon and taking photos. One of the most spectacular experiences I have had on the Teardrop Trail yet!

photo of Near the end of the trail

Near the end of the trail

Ranches in the Big Bend

Teardrop Trail Log: March 26, 2016

On our way to Castolon and Santa Elena Canyon, we encountered exhibits on two large ranches in the Big Bend that were founded between 1909 and 1929. Known as the “Sam Nail Ranch” and the “Homer Willson Ranch” (ne. Blue Creek Ranch), they varied in size from 15,000 to 28,000 acres. Both were occupied until the 1940’s , and later incorporated into the Big Bend National Park. The Homer Wilson ranch was one of the largest ranches in the United States, and the most significant one in the Big Bend Area.

Homer Wilson Ranch was the first such operation in the Big Bend area, and required self-reliance, independence, a life with moxie and strong character.

photo of Homer Wilson Ranch on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, Big Bend

Homer Wilson Ranch on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, Big Bend

Photo of Santa Elena from the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive

Exploring Castolon En Route to Santa Elena Canyon

Teardrop Trail Log: March 26, 2016

We entered Big Bend National Park and drove down the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, a 30-mile paved road to the Castolon Historic District on the banks of the Rio Grande. The views were amazing. Santa Elena Canyon came into view as we drove toward the river.

Photo of Alvino House, Castolon, Texas

Alvino House, Castolon, Texas

In the early years of the Twentieth Century, people began to farm and ranch in the area. In 1901, Cipriano Hernandez irrigated the bottomland, grew crops and operated the first store in the area out of his  home. The building, known as the Alvino House, was named for Alvino Ybarra who lived there with his family from 1918 to 1957. It is the oldest known adobe structure in Big Bend National Park.

The Mexican Revolution raged in Mexico and many families fled across the border until around 1920. The violence brought the U.S. military to defend the border. Numerous camps were established by the National Guard and the Air Corps established a landing field at a nearby ranch. Originally known as Camp Santa Helena, construction of a permanent post at Costolon began in 1919 but by 1920, the Revolution was over and the buildings were never occupied.

Photo of La Harmonia, Castolon, Texas

La Harmonia, Castolon, Texas

In 1921, the La Harmonia Company Store moved into the new barracks building and served as a store and post office. In 1961, the National Park Service acquired the store and a park concessioner continues to operate it. The visitors center is also located in the historic building. It is still the center of activity in this part of the park.

The parking lot of La Harmonia overlooks the Alvino House below while Santa Elena Canyon beckons in the distance. Even so, this view doesn’t prepare us for the Canyon.

Photo of Alvino House with view of Santa Elena Canyon

Alvino House with view of Santa Elena Canyon

photo of The View at Seminole Canyon

The Wildflowers of Seminole Canyon State Park

Teardrop Trail Log: March 23, 2016

We stayed in Seminole Canyon State Park our first night out, and found there had been recent rain in the high desert. That, combined with the time of year (late March) led to a profusion of wildflowers — the best I have ever seen in the arid Texas landscape. Marilyn and I spent a couple of pleasant hours photographing what we saw.

The light was perfect too. Many of the photos were taken less than an hour before sunset — the Magic Light that photographers love …

photo of The Golden Hour in Seminole Canyon

The Golden Hour in Seminole Canyon

Hiking in the Chisos

Photo of The Window Mountain Gap

The Window

Teardrop Trail Log: March 25, 2016

The Chisos Mountains form the core of Big Bend National Park, and have some of the most striking scenery. After driving in the day before and stopping briefly at the Park Headquarters near the Chisos, we decided to start by exploring them. It was about a 45 minute drive from our Study Butte campground, and we arrived in the late morning.

Photo of Chisos Mountains Visitors Center

The Visitors Center

There is a Visitors Center and a small store, along with a restaurant and guest housing located at the end of the road, and a 15-minute walk previews the main attraction: The Window. This geographic feature is formed by a gap between two of the mountains, and looks out over the western part of the park.

The short walk was a great tease, and after having a bite of lunch, we got some last-minute advice in the Visitors Center, filled our water bottles, and headed out on the Chisos Basin Loop — a little less than a two mile hike. We figured it would take about 2 hours.

Photo of Chisos Basin Loop Trail

The Chisos Basin Loop Trail

Listed as “moderate” difficulty, it was more of a challenge than we expected. There is quite a bit of vertical variation on the trail, and with the roughly 5000 foot elevation, I was noticing my lack of conditioning. Never mind — it’s a great hike.

The Window comes in and out of view on the trail, and you also get to see the back side of another feature: Casa Grande. I had a lot of fun taking pictures, and we both got some great images. We got back to the Visitors Center about 4.

Photo of Casa Grande in the Chisos Mountains

Casa Grande from the Chisos Basin Loop Trail

The Law West of the Pecos

Teardrop Trail Log: March 23, 2016

Not long after leaving Seminole State Park on our way to the Big Bend, we spotted a sign for Lantry, Texas. The Mothman had mentioned it, and Marilyn remembered that it was the home of Judge Roy Bean. Another sign mentioned a museum and we decided to see what was there.

I didn’t expect much, and the town itself looked abandoned. Some of the Adobe buildings had caved in, but there was a modern-looking building that advertised free admission to the Judge Roy Bean Museum across the street from the Langtry Post Office. Worth a look.

Inside, it turned out to be a Texas Pecos Trail visitor center, and had a small but well-curated exhibition. With a large glass case containing several artifacts, including the original Texas Statute Book he used, and several dioramas, there was plenty to capture our interest.

 

photo of The Jersey Lilley Saloon Bar

The Jersey Lilley Saloon Bar

 

Outside, you can tour the original Jersey Lilly Saloon, preserved where it stood. The “Opera House” (the Judge’s home) is a short distance away and is also open for inspection.

A beautiful cactus garden is part of the museum as well. With a well-preserved 19th-century Eclipse Windmill at it’s center, it a nice way to stretch the limbs.

photo of windmill

The Eclipse Windmill and Cactus Garden

 

Some of the ruined buildings in town turn out to have belonged to the Judge’s contemporaries and the state historical markers make for a good history lesson of Langtry and it’s original inhabitants. A great stop for the history buff!

 

photo of ruined house

The William H. Dodd House

 

The Lady and The Ambassador 

 

photo of car with trailer

They Pave the Way

Teardrop Trail Log: March 24, 2016

We’ve never named our car or teardrop. Prior to working with our friends on the Tiny House, it didn’t seem like much of an issue. They name all their vehicles however (the tiny house has been named Pandora — for all the reasons you can imagine) and it suddenly seemed like a good idea to christen ours as well. Trouble is, our vehicles do not have troublesome or quirky characteristics to help suggest a name.

So now we’re on this epic trip to Big Bend National Park in Texas. We stayed last night in the Seminole Canyon State Park (look for other posts on that) and today we continued to Big Bend. We’ve noticed on other trips that the teardrop generates interest, and by now we’ve come to expect a visitor or two inquiring how we like it, how much did it cost, can we see inside, etc, and have learned our teardrop is the best way to meet our campground neighbors. Last night was no different. One of our neighbors struck up a conversation around the teardrop, and suddenly we had two new good friends. Jim (good name, that) and his wife Suzanne are from Indiana, and he’s a wildlife photographer. Specifically, he is interested in moths and calls himself “The Moth Man.” They were going into Langtry, Texas last night to try for some specific moths that are native to the area.
Today, we stopped in Langtry ourselves — the home of Judge Roy Bean, the The Law West of the Pecos. Interesting place, but while we were touring the adjoining cactus garden (amazing!), I had a conversation with another guest who was interested in our teardrop. He was from Minnisota, and had noticed my Case/IH hat. Another pleasant encounter with a total stranger.

Later today, when we stopped for gas in Sanderson, Texas, we were approached by yet another curious person. Ed and his wife split their time between Sanderson and Rochester, New York, and wanted to know all the standard stuff about teardrops. Of course Marilyn spent 17 years living there, so we were off and running with a new friend.

While driving away from Uncle’s (the station in Sanderson), Marilyn commented on what a good ambassador our teardrop was — and we realized he’d been named. Shortly after, I realized that the Mazda has been such a good and reliably comfortable car on our trips — and not without her own bit of flash — that she was a real lady.

So now we have names for them both: The Lady and the Ambassador.

Hit or Miss Engines

Jim, September 15:

You never know what you’ll find on the Teardrop Trail, and the Red Power Roundup in Sedalia, Missouri was no exception. While looking at the expected tractors and other IH memorabilia, I discovered a assortment of “hit or miss” engines. They were first available around 1890 from various manufacturers including International Harvester (after 1902) for use in pumping water, generating electricity and cutting firewood. The video shows models spanning several decades and demonstrates the “hit or miss” behavior and resulting name.

They fire every few cycles and rely on a large flywheel to maintain a relatively constant speed. Producing a small amount of horsepower relative to their weight and size, they were displaced by newer internal combustion engines by the mid-20th century, although they are still desirable for some low-speed (250 rpm or so) applications like oil-field pump jacks. International Harvester produced a variety of hit or miss engines, and the video shows three well preserved and and functioning models.

This display of engines was a surprise to me — I hadn’t seen this many working hit or miss engines in one place before. The engine owners were on hand to answer questions and I learned a lot about this part of our Harvester Heritage. Fun!