Leaving the Sandhills behind us we headed west on 20, then south on TX-17. This takes you to the two small communities of Balmorhea and Toyahvale, the location of Balmorhea State Park. This was by far the most surprising stop in our trip.
I'd seen pictures of the spring before but this is a place that you truly have to visit to appreciate. Balmorhea is in the middle of some of the plainest looking country you can find. Everything around is some shade of brown. While a mountain range is visible to the south the immediate area is flat for miles. Low grass, dirt, rocks, and the occasional thorny shrub dominate the landscape. And in the middle of all this is the spring.
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| Photo Courtesy of Texas Parks & Wildlife |
Amidst the monochromatic surroundings the spring glimmers sapphire blue. There is a small visitors' center, bathrooms with showers, and some campsites. Walking to the spring feels like walking down to the YMCA pool; a veranda sits on one side of the spring joining the restrooms with a concessions stand.
Though relatively early in the year, Kenny and I decided to go for a swim. As expected with a spring the water was very cool; the park website had told us the spring stays between 72 and 76 degrees year-round. It only took a few minutes to acclimate but getting out of the water was a quick reminder we were swimming two months too early.
The biggest surprise was the schools of fish swimming about. Present are the Comanche Springs pupfish, Leon Springs pupfish, and Pecos gambusia. These fish would swim about in schools, completely unafraid of any swimmers. Kenny and I also noticed several turtles and even a catfish. The water was unbelievably clear, clearer than any I'd ever seen before, and you could dive under water and see from end to end. I didn't bring my waterproof camera and greatly regretted it. The spring was absolutely beautiful and there was no shortage of things to look at.
We still had a long ways to go before the day was done, so we ate our packed lunch and kept heading south. Next stop was the McDonald observatory. We had a quick visit that included a live feed of the surface of the sun. The road in was winding and featured some of our first truly broken terrain. There were several switchbacks and steep climbs that made for a very fun ride.
Leaving the observatory we again headed south, now becoming a recurring theme of the trip. We had one last stop before continuing on to our cabin for the night. We made that stop in Alpine. Alpine is an interesting town in that it's big enough you don't feel as though you've fallen off the map, yet so different from other Texas towns you can't quite believe you're there.
Big Bend Brewing Company is on the edge of town and offered us a place to wet our whistles. Like so many other craft breweries it had a casual, everybody-is-welcome feel. The beer was great; for non-hop-heads such as ourselves it was nice to get a drink that didn't feel like the brewer crammed in as many hops as he could, then added some more. My personal favorite was the #22 Porter, but everything was good. The taproom has picnic tables and decks of cards on each. We ended up playing one very long game of blackjack using coasters as chips.
Finally, it was time to drive the final stretch TX-118 to Terlingua. Terlingua is probably the most notable town near Big Bend, never mind that it's the only town. A collection of hippies, nomads, river raft guides, and general desert-folk, the town is a strange oasis in the desert. Research before our trip brought up stories ranging from festivals to murder.
We were staying at the Chisos Mining Company in a single-room cabin. These cabins are all brightly colored and give the area the moniker "Easter Egg Valley." On the western edge of the park these cabins offer the best place to stay in close proximity to the western entrance. We unloaded all our bags, grabbed supper at a local restaurant (la Kiva), and hit the sack. Tomorrow we would be tackling Emory Peak, highest point in the park.
To be continued...
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