Surrounded by clouds this morning and very humid....not what we expected! We are told later that the formation of Armistad Reservoir has increased humidity in the area. 63 degrees. I went for a walk to a nearby small canyon while Greg did his shoulder PT.
Found some claret cup cacti that were blooming.
And lots of new growth on the prickly pears.
The Headquarters had a nice display on area history including ranching, cattle, the Black Seminole Indians (after whom the canyon was named), etc. Outside is a bronze sculpture of a figure similar to one seen in an area cave painting.
Our guide began by explaining that during the Ice Age this area was quite lush, with mammoths, ancient camels, saber tooth cats and other huge animals. Over the next few thousand years it began to dry up and the large grazing animals died or moved on, leaving the smaller deer, rabbits, javelina, etc. that still exist here today. And exposing limestone which has changed over time. In some places it is almost honeycombed.
En route to the Fate Bell Shelter, she showed us several plants that are used for food, fiber, soap, etc.
Then we walked to the larger Fate Bell Shelter to see the best paintings.
Unfortunately, some of the paintings are quite faded and some are covered by dust and debris but it is fascinating to try to fathom the minds of those who created these drawings.
They have yet to find any type of Rosetta Stone to help unlock the meaning of some of the drawings, though some look like ceremonies, animals and weaponry. They are loathe to move much material for fear of damaging what they do have access to now and are still trying to figure out how to clean things without damaging them. Amazing that some of the paintings have lasted 4,000 years. It was probably a long process of trial and error and the most preserved paint shows traces of several minerals, cactus juice and bone marrow. Few items have been recovered except for pieces of matting and stone tools and arrowheads. This was our favorite:
The canyon has some standing water but this canyon is not formed from a river or other body of water, but from flash floods. It is not uncommon for the area to receive up to 20" of rain in one day, and the rocky terrain does not absorb it well. All over the area are dry beds which can quickly become raging rivers.
By noon, when we return, the sun is blazing and temperature has risen to 78 degrees.
We leave Seminole Canyon and head west. We are very close to the Texas/Mexico border and see quite a few border patrol vehicles. We pass the Pecos River which looks quite wide at the moment but is pretty shallow,
Next stop is The Jersey Lily, an establishment set up by Judge Roy Bean in the late 1800's which served as residence, saloon, courthouse and who knows what else! He was, in effect, the law west of the Pecos river, though he did sometimes consult a book of Texas statutes. There are a few buildings and a lovely cactus garden.
We stop for the night at a small town named Van Horn, intending to boon dock at a Pilot Stop, but we go down the road a bit to use the Wifi at McDonalds and find they have a very large parking lot so ask and receive permission to park there for the night. Greg does some PT while I do day 1 of the blog. They close at 11:00 and the night passes quietly, cooling to a pleasant 60ish.
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