Texas: Big Bend Ranch State Park

[JohnRich 4]

I was just out there last month with three friends, with the goal of locating some little known Indian pictograph sites.

Here's a slideshow of that trip:
https://picasaweb.google.com/JohnRich3rd/BigBendRanchStatePark

Click the link above, then click "slideshow". If the photos whiz by too fast, click the pause icon ("||") and you can then scroll manually with the arrow symbol or the arrow buttons on your keyboard.

Enjoy!

[JohnnyMarko 1]

Looks beautiful! Any purpose to the trip or just for fun?

[JohnRich 4]

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Looks beautiful! Any purpose to the trip or just for fun?

Just for fun, hiking & camping. Visiting ancient Indian art sites is another hobby of mine. These are mostly a style called "Big Bend Bold" which was only categorized about 20 years ago. The images are all black, with very thick lines, no fine detail. It's a very different style from many others in the area. Which brings up a lot of questions about unique properties of art, by tribe.

One of my hiking buddies found an article about these sites in a history journal, and the map was very large scale, with a dot over the approximate area of the site. The dot itself covered about a square mile of terrain. So all we had was a general idea of where to look. And with that, we used our intuition to figure out where the art site might be, based upon our experience of the characteristics of other such sites: cliff face or cave, overhang to protect the surface from weathering, smooth rock surface, often near water sources where the Indians spent their leisure time. With the crude map and our instincts, we found all four that we were looking for! An archaeological survey shows about 130 such art sites in the huge general area, most of which are on private ranch land.

[masterrig 1]

Reminds me of a ranch I work for. On it, there are caves with pictographs. There's still, soot on the ceiling of the cave from early fires, chips and failed attempts at someone making arrowheads. This Big Bend area is loaded with history.
Looks like, you fellas had a good, as well as educational time. Very good pictures! Thanks for sharing.


Chuck

[freethefly 6]

Did you get a chance to visit the Woodward Ranch? http://www.woodwardranch.com/

I use to stay at the ranch whenever I was working the rails through Alpine.
Sadly, Trey Woodard passed on back in March from cancer. He'd been able to tell ya about the 10 or more cases of beer that slid out the back of his truck and landed on the hood of a cop car The cop was cool about and was laughing his ass off as Trey, his brother Dave, and I were picking up cans of spraying beer at a intersection in Alpine.
If you didn't visit the ranch, make a date to go next time you're in Big Bend. You'll love it.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[JohnRich 4]

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Reminds me of a ranch I work for. On it, there are caves with pictographs. There's still, soot on the ceiling of the cave from early fires, chips and failed attempts at someone making arrowheads. This Big Bend area is loaded with history.

Yep, thousands of years ago this landscape was populated by millions of people, all living simply off the land in small bands. And they told their stories with this art.

[JohnRich 4]

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Did you get a chance to visit the Woodward Ranch? http://www.woodwardranch.com

Never been there, but I've heard of it, or at least someplace just like it. We find some agates now and then in the Big Bend parks. There's a lot of amazing geology on display, and one of our partners happens to be a geologist, so we make him explain everything to us.

[usedtajump 1]

Thanks for the tour Rich, always enjoy your reports.
That area of Texas is so remote and barren but always presents something new to find if you're up to the challenge of seeking it out.

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

[freethefly 6]

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Did you get a chance to visit the Woodward Ranch? http://www.woodwardranch.com

Never been there, but I've heard of it, or at least someplace just like it. We find some agates now and then in the Big Bend parks. There's a lot of amazing geology on display, and one of our partners happens to be a geologist, so we make him explain everything to us.

Your friend has most likely been there. It is the only place in Texas where Texas red plume agate can be found. Also, the only precious opal in Texas was found on the Woodward Ranch. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Cathedral Mountain is also located on the ranch.
If you do go, be sure to see the fireplace in the ranch house. It is the most amazing fireplace you will ever see.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[JohnRich 4]

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If you do go, be sure to see the fireplace in the ranch house. It is the most amazing fireplace you will ever see.

There's the ruins of an old farmhouse in Big Bend National Park, called the Sublett-Dorgan house, after the two men who ran the big farm operation on the Rio Grande River bottom. The chimney in that house is massive, and made entirely out of large pieces of petrified wood.

[freethefly 6]

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If you do go, be sure to see the fireplace in the ranch house. It is the most amazing fireplace you will ever see.

There's the ruins of an old farmhouse in Big Bend National Park, called the Sublett-Dorgan house, after the two men who ran the big farm operation on the Rio Grande River bottom. The chimney in that house is massive, and made entirely out of large pieces of petrified wood.

Pretty impressive http://ofmadventures.blogspot.com/2011/03/sublett-dorgan-trail.html

The Woodward Ranch house fireplace http://blog.texashighways.com/?p=1287

I tell ya, you'd had to been one tough son of a bitch to live down in that desert/mountain region back in the 1800's.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[smulder 0]

If you ever get a chance go to Chinta Hot Springs. They have hot mineral baths, overnight camping and cabins & rooms.

GET BUSY LIVING OR GET BUSY DYING. WHAT'S THIS WE SHIT WHITEMAN? SHE LOOKS FAST TRUMAN. YEAH, IT'S THE STRIPES

[FlyingJ 0]

I always look forward to your slide shows. I've camped all over for Texas, both work and fun, but the Big Bend area is still on my to do list. The furthest I've made it down that direction is Alpine/Davis Mountains area.

Thanks and I look forward to the next one!

Jason
Rockport, TX

Killing threads since 2004.

[smulder 0]

Fort Davis now.

GET BUSY LIVING OR GET BUSY DYING. WHAT'S THIS WE SHIT WHITEMAN? SHE LOOKS FAST TRUMAN. YEAH, IT'S THE STRIPES

[FlyingJ 0]

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Fort Davis now.

I have a whole folder of pics just like it. Rarely have I seen a sight so beautiful while at the same time so horrifying to those directly hurt. All of my work out tree was fire based, though mostly controlled burning with a handful of wildfires thrown in. I got out of fire to work in EMS full time. It's been killing me that I haven't been able to head out now that the fires came to Texas instead of me going out west. Best to everyone out there.

Killing threads since 2004.

[JohnRich 4]

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If you ever get a chance go to Chinta Hot Springs. They have hot mineral baths, overnight camping and cabins & rooms.

I visited Chinati hot springs a few years ago and was disappointed. I was looking for a natural hot spring setting, but they have capped that off and run pipes from there to hot tub-like soaking pools. I didn't want to do that. It was more like a developed spa than a natural setting. That may be good for most tourists, but not me. It was run by a Vietnam vet and his cute wife, the typical types that go live in the desert to get away from modern civilization.

There are numerous hot springs along the Rio Grande River, with the public one o Big Bend National Park ver by Rio Grande Village. There are several others in that area, one on the Mexican side, which you can't legally go visit any more. There was one time I was running the river in my canoe, and I stepped out of the boat in shallow water for some reason, and nearly burned my legs because the water was scalding hot. There just happened to be a hot spring bubbling up into the river right there.

[JohnRich 4]

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I always look forward to your slide shows. I've camped all over for Texas, both work and fun, but the Big Bend area is still on my to do list. The furthest I've made it down that direction is Alpine/Davis Mountains area.

Thanks and I look forward to the next one!

You're welcome - glad you enjoy them. The Fort Davis mountains are quite beautiful too. Although they're all burned to hell right now from wildfires. Alpine is just flat desert - nothing great to see there, but the town has some unique establishments and is fun to hang out in for a while. It's the biggest pocket of civilization you see before heading into Big Bend National Park.