Perfect place for a picnic--Post Park!

Just five miles south of Marathon (follow the signs to "County Park") is a great little place that's been a resting place for centuries, Post Park!  We know the Apache and Comanche used the spring here as an oasis from the desert heat.  The Buffalo Soliders used the area for their Camp Pena Colorado in the late 1800s.  The community of Marathon and visitors use the park for fishing, picnicking and birdwatching.  Read the history here. Consider yourself invited!

Remote landscape shows evidence of early life--Metates

Near a remote landscape in Big Bend Ranch State Park

Last week, we visited extremely remote portions of Texas' wildest state park, Big Bend Ranch, with TPWD guide, Blaine Hall.  He took us to places we couldn't have found on our own, including this place in an undisclosed location where earlier people--possibly Comanche--made fires (notice the ash-colored ground in the photo below?) and ground grain on the metates.  To learn about the ranger-led programs and tours offered by the park, page down to "Ranger Programs," on this page.


Metates or grinding stones at the site
 

TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT!

Big Bend Resorts and Adventures'
Putting green behind the motel and
RV/Campground in Terlingua

Big Bend Resorts and Adventures

Close to the entrance of Big Bend National Park in Terlingua is Big Bend Resorts and Adventures, a lodging property with motel, RV and tent camping.  On our cycle-friendly list of properties, the folks at Big Bend Resorts also offer golf, horseback riding, and specialized tours of the area.  Don't want to take your own car down rugged park roads?  Let them do the driving (and the guiding) for you! 

The beautiful light of Fort Leaton

The bright, clear blue of the sky and the light playing off the rough adobe walls of Fort Leaton makes this place near Presidio a photographer's dream.  And there's plenty of history to absorb too.  This is a state park facility, open for everyone to enjoy.  Their website says, "In 1848, Ben Leaton built a fortified adobe trading post known as Fort Leaton. He dominated border trade with the Apache and Comanche Indians before he died in 1851. In 1936, the Texas Centennial Commission placed a marker at the site."  Inside, there are interpretive exhibits that tell the story of the area, including the pre-history of the area, through Ben Leaton's day, to present day stories.