Rocking Out in GMNP

Great blog post by the American Geophysical Union of their hike in Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

 

"While in West Texas over spring break, the “Border to Beltway” students took a hike up McKittrick Canyon, in Guadalupe Mountains National Park.We were hiking in the forereef deposits of the Bell Canyon Formation.

 

Reefs are geologic structures built by living organisms, so you won’t be shocked to learn that there were plenty of fossils to be seen, though mostly as a hash of bits and pieces, occasionally as whole body fossils."

Clayton's Overlook Trail at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center

One of our favorite trails at the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center offers 360 degree views of the Davis Mountains, with full interpretive panels explaining the geology, history and natural history of the area.  Learn how the mountains were formed, how the area was settled, and where Wild Rose Pass REALLY is! 

Hoodoos in Big Bend Ranch State Park

Photo: TPWD, Big Bend Ranch State Park

As a part of our recent National Trails Day social media project, our friends at Big Bend Ranch State Park posted this great photo on their Facebook page with the following text:

"One of the easiest, and most interesting hikes in the Big Bend Ranch State Park is the Hoodoos Trail. A large parking area is located right off Hwy 170 and the hike takes you down to the river. But the neatest stuff lies along the way. The soft rocks made during ancient volcanic activity erode in strange and exotic shapes. It’s fun to hike there during the day, but hiking during full moons is just downright weird! I always carry extra water, snacks, and a flashlight when I always seem to spend more time there than I’d planned.

Although the river is beautiful in this area, my favorite thing to do is wander among the hoodoos admiring their odd shapes and watching for lizards and other wildlife living in the cracks and crevices of the rocks."

Speaking the Same Geological Language: Golden Spikes at Guadalupe Mountains National Park

GUMO Superintendent Dennis Vasquez,
GUMO Geologist Dr Jonena Hearst,
Dr Charles Henderson, Dr Shuzhong Shen after installing
Capitanian GSSP marker on Nipple Hill, May 2013

Geologists all over the world work with rock that helps us understand in the timing of events in earth history.  To help geologist "use the same language" worldwide, they rely on standards and definitions to name geological stages so the same unit or formation would mean the same thing to everyone, no matter where they are. 

Global Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs)--also called Golden Spikes--are established by consensus within the international geological community...recently three points were established in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. 

 These sections and points allow geologists to correlate rocks and fossils from one locality to another across continents and oceans, giving geologists a common reference and vocabulary for discussing local, regional, and global events in geology and paleontology.”

Guadalupe Mountains National Park has been recognized by the Subcommission on Permian Stratigraphy of the International Union of Geological Sciences with the placement of plaques marking the park's three Global Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs). Dr. Shuzhong Shen, current Chair of the Subcommission, Dr. Charles M. Henderson, past Chair of the Subcommission, and Guadalupe Mountains National Park geologist Dr. Jonena Hearst placed the bronze markers in the park this past Spring.

Adventures in the Guadalupes, Hiking the El Capitan Trail

Guadalupe Peak, the highest in Texas

by Andrew Stuart
Editor, Hudspeth County Herald and Dell Valley Review
Texas Mountain Trail Board Member

This fourth installment in a series on hikes in Guadalupe Mountains National Park focuses on the El Capitan and Salt Basin Overlook trails, a 21.5-mile loop, from Pine Springs to Williams Ranch, at the base of the western escarpment, and back. I took this trail as an overnight trip, hiking out from the Pine Springs trailhead at 8 a.m. Saturday morning and reaching the Shumard Canyon campsite, 9 and a half miles later, at about 3 p.m. I returned the next day via the longer, Salt Basin Overlook portion of the loop.

The trail passes from the grassy foothills of the eastern slopes to the stony defiles below Capitan's tower, to the crest of the Salt Basin Overlook, at the southern foot of El Capitan; from the overlook, the trail winds through sharp and exposed terrain along the western face of the mountains, above vertiginous heights and below the 2,000-foot cliffs of the escarpment, to the head of Shumard Canyon. The path then drops down through the canyon's gorge to the historic Williams Ranch House, built in 1908. On the return, the Salt Basin Overlook Trail winds along the ledge below El Capitan, through a wonderland of boulders. The trails can be taken as a shorter, 11.5-mile day hike, excluding the leg from Shumard Canyon and back.

 

I carried, among other things, a sleeping bag, a tent, a light-weight camping stove, some dishware and two gallons of water. A package of powdered, just-add-water food. Early in the hike, feeling the weight of the water on my back, it occurred to me it would be nice if someone would invent powdered water. I guess, you know, you'd just add water.

View from the east

Around the base of El Capitan, coming to the Salt Basin Overlook, and a sudden view of much of Hudspeth County: the Patterson Hills, the flats and dunes, Round Mountain – a little blemish on the flats, casting a tiny shadow; the Cornudas – San Antonio, Chatfield, Wind mountains, Cerro Alto in the far distance, at the El Paso County line; and, hazy in the southwest, Sierra Blanca, Little Blanca and Round Top mountains.

I spent a day and a half out in the wilderness, in the park, I sweated and labored around boulder and cliff, with the broken rocks below and before me, over pass and then pass again, circling, twisting about the colossus of El Capitan. Oh, I sweated and labored, at home Sunday evening my shirt collar is starched and blackened with sweat and dirt. I sweated and labored, and, 37-year-old that I am, no spring chicken, at one, or two, moments, I despaired: on a gray helmet of rock, a beautiful place, overlooking the chasm of Shumard Canyon, I saw the trail's end far below me – 1,000, 1,200 feet? – and balked at the thought of having to retrace my path, back up the canyon, the next morning. And again in the shaded slopes, the lea of the El Capitan Trail, on my return journey, just past the junction of the Salt Basin Overlook trail, at the foot my last serious climb. Now those points seem dear to me, especially the second, the cool, blue place, where I thought perhaps I should just lay down and die.

From the park's information:

“The most striking feature of GuadalupeMountains National Park is the thousand-foot high El Capitan, which can be seen from miles around. Early settlers used it as a landmark on the route through Guadalupe Pass.

El Capitan is composed of Capitan Limestone, which is the Permian-aged limestone reef deposit. A reef is a submerged resistant mound or ridge formed by the accumulation of plant and animal skeletons. The Capitan Limestone is a massive, fine-grained fossiliferous limestone that formed by growth and accumulation of invertebrate skeleton of algae, sponges, and tiny colonial animals called bryozoans. These skeletons were stabilized by encrusting organisms that grew over and cemented the solid reef rock, unlike modern reefs built by mainly a rigid framework of corals.

Below this massive cliff of Capitan Limestone you can see a prominent sandstone ledge of the Brushy Canyon sandstone which formed when the off-shore basin began to slowly subside.

View from the West

Because of the Capitan's greater resistance to erosion, it forms this cliff which looms majestically above the horizon for us all to see.”

I steered myself by that colossus. I gloried in it, at the overlook, its full sentinel form above, wind sweeping east on the outward journey and west on the return, or I despaired, when it was high above, above slopes strewn with boulders, giant stones, from the age of titans. From the low points, the burned desert, then again up, to within one mad scramble to the foot of the escarpment. The honey-colored heights of the escarpment in mid-morning. I walked across the charred ground where the El Capitan Fire burned, in May, and saw the folds and that bare face of the mountain, which my neighbor and myself see each day. I saw its dark places, its intimate folds. I cannot report, or I can only report a part, of what I saw – its ugly secrets and its satin slipper, its golden slumber.

The Salt Basin trail is part of the Peak Fitness Challenge, a project of the Texas Mountain Trail, GeoBetty, Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Franklin Mountains State Park.  Here's the Challenge's page for the trail....join the Challenge today!

Smith Spring Trail

Smith Spring

by Drew Stuart
Editor, Hudspeth County Herald and Dell Valley ReviewTexas Mountain Trail Board Member|

Photos by Stephanie Smith

 

This is the third installment in a series on hikes in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The park celebrates its 40^th anniversary this year, and the Herald editor plans to hike all the park's trails by the end of 2012 and to share something from each of the hikes with Herald readers.

Sunday, Aug. 5, I made my third hike in three weeks in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, to Smith Spring. I was joined on the hike by Amy Muise of Crow Flat, her children Rhiannon and Emmett and Amy's sister, Stephanie Smith. Stephanie was visiting and hoped to take a hike in the park – Amy suggested Smith Spring, which was still on my list, as a good short hike. I appreciated the company. Apart from McKittrick Canyon, which I expect to leave for the fall, the trails that remain will be long treks – mostly into the high country of the mountains – and it seems likely they'll be made alone.

A 2.3-mile loop, the Smith Spring Trail begins and ends at the historic Frijole Ranch compound and, like other day hikes on the park's east side, passes from grasslands marked by cacti and desert shrubs into wooded canyons and limestone cliffs.

Determined to beat the heat, we planned a daybreak start for our hike. I arrived at dawn, before my companions and in enough time to watch the sun rise over the hills and flats to the northeast. Unlike the sunset display Dell Citians and Salt Flatters can take in each afternoon – the two-, three- or four-hour light show on the mountain's western escarpment – sunrise on the other side of the mountain was a shorter and sharper affair – the sun rose, and the limestone cliffs capping the mountains lit up briefly and intensely, looking, for that moment, like a golden crown. I had some time to walk around the old ranch house and splash cold water from Frijole Ranch Spring on my face.

The group arrived, and we organized and hit the trail. At Rhiannon's prompting, we reviewed how we would respond to an encounter with a mountain lion or bear – always a good thing to consider – though the only the big fauna we see are three mule deer, enjoying the ample forage of the slopes.

The ascent offers views of the bluffs and canyon above, a dense jumble of white rock. It is a gentle and pleasant climb, and one broken up, this day, by occasional breaks to sit down on the trail.

Near the spring, the trail passes into a clutch of woods, a mini-forest. Rhiannon and I are in the lead, and as we enter the woods we hear the thud of wings and watch a buzzard lift itself from a tree limb and fly down the canyon. Then we catch the smell of something dead – confirming the claim of the park's interpretive signage that Smith Spring is a “place of life and death.” The trail crosses live water flowing over the rocks, and we come to the springs themselves, draped with maidenhair fern and surrounded by oaks and pines. A big madrone stands above the water, the red peels of its bark scattered on the ground below, like piece of fancy stationary.

The rock of the Guadalupes is an ancient marine reef, formed 250 million years ago, when a vast inland sea covered much of what's now Texas and New Mexico, geologists tell us. Rock made of algae, the skeletons of small sea creatures and lime that precipitated from the ocean itself. The sea came and went before mammals even existed; a dizzying thing to consider, however much you've tried to think about geologic time. The stone formed hundreds of millions of years before the volcanic activity that thrust up many of the other mountains of Far West Texas and Southern New Mexico. 

The limestone in the mountains is layered with other rock – including sandstone, through which water can pass. Smith Spring – at 5,955 feet, one of the highest springs in Texas – flows from Bell Canyon sandstone; rainfall in the mountains percolates through the joints in the sandstone and limestone to emerge here and at the series of springs downhill.

Back down the trail, now on the north side of the canyon, to the grasslands. Grass that, if not lush, would still gladden the heart of ranchers on the other side of the mountain, Amy points out.

Nearing the ranch house, Smith Spring's water rises to the surface again, at Manzanita Spring, surrounded by reeds and trees, including at least one walnut. A sign here says that Manzanita and Smith springs and Frijole Spring at the ranch house are among “five springs in a three-mile radius” – a pretty remarkable concentration of water in this desert.

I sit on a picnic table back at the trailhead, with the mountains behind me, chalky-looking mounds casting their cool white light as the midday approaches. After the third walk in three weeks in the eastern canyons and flanks of the Guadalupes, I feel the beginnings of a new comfort, feel newly at home with this side of the mountains.

We eat lunch at a picnic table outside the ranch house, where the heat is tempered by the presence of flowing water. Walking around the ranch buildings, we meet up with a rattlesnake, just outside the ranch house door – Rhiannon displays some impressive instincts and reflexes in jumping away from the snake, which doesn't rattle. On our way out, we inform Eric, the park muleskinner, about the snake, and he tells us he'd removed a snake from that location recently – likely the same one. He can't blame the snake for coming back, he says, as “this is the honeypot of the whole park,” which seems like a good description for the wettest corner of the Guadalupes.

Our heartiest thanks to Drew and Stephanie!   ---Texas Mountain Trail

The Smith Spring Trail is part of the Peak Fitness Challenge....sign up, hike the trail yourself and compete for prizes!  The Peak Fitness Challenge is a cooperative program of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Franklin Mountains State Park, GeoBetty.com and Texas Mountain Trail!

A cooler place on a hot day down by the river

For a short, easy hiking adventure with plenty of shade from the hot sun, try Closed Canyon in Big Bend Ranch State Park

Light reaches through the narrow Closed Canyon, part of Big Bend Ranch State Park
easily accessible from the River Road between Terlingua and Presidio

This is an easy, 1.4 mile hike in shade most of the time, and considered a highlight of any visit to Big Bend Ranch State Park. 

Hikers enjoy the stroll between tall rock canyon faces; this is a cool and quiet place just above the Rio Grande.  There are stretches with slick rock at your feet, and places with an abrupt drop of a yard or so....so only go as far into the canyon as you feel comfortable.  We'd recommend taking this hike on clear days, since a (rare) day with rain could produce a flash flood.

The trailhead is located on Hwy 170, known as the River Road, between the Ranchieras West and Ranchieras East trailheads.  After a brief hike through typical Chihuahuan Desert terrain, you reach the canyon opening.

Our friend, Dawn, wrote a wonderful blog entry (with lots of great pictures!) about her hike in the canyon.  Read it here.

Here's a link to a detailed trail report.

Drive through a Volcano!

Hwy 90 between Alpine and Marfa, the way most people see it but what travelers may not realize they're passing through a rich geological history!

Now with QR code-linked roadside exhibits, travelers can read the sign AND
view online resources (websites, videos, etc.) right on the spot!

Thanks to our visionary friends at the Brewster County Tourism Council, stopping along a roadside near Marathon, Terlingua/Study Butte, or Alpine and learning about the area may never be the same!

Just yesterday, five miles from Alpine at the rest stop along Hwy 90, an impressive new roadside exhibit was dedicated.  Stop there, get out your smartphone and in addition to reading about the geological history of this mountain pass, you can see video and view websites about it too!

Want to read the exhibit panel RIGHT NOW?  See the Visit Big Bend History Snapshot web site here:

http://www.visitbigbend.com/snapshot1

So what happened here?  What about the volcano?
The blog of the Geological Society of America outlines the geological history of the Paisano Pass area:  

"The development of the Paisano Volcano (abridged): 35 million years ago basaltic lavas erupted from a pluton approximately 5 miles in diameter that rose slowly from deep within the mantle and lodged into the crust approximately 2 to 3 miles below the surface. Explosive pyroclastic eruptions driven by steam and carbon dioxide ensued, followed by subsequent lava flows. After a quiet period, pyroclastic flows again began to erupt, and a caldera crater collapsed during violent explosions that partially emptied a magma chamber under the volcano. Finally, more lavas erupted, followed by late mafic dikes and plugs and much younger nepheline syenite intrusions into the older volcanic strata.  Development of the broad shield complex was completed in 1 to 2 million years. Weathering and erosion continue to carve the different types of igneous rock into the colorful cliffs and wide valleys that seen around Paisano Pass today."

Want to see what the eruptions, collapses, and flows might have appeared?   The beauty of combining QR codes into the exhibit allows visitors to see online resources about the area, including cool video!  Click here to watch this video, which not only introduces the exhibit concept, but has great footage of volcanic activity. 

Background Information about the Visit Big Bend History Snapshot Project:

The Brewster County Historical Commission assisted in the development of historical information signs placed along the 400 plus miles of highways in Brewster County. Each historical sign is approximately 3 feet by 5 feet in size with display information including maps, photographs, diagrams text that describe the facts of the related subjects which include geology, biology, archaeology and history.

This is a joint project conducted with financial support provided from the Brewster County Tourism Council, hotel/motel tax. An agreement exists between Brewster County and Texas Department of Transportation for the placement of these signs within the county highway right-of-ways.  The selected locations are at existing traffic turnouts, roadside parks or at a position of access for tourists and educators traveling through the area.

A total of approximately 35 site locations will ultimately form a historical marker route through Brewster County with a road log to be prepared for the public and available on the Internet. These signs are in addition to the traditional existing Texas Historical Commission markers.

Here's a short Youtube movie about the Paisano Volcano exhibit here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSmVHcnoakM&feature=youtu.be

And the Geological Society of America Blog feature on the volcano exhibit here:

http://geosociety.wordpress.com/

Installation of The Visit Big Bend History Snapshot Paisano Pass Volcano Exhibit On Highway 90.

More than thirty representatives of Brewster County, The City of Alpine, Sul Ross State University, Museum of the Big Bend, Bryan Wildenthal Library Archives, and friends of the Visit Big Bend History Snapshot Project gathered Friday morning at the Highway 90 Rest Area 5 miles west of downtown Alpine, to celebrate the installation of exhibit number 6 of 35 projected roadside panels: The Paisano Pass Drive Through Volcano.

This project is fortunate to have the support of many institutions and people, both local and far flung, in the production of these interpretive exhibits for the Visit Big Bend History Snapshot Project.

These include The Museum of the Big Bend, The Bryan Wildenthal Archives, The Center for Big Bend Studies, and The Science and History Departments of Sul Ross State University.  In addition the University of Texas Jackson School of Earth Sciences and leading professionals from many other Texas institutions have provided invaluable information, historical photographs, and expert scientific and historical advice and review for these exhibits.

First presented by invitation during the March, 2012 Geological Society of America Regional Conference hosted at Sul Ross State University, by Dr. Kevin Urbanczyk and Dr. James Witford-Stark, this roadside attraction features an entirely novel approach to outdoor education using the new QR Quick Response Code, to link smartphone viewers directly to the Visit Big Bend Web site.

This exhibit is currently featured on the GSA Blog Site and on Youtube.  The response from across the country has been exceptional.  So far Visit Big Bend is the only entity using this technology for outdoor education and traveler interpretation of the geology, biology and history of a Texas county.

Rondell Sanders is President of the Brewster County Tourism Council.  Mike Davidson, Alpine City Councilman, is Visit Big Bend Project Director.  Jim Bones is project photographer, and information compiler.  Chris Ruggia of Vast Graphics is principal exhibit designer.

Bentonite of the Trans Pecos--Volcanic Tuff, Badlands, Hoodoos and Kitty Litter!

Bentonite Badlands by Gary Nored

Volcanic Tuff at Big Bend National Park by Gary Nored

Today, we introduce you to a wonderful blog about our region, "An Eye for Texas," by Gary Nored, Texas Master Naturalist and volunteer with Big Bend Ranch State Park.

The latest entry of the blog is about bentonite, a clay material abundant in the Trans Pecos, formed by the mechanical and chemical weathering of volcanic materials. In easy to understand language, Gary explains how the weathering results in hoodoos, canyons, and ravines in the bentonite badlands.  "An Eye for Texas," provides substantive information about all the topics Gary explores.  For example, did you know bentonite is used to make kitty litter? 


Click here for Gary's blog, "An Eye for Texas," and read all about it!  Thanks, Gary, for sharing your work with our Texas Mountain Trail friends!

Geology Tour of Big Bend Ranch State Park

Geologist and Interpretive Ranger at Big Bend Ranch State Park, Blaine Hall shows the locations of geologic interest to our group, including the Solitario

Color change in these rocks are due to weathering

Geologist Blaine Hall

More weathering indicated by color

Taking a photo of the white rocks indicating a "mountain building event" taking place 300 million years ago

Hiking in the Solitario

Best way to see it?  On foot!

Want to explore the wildest place in Texas' state park system, but want a guide?  Want to explore Big Bend Ranch State Park, but don't want to drive in the park?  Want to learn about geology from a geologist?  One of the best values we've encountered in our region is a personalized tour of Big Bend Ranch State Park by geologist and Interpreter/Ranger Blaine Hall.

We booked a full day with Blaine, who met us at the center of the park at Sauceda Ranch at 9am.  We packed the water and lunches we'd brought into a TPWD vehicle, and started our tour.  Blaine drove us to several locations to see evidence of geological highlights in the park--and Big Bend Ranch has TREMENDOUS geological highlights!  To read more, download this issue of the award-winning El Solitario newsletter and read page 10!

Blaine showed us evidence of four major geological trends in the park:
1)  Applachian/Ouachita/Marathon/Solitario Trend
2)  Rocky Mountain Trend
3)  Trans-Pecos Volcanic Field
4)  Basin and Range Trend

We were game for a hike, too, so Blaine led us on a great trail to continue our lesson on geology...we got to see some amazing views of the landscape! 

To schedule a tour, call the park's local number, 432-358-4444, and ask to schedule a guided tour.  For two of us, we had a full day with Blaine (who is a wealth of information and genial, good-natured teacher and guide) for $150.

Gorgeous View and Delightful Geology Lesson!

Some of the best kept secrets around are the hiking trails at Fort Davis' Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center.  Atop the Clayton's Overlook (a magnificent 1.7 mile moderate/challenging hike) is a great exhibit that tells the geologic history of the entire area.  The Center's website says this:

"Opened in 2009, this exhibit is located on the highest point on the Nature Center property. The exhibit focuses on the geology of the Davis Mountains and tells a story of construction and destruction, of how mountains are built and torn down. The exhibit also shows how the culture and history of the region are linked to the geology."

Our favorite part of the experience?  The 360 degree view and an explanation of the prominent peaks and how they influenced the settlement of the land.  And there are several spots along the trail that offer jaw-dropping views of the land below and beyond.

Recently, Pam LeBlanc of the Austin American Statesman wrote about the Center and this trail in particular.  Click here to read that article. 

Building the trail and geology exhibit was a major undertaking....click here to download a document that tells the story!  One of the key forces in the development of the exhibit is featured in tomorrow's post!

One of our favorite wintertime landscapes, on a road mostly locals know

There's a road heading south from Marathon you really need to take...either by bicycle, motorcycle or car.  A 10 mile round trip offers a great adventure--history, geology, wildlife and nature--all packed into a short trip.  On a brisk winter day, we took this photo, looking north on our way back to town.  Lovely, right?

The road is known as the "Ride to the Post Heritage Bike Ride," on our website, but is ready for anyone (even non-cyclists!) to enjoy.  Consider all it offers:
The Road to the Post extends south on Avenue D in Marathon from US Highway 90 and the Union Pacific Railroad, and has an amazing history!

• Your route follows one fork of the Comanche War or Indian Trails into Mexico—there was a skirmish on the ridge above Post Park in 1855 between Buffalo Soldiers, Texas Rangers and Indians in 1855!
• It also generally follows the original Ore Roads to haul the ores (lead, zinc and silver) from the smelter at Boquillas in Mexico in 1895-1906, as well as quicksilver from the Terlingua, Study Butte and the Mariscal mines in south Brewster County to the railroad in Marathon as late as 1937!
• The route takes you near the historic cemetery and the site of an influenza tent hospital from the 1918 epidemic!
• The area known as Post Park was the site of a military encampment, farms, and ranches. Today it is the place for county-wide dance parties, fishing and birdwatching!
• The Gage Gardens and Post Park are both sites on the new Far West Texas Wildlife Trail.

Want to learn more?  Visit our "Ride to the Post" webpage for a link to a complete history, by Marathon resident Travis Roberts, PLUS a slideshow of the route!

Outer Loop Trail in Big Bend Ranch State Park

Big Bend Ranch State Park's Outer Loop trail is in the Solitario section of the park with a complex and fascinating geological history.  Read more about the Solitario here.

This hiking trail is on several mountain biking routes in the park's biking guide. 

Ocotillo at Ojito Adentro Trailhead in Big Bend Ranch State Park

We're excited because we're spending a weekend in Big Bend Ranch State Park in a couple of weeks with the Tierra Grande Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists, and we'll take EVERY opportunity to experience this vast, wild, and incredibly beautiful land.  This is the national park's lesser known neighbor, but it offers more remote hiking, mountain biking, birding, and rock watching opportunities.

This trailhead is on the main road to the center of the park, Sauceda Ranch.  The unpaved road is rugged, and most cars can handle it fine.  If you have a delicate vehicle or a large RV you might want to enjoy the park's wonderful sights and trails along the paved River Road (Hwy 170) instead.  The road to Sauceda Ranch has a 25 mph speed limit, and that's really as fast as you want to go, more for the scenery than for the rugged road conditions.  The drive into Sauceda will take an hour...we recommend taking it in the morning light, which is when this photo was taken. 

Rainbow Cliffs

South of Marathon, there's a rock formation called Rainbow Cliffs, which has served as a landmark for centuries.  The striated rock gave protection to Camp Pena Colorado, a Buffalo Soldier encampment as well as the native peoples gathering at the nearby spring and its water.  To read more about history and geology of the spot, click here.

You can see Rainbow Cliffs and visit nearby WPA project, Post Park on our heritage bike route (an easy 10 miles total, out-and-back) which can also be driven.  Post Park is also a site on our Far West Texas Wildlife Trail map on the Marathon-Alpine loop!  Check it out!

Hoodoo Trailhead in Big Bend Ranch State Park on Hwy 170

Big Bend Ranch State Park has a great right-off-the-road trailhead on Hwy 170, the River Road that features hoodoos!  Wikipedia says this about hoodoos:  "A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, and earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland. Hoodoos consist of soft sedimentary rock topped by harder, less easily-eroded stone that protects each column from the elements."

Video Week Begins! Half a Minute with the Hoodoos of Big Bend Ranch State Park

Halfway between Presidio and Lajitas on Hwy 170 (the River Road) in Big Bend Ranch State Park are some amazing hoodoos! 

What are hoodoos?  A product of erosion in sedimentary rock, they are called "tent rock," "fairy chimneys," or "earth pyramids." Read more about them here.

Our week concludes with Cattail Falls, Big Bend National Park

Our week of featuring the photographs of Al Capizzo concludes with this image from Cattail Falls in Big Bend National Park. 

Al tells us this about the photograph:  "In the photo you can see grayer, darker rock on left and lighter rocks on the right. The darker rock is a much harder rock than the lighter rock. It is essentially "bedrock" which was forced up through the softer rock and is what we see as the mountain tops, sticking up today. The creek is following a fault line between the two types of rock, and is there because this was a place it could start wearing a channel through the softer rock. You do see some grayer rocks on the right of the creek, but those are just boulders and rock that fell from the higher levels and ended up here. Of course all this took place before I was born, so I'm just passing along what I've heard!"

We'd like to tip our hat again, and thank Al for sharing his photos with us all week.  Thanks, Al! 

Now THAT'S a campsite!

Our recent camping trip to Big Bend Ranch State Park revealed so many of Far West Texas' assets, the reasons people keep coming back to our corner of the state:

• Our campsite, as you can see, allowed us a private wilderness experience.  And how rare is that these days?  Pretty darn rare. 
• We were surrounded by evidence of geological history, with extinct volcanoes in the area, and volcanic rock all around.
• As we drove into the park, we passed right by some ancient rock art, pictographs of human figures
• The nearby Fort Leaton and the town of Presidio were established early, in 1683.
• This land was traveled by the Comanche and Buffalo soldiers, and by refugees from the Mexican Revolution a 100 years ago.
• A few miles away in the park's center, sits the historic ranch house dating back to 1908, and there was plenty of evidence of old ranch buildings throughout the park.
• We heard coyote in the night, and in the morning the birding was excellent. (The park is on the new regional wildlife/birding map.) We hiked and if we'd brought our mountain bikes, world-class "epic" rides were available right there in the park. 

We had adventure, history, archaeology, nature, geology all right there waiting for us.  And we can't wait to go back!

December Skies south of Marathon

A December sky taken just south of Marathon, on the newest heritage bike ride:  Ride to the Post!  This easy 5 mile (one way) bike ride/motorcycle ride/drive) takes you from Marathon to Post Park, and shows you places in geological history, the history of the Comanche and Buffalo Soldier, as well as early ranching and settler history.  This is a great ride for the beginning cyclist or for families!