The Story of Frijole Ranch

Frijole Ranch, Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Guadalupe Mountains National Park has incredible scenic vistas and terrific hiking trails, but it is also blessed with stories from the past.  A brief visit to Frijole Ranch tells so much about the efforts of early ranchers who tried to made the mountains their home.  Around 1876, the Rader built the small stone structure and stayed there until sometime before 1900.  The Smith family lived and worked at the ranch for thirty-six years and made it the social center of the area, beginning around 1906.  You can tour the ranch house, and peek in the post office and one-room school building from the Smith family's time at the ranch.

The ranch is just adjacent to the trailhead to Smith Spring, one of our Texas Mountain Trail Heritage Hikes, included in our Peak Fitness Challenge.  The 2.6 mile loop trail takes you through desert, into a cool shaded spring area, into arroyos and by a pond, where birds and wildlife like to gather.

Read more about the Ranch here and here.  It is a great place to visit!

Hot Springs Canyon Trail, Big Bend National Park

 

Most folks heading to Hot Springs in Big Bend National Park are focused on the water, but there are some great hiking trails and some vistas in that area that are well worth the effort!  Head past the historic area of the trail, and soon it will fork.  Straight ahead is the trail to Rio Grande Village, to the left is the trail leading above Hot Springs to the site of the J.O. Langford homesite.

View just above the Rio Grande near Hot Springs

View from the J.O. Langford homesite above Hot Springs

Riding to McGuirk's Dream, Part 2

Mountain bikers were greeted
by TPWD's Linda Hedges
who interpreted the site

Yesterday, we started our report on our ride to the Contrabando Canyon's rock house ruin, the former home of H.W. McGuirk in the late 1890s.  We were there on a ride at the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest, a cooperative effort of TPWD, Big Bend Ranch State Park, Desert Sports, Big Bend Trails Alliance and many other dedicated volunteers.

We took one of the easier rides, an 11+ mile trek to the rock house.  When we arrived, TWPD's Linda Hedges told us all about the ruin, and guided us through an illuminating look at the site. 

Continuing our information from TPWD:

"The roof was constructed with wood timber framing (vigas of cottonwood) as rafters gathered on site, an ddesigned with a shallow pitech to shed water towards the canyon below.  Both the original section and the addition of small fireplaces for cooking, with very nicely constructed chimneys indicating that the work was undertaken by experienced craftsmen.

 

The rock house ruin's many rooms
shown here

 

Remnants of a corral in the foreground

Immediately adjacent to the residence is a series of small, ribbon-like stone fence enclosures, no more than 3 feet high, that were likely used to protect small livestock.

 

 

 

Riding to McGuirk's Dream, Part 1

TPWD's (and TMT board member) Linda Hedges
leads an interpretive hike to Casa Contrabando
during the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest

Recently, we participated in the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest down in Lajitas and Big Bend Ranch State Park.  We took the Festival's Contrabando Ride, 11+ miles in the state park, led by volunteers and knowledgable TPWD interpreters.  We headed north from Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center on Hwy 170, the River Road, up single and double-track trails into Big Bend Ranch State Park.  Halfway through our ride, we ended up at Contrabando Water Hole and the ruins of H.W. McGuirk's stone house from the late 1890s.

From TPWD:

"H.W. McGuirk began ranching in the area around 1885.  He expanded operations and moved his headquarters here to Contrabando Waterhole about 12 years later.   But water contamination in the spring, possibly poisoning, soon forced him to abandon this site and move to the Rio Grande, where he founded the community of Lajitas.



fireplace in the stone house ruin

Begun sometime during the late 1890s, the dwelling at Contrabando Waterhole began as a "patio"--a cleared area enclosed by a short, stacked stone wall.  The building was constructed within these defining perimeter walls, and consisted of 4 rooms built over the course of at least two building campaigns.  Both the original dwelling and the attached addition emply the same mazonry wall construction techniques, utilizing locally-collected native Boquillas flagstone in a random-laid patter, with a minimum of earth mortar used to stabilize the walls. 

 

There is evidence that, as the structure fell to ruin, efforts were made to reconstruct some of the walls using smaller rocks, tightly packed.  Though very little of the wood framing remains, one can see the location of the window and door openings."  

 

We loved visiting the Stone House ruin
on the Contrabando ride during the
Chihuhuan Desert Bike Fest.
Thanks to all, including Stonewear
Designs, for your rugged Echo Top!

Our BIG BIG thanks to all involved putting on the Festival, from TPWD and its staff from Big Bend Ranch State Park, Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center, and from across the state, Desert Sports, Big Bend Trail Alliance and many other dedicated volunteers and willing organizations.

 

 

Exploring the history of Big Bend National Park

All over Big Bend National Park, visitors can see remnants of early life in the area.  Our photo today comes from Lee Towns, the Director of our partner organization along the Gulf Coast, the Texas Independence Trail.  Taking a trip to Houston or the communities in that region?  Consult them!
But even city-dwellers like folks from Houston head to our region to experience the frontier. 

Big Bend National Park's website says this about the historical settlement of the area:

"Ranches, villages, trading posts and cavalry camps all existed in the Big Bend in the century prior to the park's establishment. A number of historic districts within the park protect the tangible evidence of human history in this region; elsewhere solitary ruins, graves or camps mark the spots where history was made."   Read more here.