To/From Big Bend National Park, Texas

Marathon Library, TX

 

    Leaving Fort Stockton on I-10 and driving west I turned south on US67 toward Alpine. This is the sort of view one expects in Texas: wide open spaces. The mountains down the road were about 20 miles away.

 

 

 

 

    Panning left...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    and panning slightly right....

 

 

 

 

 

 

    I finally walked to a gate and took a shot to the northwest.

 

 

 

    As I neared Alpine, home of Sul Ross State College, I noticed a peak with rather unique edges -- which is believe is Mitre Pk (6190').
    Incidentally, Sullivan "Sul" Ross was the only officer of the Texas Army to become a General in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He later went on to become a governor of Texas. [See links below.]
    After spending three nights in Big Bend NP I departed on Lincoln's Birthday and headed north on US285. [More -- indeed, much more on Big Bend in the next post.]

 

    Though I neglected to photograph the "relics" (parts of an old windmill & some water tanks), this Texas Historical Marker is the 1st I've seen in the Lone Star State. [Perhaps they're only on US Highways and not Interstate Routes?]

 

    Though this plaque is located outside of Big Bend NP, it does provide more information on the pre-Civil War U.S. Army experiment to switch from mules to camels. Although the camels could carry several time what a mule could and go longer without without water, hard-bitten mule skinners didn't like them.
    Thus, another class of foreign emmigrants suffered at the hands of ignorant locals: Camels! [See Links below as well as Forrest Bryant Johnson's The Last Camel Charge: The Untold Story of America's Desert Military Experiment.]
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Links:

• Wikipedia article on Fort Stockton, Texas
• Wikipedia article on Alpine, Texas
• Wikipedia article on Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross
• Visit Big Bend piece on the the U.S. Army Camel Experiment; includes larger photo of plaque

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Sa 9 Feb Actual Route: BC Ranch RV Pk - Alpine - W Entrance Big Bend NP - Cottonwood CG

Su 10 Feb Actual Route: Cottonwood CG - Mule Ears Viewpoint - Chisos Basin CG

M 11 Feb Actual Route: Chisos Basin CG - Panther Jcn P.O. - Chisos Basin CG

T 12 Feb Actual Route: Chisos Basin CG - Panther Jcn P.O. - Peppermint Gap Entrance - Marathon Motel & RV Park

W 13 Feb Actual Route: Marathon Motel & RV Park - Marathon Lib - Sanderson Lib - Picnic Area SE of Sanderson

Th 14 Feb Actual Route: Picnic Area SE of Sanderson - Sanderson Lib - Langtry - 8mi SE of Langtry bd

F 15 Feb Actual Route: 8mi SE of Langtry bd - Langtry - San Pedro CG, Amistad Natl Rec Area

Sa 16 Feb Actual Route: San Pedro CG, Amistad NRA - Amistad Dam - San Pedro CG, Amistad NRA

Su 17 Feb Actual Route: San Pedro CG, Amistad NRA - Del Rio Lib - Walmart

M 18 Feb Route: Del Rio Walmart - Home Depot - Del Rio Lib - Walmart
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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
• Free campsites website
• Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.