As we traveled west, we encountered many, many high wind events, and the first one was while we were in Kerrville. We were not aware that areas west of San Antonio, and all through New Mexico, Arizona, and eastern California often experience really high winds in late winter, early spring. We do know now! We only spent a few days in Kerrville. The main outing that we planned was a visit to Enchanted Rock.
We took the Summit Trail which climbs 425 feet in .6 mile. For the most part, it's a comfortable climb, but as you get closer to the top some of the incline is a bit steep. And, if it's as windy as it was that day, and if you have a fear of heights as SheM does, you may stop just short of the summit and sit on a rock as HeM climbs the remainder of the way alone. Just saying.
Leaving Kerrville, we made our last Texas stop in Fort Stockton. The park there is a no-frills park that stays really busy with overnight stops as folks travel between El Paso and San Antonio. When we checked in around 3:00 in the afternoon, the place was quiet and not very full. In about an hour's time, RV after RV began pulling in, and the park was filled for the night.
The next morning, the reverse exodus occurred. Each afternoon and morning was the same for the 3 days we were there, with lines of RV's checking in and out for the night.
Although the park is nothing special, its remoteness offered us an opportunity that we haven't enjoyed in a long time. At night, the sky is just full of stars and you can actually see the Milky Way. Really nice! Here's the view from the front of our RV while we were there.
The park has a walking trail that we used for our daily exercise. We were beginning to feel that we were indeed in the 'wild west'.
We drove into Fort Stockton to visit the sights. Historic Fort Stockton was first on the list. We were expecting to see something that looked more like a fort, with wooden post walls, etc. Instead we found that it's simply a group of buildings in the middle of town. The guard house still has some chains and barred doors.
The barracks are set up to look as they would have appeared in the 1860's.
Historic Fort Stockton is the proud owner of a wagon that was used in 2 John Wayne movies--The Comancheros, and Undefeated.
Some interesting facts about Fort Stockton: In 1860, Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, established a camel corp here. Although the camels were a practical success, the corp failed politically because Davis resigned and became President of the Confederacy. The army withdrew from Texas in May of 1861 because of the Civil War. In 1867 Fort Stockton was reestablished and became home to the 9th infantry 'buffalo soldiers'. In 1886, the fort was finally abandoned.
The location of Fort Stockton was selected due to the water source that was provided by Comanche Springs. At that time, the springs supplied 65 million gallons of water a day. By March 1961 the springs had ceased to flow because of heavy pumping from the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer. In 1954, Texas' 'Rule of Capture' was enforced when the Pecos County Water District unsuccessfully tried to force the reduction of the pumping. For those who are not familiar with the Rule of Capture, it states that landowners have full rights to all ground water on or under their property without regard to how that usage impacts their surroundings. With water becoming such a precious resource, it's inconceivable that this rule is going to be able to stand for much longer. There is a tribute to the Comanche Springs of old in downtown Fort Stockton.
While there, we also visited the Historic Pecos Jail, Pecos Courthouse, and Annie Riggs Hotel/Boarding House Museum--all brimming with history.
From Fort Stockton we moved on to Las Cruces, New Mexico. That will be the subject of our next posting.
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