West Texas

West Texas

April 25 and 26, 2007.

We are staying in Balmorhea State Park. Water & 50-amps $14 with cable TV $17 plus $5 each for park entry fee. Located a few miles south of I-10 exit 206 if you are east bound and exit 209 if you are west bound. We like to stay here for the wildlife and birding. Balmorhea Springs boast the worlds largest swimming pool.

On Wednesday April 25 we continued our journey west on I-10. Traveling I-10 west from Junction to Balmorhea State Park is a rather lonely drive. There are great expanses of limestone roadcuts punctuated by thousands of acres of cedar. Really, there is a lot of that but as we travel west it is obvious that the landscape is becoming dryer.

Roadcuts through layers upon layers of limestone punctuate I-10 through the first 100-miles of Texas Hill Country.

East of Sonora Texas on I-10

East of Sonora spring rain has encouraged a good crop of wild flowers. Notice that there is enough moisture in this region to support live oak trees.

Roadcuts on I-10 around Sonora, Texas

Awesome roadcuts such as this are routine to well west of Sonora.

Roadcut on I-10 near Sonora, Texas

Deep roadcuts through thousands of years of limestone deposits are just part of the landscape traveling I-10.

I-10 west of Fort Stockton

West of Fort Stockton is really dry and flat. Joyce took this picture at a rest stop west of Fort Stockton to emphasize that plants are not growing more than 4 to 5 feet tall. One yucca plant is taller than 5-feet.

I-10 rest area west of Fort Stockton

Our motorhome at that rest area. You can see for miles and miles but you aren't going to see any trees, only bushes.

Pecan orchard at Balmorhea, exit on I-10

On the outskirts of Balmorhea there is this pecan orchard that looks like it may be around 100 acres. The springs at Balmorhea that feed the swimming pool are providing water to make this orchard possible.

Bute visible from I-10

This looks like a butte to me since buttes are isolated, small, flat-topped hills, usually an erosional remnant carved from flat-lying rocks. This looks like it fits that definition.

Davis Mountains from I-10 exit 209

As we turn off I-10 at exit 209 we can see the Davis Mountains to the south.

The San Solomon spring at Balmorhea State Park has created a superb desert oasis. These springs in the desert flatlands of West Texas have provided water for Native Americans, and later, for Spanish explorers and soldiers. Today the life sustaining waters from the spring are used to supply irrigation water for 12,900 acres of farming land.

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Until next time remember how good life is.

Mike & Joyce Hendrix