West Texas

I have never given West Texas the credit it deserves. I’ve been through some pretty long stretches of Texas highway, making my way between California (when we lived there) and Louisiana (where I’m from). And all I saw, for the most part, was tumbleweed, an ocassional roadrunner, and dirt. But this time was different.

We headed out to Balmorhea State Park, which is in a tiny town between small towns. It’s between Fort Stockton and Fort Davis, and it was definitely worth our time.

The state park has a 1.75 acre, 3.5 million gallon fresh water pool that  was built around the San Solomon Springs; so clear, cool water is continuously circulated through. It goes from 3-25 feet, and is home to some tiny fish, large catfish, and a couple of turtles. The water temp stays between 72-76 degrees.

It was a tad cold at first, but we got used to it after a bit. Though Jayden was a little freaked out by the smaller fish nibbling her toes, she and Rayne both loved floating and swimming in this enormous pool. I found the water refreshing, and I want to say (and maybe I’m just making this up) that it was sort of rejuvenating. I felt pretty fantastic after swimming in there.

We spent two days just hanging out in Balmorhea, and then ventured out a bit on our third day. We went about a half-hour up the road to the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute. There we saw a variety of cacti, and we did some pretty strenuous desert hiking. I’m not crazy about climbing around on rocks next to cliffs, and I really thought about calling for rescue at one point, but we made it. The girls thought it was the best hike yet, and Ray was pretty happy to be in the desert. He has a strange fascination with cactus plants, dry heat, and all the dust.

My takeaway from this hiking adventure is that I’m going to need to invest in some true hiking shoes. The Toms weren’t cutting it on that terrain!

As much as we’ve enjoyed Texas, we are moving on in the morning. New Mexico, here we come!