Enjoying the shade at historic Pratt Cabin in the heart of Guadalupe National Park

Texas is a big state.  It is big geographically, second only to distant Alaska.  It is big in population and the economy, big in political influence, played a big role in American history, it features big trucks, big speed limits, big cowboy hats and big sports teams, especially football.  Texas is big and if you have any doubt, just ask a Texan.  And we were going to explore the biggest part of this big state – west Texas, the vast open desert plains that seem to dwarf everything that enters its domain.

We crossed the border and the speed limit on this old two line highway jumped up to 75 miles per hour (130 kph), a distant dream for Tramp.   Our plan was to take a southerly route to cross Texas, hit a couple of national parks and some of their historic sites, maybe try to get a sense of this big state.  And the fun began within ten miles of crossing the border.

Guadalupe National Park provided us with grand desert views on our two walks

Guadalupe National Park doesn’t spring to mind when you think of the famous national park system in the US. People know about Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Rocky Mountains, sure, but Guadalupe?  Nope.  But with only 59 parks earning this highest accolade, one that requires a bill to pass Congress, we knew that it had to be good.

Dramatic mountain scenes formed eons ago

Occupying the southern reaches of the Guadalupe Mountains in the far western corner of Texas, the national park features a stunning range of high desert mountains with steep slopes and dramatic rocky escarpments, all covered with a range of dry brush and cacti that add a spring-time green tint to the landscape.

Tramp finds a comfortable resting place for the night amongst the mountains

Hang on, is that another green alien hiding amongst the prickly pear?

Julie and I found a camping spot for the night and then headed off on the 4.2 mile (6.7 km) Devil’s Hall walk up Pine Creek.  This walk started off on the open slopes following the creek but as the canyon walls closed in the trail moved down into the dry creek bed itself and slowly wound its way up and around the narrow canyon until there was almost no room to go any further.  It was a great way to stretch the muscles and enjoy this hidden park.

There was a bit of scrambling on this walk to get back to the narrowest part of the canyon

Devil’s Hall provided some shade on a hot day

While the weather had been delightfully warm during the day the evening saw the temperatures drop again and the persistent evening wind pick up once more.  The wind continued all night and by the next morning as we were walking up the McKittrick Canyon in another part of the park the wind was howling, sometimes in gusts over 70mph (110kph).  When those gusts hit you had to brace yourself or get blown over.  Really.

The disappearing creek – it would seep into the limestone and then reappear further down stream

Julie trying out the cooking facilities in this 1930’s cabin

But not even the strong wind could detract from this beautiful walk, following a mountain creek that appears and disappears as the water seeps down into the limestone and then later burbles to the surface.  Our goal was the Pratt Cabin, built by a wealthy oilman in the 1930’s as an escape from city life.  The stone and slate cabin was in a beautiful site nestled amongst the pines, maples, walnuts and oaks that uniquely grow on the same slopes as numerous cacti.  We saw a new cactus, the agave with its long stalk pointing skyward, and more of our favourites including the sotol, walking stick chollo, numerous types of yuccas and lechuguillas.    Spotting cacti in their various forms is great fun.

Pratt Cabin, built at the confluence of two creeks amongst tall trees

The agave cactus, new to us on this walk but it would be come a common feature over the next few days

More colourful cacti – most of them hadn’t flowered yet but we occasionally came across some good ones

You want more cacti? We briefly visited a desert botanical garden that studies cacti – here’s some suggestive ones they are growing

The strong wind had stirred up a huge dust storm that covered the vast valley and fogged our views as we travelled south into the heart of west Texas.  The range of this land is just staggering with its large cattle ranches on dry desert land being surrounded by magnificent high mountains covered in rock and cactus.  There was a harsh beauty in the scene but we were glad we were just passing through.

Can’t get enough of these rough desert scenes

Our goal for the night was Davis Mountain State Park near the historic Fort Davis.  Texas speed limits are as much as 80 mph (125 kph) on the Interstates, much faster than Tramp can make, even at a full gallop. Instead, we headed south on Hwy 118 toward Fort Davis and were amazed that for the first 47 miles (75 km) we did not see a single other vehicle in either direction.  Where in the world can you travel that far on a paved road without seeing another person?  Amazing.

The very handsome male pronghorn – with his harem they were a common feature across these dry plains

On this scenic drive we saw our first javelinas, a pig-like creature with a pointy nose which travel in groups, and repeatedly spotted families of pronghorn, a deer-like animal with big fluffy white bums, long legs and unique antlers for the males.  The pronghorn seem to live peacefully alongside the occasional cow in a landscape that doesn’t appear to support much grazing at all. That night our peaceful campsite was momentarily disturbed by a passing skunk who was quick to raise his threatening tail as he sniffed around our camp and the neighbouring bushes.  Good riddance skunk.

Fort Davis was a critical staging point on the long trails out west in the late 19th century

Notwithstanding the skunk, after a lovely evening camping in the state park, we had a long and fascinating visit to Fort Davis National Historic Site, one of the most important and best preserved forts that protected travellers in their westward migrations back in the mid to late 1800’s.  Fort Davis played a vital anchor role for travellers moving from San Antonio to El Paso, usually on their way to the gold fields of California, providing supplies, support and most importantly, safety from Apache Indians that didn’t appreciate the uninvited intrusions to their native lands.

Reenacted barracks for the soldiers – all their worldly possessions in a box or bag

We walked amongst the remaining buildings, remarkably preserved, and marvelled at how the army supplied and maintained such a remote outpost with up to 400 soldiers, plus innumerable officers, staff and associated people, including families of the officers, doctors for the hospital, teachers, pastors and all the rest.  A fabulous learning experience.

Would you really want to travel 1,000 miles across dusty old tracks and be worrying about attacking Apaches in this thing?

Another surviving building from Fort Davis – little bits of comfort a long way from anywhere else

But our target was the Rio Grande, the same river we saw being born in the high mountains of Colorado was now performing its primary duty of being a line of demarcation between the US and Mexico and we wanted to explore that beautiful country. The Rio Grande, as we would come to learn, would be a major theme for the next stage of our journey.

A regular task – Tramp carries 27 gallons of water for us to use in our travels and we need to fill it up occasionally