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Spent most of a college January in BBNP as part of a geology field trip. Great trip, but a cold month and we were a bunch of kids in tent with substandard equipment.

There were grown folks that had never seen snow before.

Now Iron, you know it dont get cold in Texas.

I don’t have many B.B. pictures on this I phone and I don’t even know if my laptop still works. But My first Mule Deer Hunt was south of Sanderson in 1967 or thereabouts and I’ve been hooked on it ever since.

Because it is a desert, stuff can last a long time there and it’s interesting to try and figure out how an item came to be where you found it.

I was climbing a narrow draw about eight miles off the river, hoping to smell some javelinas that I could get close enough to kill with my sixgun. Failing in that, and having reached the head of the draw, I turned and looked back down it, spotting something that “ wasn’t right”.

Climbing back down, I discovered it was an old “ blue granite” coffee pot with only the handle stuck above the sandy gravel in the bottom of the draw. I dug it out and held it up to the sun to find any pinholes and there appeared to be none. Knowing the history of the ranch, it was pretty much a certainty that the coffee pot fell off some Vaquero’s saddle no later than mid fifties which would have it buried for over fifty years.

I still carry it in my hunting vehicle for making tea or coffee. This pic is from last November in N M....

Well...... seems I can’t post any pics from this tablet, even though they are on here.

Most of my west Texas time was spent around the Pecos/Live Oak Creek area where the govt road crossed the river. Headed to california. Right at Fort Lancaster. Was good friends with the family that owned that big ranch. Ive noticed the ranch is for sale now.

The live oak area along the creek (monster live oaks) where we always camped was the same area mentioned and used as a camping area in the Report of the Mendoza expedition in the 1680's out of what is now El Paso. This expedition made it to the present Sam Angelo area. In their q uest for the "pearls" reported in that area! Some of you will know what I speak of.

We found many military artifacts on the private property surrounding Fort Lancaster. Also many native artifacts.

That's pretty cool. A little off the subject, but I found a fleece-lined Levi jacket hanging in a tree near Broom Canyon, in the Duckwater area of Nevada back in 1990. It may have hung there a year or two, I have no idea. I still wear it.

Great pics Birdy.

That is one of the places I want to visit.

A couple of other sites I want to visit in Texas are Adobe Walls up in the panhandle. The battleships too down on the coast.

Geez I have been in Texas going on 12 years and haven't been to the coast yet. I need to get out more.

Better fill your gas tank, viking.

What part of the state are you in?

Big Bend area and west of the Pecos would be the part of Texas most interesting for me..............

Leander area in Williamson county.

Lordy, yes. You really need to gas up your wheels.


At least your somewhat near the middle of the state.

I'd advise anyone who plans to visit the Big Bend this time of year to be prepared for anything. You can come home with a sunburn, or you can come home with frostbite. From about the end of March, warmth and sunshine is a relatively safe bet. It usually stays warm into November.

I enjoyed this book about a canoe trip from El Paso to BB.

https://www.amazon.com/Tecate-Journals-Seventy-Days-Grande/dp/1594850771