Seminole Canyon TX

The 3-4 hour drive from Big Bend to Seminole Canyon State Park is relatively short, especially by west Texas standards. This area is marked by vast limestone deposits which formed as the seabed of a  Cretaceous sea covering much of Texas. Today limestone is a commonly used building material. As a child, I was fascinated by my grandfather pointing out the fossils of sea critters that can be found in these limestones.

Close to our destination, we cross over the Pecos River, used by the Spanish in their explorations of Texas and the southwest.  "West of the Pecos" refers to the boundary of lawlessness in the Wild West as most law authorities stopped at the Pecos River. That is, as legend holds, until the arrival of the infamous Judge Roy Bean (aka the "Hanging Judge") who is reputed to have hung men for the slightest infraction of law.

Texas Hwy 90 runs over vast deposits of limestone

Pecos River

After paying for our campsite and tickets to the 3pm canyon tour at the Visitor Center, we set up for the night. The tours of the Fate Bell Shelter cost $5 apiece and are led by archeologists from the Rock Art Foundation. These tours are well worth your time and money, besides visitors are only allowed to enter the canyon on a guided tour.

As the day wears on, the clouds become heavier and darker threatening rain. We meet our two tour guides promptly at 3pm in the Visitor Center. Our guides tell us about Lower Pecos Archeology and the rock art found here. We then step outside and start winding our way down into the canyon.  The trail into the canyon is marked by a large sculpture modeled after a figure found in the rock art below. A little farther down the trail we stop at a Sotol plant. This plant was the mainstay for local native cultures for over 9000 years. The fleshy root was "baked" in the ground to form a carbohydrate rich energy bar. The roots were fermented into a beer-like beverage. The fibrous leaves were used for making rope, cloth, and sandals.  This one plant was one stop shopping for groceries, hardware, apparel, and liquor.

Flags by Visitor Center

Sculpture at entrance to trail

Sotol

Seminole Canyon (named for Seminole Indian scouts) only has a few pools of water left at the bottom, but the sky continues to threaten a quick change as we near the cave shelter. Once we arrive at the base of the shelter, we climb up ladders which are fortunately not as difficult as  Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde.

Water pool in Seminole Canyon

Look - there's the overhang

View from rock shelter

The first pictographs we see are individual beings painted in reds and blacks. 

This one looks like an accordion monkey

Coyote pointing to a paramecium?

Giant shrimp ?

Although no living person knows for sure what these images mean, several of the larger panels seem to suggest a ceremony or ritual. The archeologists once invited an elderly Huichol  shaman to view these images. He immediately recognized many of the figures and named them. The Huichols (known for their ritualistic use of peyote) believe the people who painted these images are their ancestors.

Panel detail

Panel of a dance ritual ?

Panel detail

Unfortunately, we don't have much time to appreciate fully the main panel as the thunder is getting louder, plus our guides have received a call for us to return to the Visitor Center as the storm is getting closer. We have just a moment to admire the last panel and sea shells embedded in limestone before leaving.

Fossils in limestone

Those clouds are getting dark

Back in the Visitor Center, we take time to view a replica of one of the more spectacular panels found in Seminole Canyon.

Panel of rock art at Visitor Center

Alto Safari camper neighbor

The sky is rumbling louder by the time we make it back to camp. We are attracted to an interesting trailer so we knock on the door. Turns out the owners are friendly and are more than happy to tell us about their Safari Condo. It's an intriguing teardrop design with a telescoping roof; all very light and aerodynamic. Plus it's amazingly spacious and private inside. 

We return to our camp and set up drinks and pupus at our covered picnic area.  Just then Matt, a bicyclist we met during the tour, peddles by. We flag him down and invite him to join us.  He's looking for a campsite sheltered from the impending storm.  Since we're sleeping inside the van, we offer the picnic shelter which will at least put a roof over his head. Turns out Matt is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and is now a graduate student in Middle Eastern Studies at U of Texas at Austin. He's taking a few months off from his studies to pedal to San Diego and then on to the Bay Area.

Suddenly a big bolt of lightning strikes nearby followed by a loud clap of thunder and a strong gust of wind. We're left scrambling for bags of chips and crackers before all piling into the van for cover. Although our dinner supplies are a low, we are happy to share a makeshift meal as the storm rages outside and Matt entertains us with stories of his travels through the Middle East. After dinner is cleaned up, the storm stops as quickly as it came upon us. Everyone in the campground leaves their campers and tents fascinated by the brilliant double rainbow and scarlet sunset. Maybe these same brilliant colors has inspired Huichol Art over the ages.

Van with rainbows

Scarlett sunset

CU double rainbow

In the morning when we step out of the van, we discover Matt has already broken camp and peddled off westward. It was fun being "road angels" to such an interesting young man. One of the great perks of traveling is the people we meet.