Devil's River State Park Pictographs
Jeff Moore, Alan Cressler, Doug Strait, Paul Aughey, Manuel Beers, Jim
It rained a lot last night. The rain started almost immediately after I entered my tent. I huddled in the middle while I wrote to stay dry. By morning, the rain had subsided. While we were preparing, the ranger pulled up and Alan asked him several questions. He couldn’t provide a cave permit for Faucet cave but could give us a tour of a pictograph shelter for $10 each. We drove back to headquarters and piled into the rangers black Dodge Ram. He drove us 6 miles on a gravel road to the parking spot. From there, we descended 75 feet down the hill and contoured right to shelter # 88. Everyone took pictures of the pictographs and we drove back to headquarters.
On the drive back, I learned that Jim, the ranger, had lived in this area all of his life. His father used to own much of Devil’s River SNA. Jim has worked here for 18 years and has worked along since July because his boss retired. He expected to receive the superintendent position but surprisingly some young guy from Oregon got it instead. Jim wants to open the area for recreation and also dislikes the Nature Preserve policy. He told us that the park has no white tail deer because of anthrax (the plant). When conditions are right, the plant releases its spores and kills off any mammal nearby. In 92, the hog population mysteriously vanished. The park has no coyotes and doesn’t yet have bears but should. He told us that he’d seen a mountain lion once when counting deer. He really seemed like the kind of guy who would have helped us out if he’d had the authority.
After exhausting all legal recreation at the park, we left and began the long drive to Big Bend. The drive mostly passed uneventfully. I turned up the air and music to stay awake in the warm afternoon sun. We stopped at the Pecos River bridge on our way. Later, we passed the 235 mile mark. The scenery generally improved as the drive continued and mountains loomed ever closer in the distance. I again had to crank the air and adjust the tunes to stay awake. Jeff barely noticed though he did cover up with a towel to continue his nap.
Devil's River State Park Pictographs Gallery
Devil's River Pictographs
Devil's River Pictographs
Devil's River Pictographs
Devil's River Pictographs
Devil's River Pictographs
Devil's River Pictographs
Devil's River Pictographs