Road Runner Tour, days 7 & 8

Two travel days - one from San Antonio to Fort Stockton, TX (flat, bland, and lifeless); the next from Fort Stockton to Big Bend, specifically to Terlingua Ranch.

Fort Stockton train station along the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railroad (KCM&O).  It was built in 1911.   The hope of the developers was to provide the shortest route from Kansas City to the Pacific Ocean and the Orient with a route running through Texas and Mexico.   Never happened . . .

One of several metal "cutouts" around Fort Stockton - cowboys

Fort Stockton was located here because of several natural springs -- this is a modern imitation.  All the natural springs have dried up due to irrigation and development.

A very rich oil and natural gas area - the most extensive in Texas.

The "famous" Road Runner statue, which became the inspiration for our trip.

More cutouts - Vaqueros

Settlers

First leg of the trip today (Monday) was to Marathon, TX where we stumbled onto the Gage Hotel, a very posh looking hotel that was the former home of the largest rancher in the area.  Had we known, Marathon would have been a better over-night stop than Ft. Stockton.

We learned after arriving in Big Bend National Park that it is home to 64 types of cacti.  This looks like an agave plant.

A pussycat inside the Gage Hotel

Also in Marathon, which we walked around before getting on the road again.

An Acorn flower?

We drove south from Marathon into Big Bend National Park, through desolate, wide-open countryside.  The temperatures are unusually cool, dropping to a low of 30 degrees at one point on the road.  It has been overcast and in the 40s since we arrived yesterday and will likely continue unexpectedly cool through tomorrow.

The park has 5 visitor centers, is one of the largest in the National Park system, and is larger than the state of Rhode Island.  The first visitor center near the north entrance was closed, the main, central  one was open so we stopped in for a look around and to watch the introductory movie.  Peter Coyote, (the narrator for Ken Burn's films) waxed lyrical about the desert, the mountains, and the river.

We also stopped at the Fossil Discovery Center and toured around the displays, quickly, due to the cold temperatures.  Big Bend is noted for the discovery of very large dinosaur fossils, embedded in ancient limestone formations.

Dinosaur fossil

A Giant Alligator cutout.

The Giant Alligator could eat dinosaurs.

View over the desert, green with many varieties of cacti and shrubs.

The Fossil Discovery Center

An example butte.  We will view many more mountains tomorrow.

Our accommodations are in a VRBO cottage located at Terlingua Ranch, down a long dusty road and very remote.  There is a lodge nearby which happily had dinner supplies for sale - there were no other local options.