Day 30, Tues. May 1, 2018, Driving !-10 from San Antone' to Fort Hancock TX

Here we are in Fort Stockton RV, west Texas.

 For me , the drive from San Antonio TX to Fort Stockton TX was very fascinating as it goes through some geologically old pieces of Mother Earth.  The cuts along the western part of this run especially show the layers of sedimentary rock that once were the old lake bottoms of the earth when Texas was actually about 2000 miles (sic) south of where it is now. Hence the rock that was on the sea bottom is now exposed.  More on that later.

West of Kerrville, the sprawl gives way to open country, across the Edwards Plateau. Here lie cedar breaks and hackberry bosques and dry stream beds and desert that in the winter can go from frozen to scorching between sunup and sundown. Today was not the case as the sun was shining but only occasionally, so the temps were in the 90's with a strong SW wind. It had shifted from the morning when it  was in the SE and gave us a nice tailwind.

I-10 in western TX.NOte Buttes beginning

A deep cut through the sedimentary rock

Another cut close to the road. There were dozens of these.

A stop at a rest area allowed me to talk a bit with "Jose" a retired house and building painter who was now working part time for the state cleaning bathrooms and maintaining the rest area beauty (watering the flowers and keeping things ship shape.For him, he said it was an easy job and his knees could no longer do the floor trim when painting, nor climb the "Big Bertha"  a 40 foot ladder for some high peaked roofed homes and building. He had a very positive outlook on life.

Along the way there were many wind generators (windmills) on top of the buttes,. One of the farms was called Indian Mill Mesa Wind Farm and is producing some 65,000 kw per day. Texas now has more than 12% of its electricity supplied by wind power. The buttes stretch for miles and miles and are a great platform for the turbines.

This was one of the few times Ruth could work on the computer while riding as she said the  scrub desert was very boring. (There were very few birds save the Vultures.) Lunch at what they call here a "picnic rest stop". was also where we shot these photos of a unique flower.

Called "Hill Country Rain Lily". They bloom in the evening until the AM.

Usually lasting about 3 days and then they die. Rains will get them growing.

The "Square Bud" Primrose was found by the edge of the rest stop.

 

The scenery was magnificent and it runs through  what was a coral  Reef  in that lake of the old "Permian" Period in Geologic history. .  Our route ran between the Glass Mountains (Buttes) and the Apache Mountains.   (see drawing below). We will go through Van Horn tomorrow.  As you can see by the drawing, some of the reefs are exposed and some are buried. This occurred when the lake covered the reefs (all living creatures) and some great cataclysm occurred and they were wiped out along with most creatures on earth. Ten million years later life began to evolve again. This would have been in the late Paleozoic Era in the Permian Period some 265 million years ago. This is ancient rock!

 

  (From source) ..."During the middle part of the Permian Period a reef developed along the margin of the Delaware Sea. This was the Capitan Reef, now recognized as one of the most well-preserved fossil reefs in the world. For several million years the Capitan Reef expanded and thrived along the rim of the Delaware Basin until events altered the environment critical to its growth approximately 260 million years ago. The outlet connecting the Permian Basin to the ocean became restricted and the Delaware Sea began to evaporate faster than it could be replenished. Minerals began to precipitate out of the vanishing waters and drift to the sea floor, forming thin, alternating bands of mineral salts and mud. Gradually, over hundreds of thousands of years these thin bands completely filled  with fossils."

So enough about geology, and we did arrive safely and had a FIRST! When we drove into the Park. a wizened,  older man , wearing an  old baseball cap of the park with a scrubby beard riding a four wheeler stopped beside my window. It was Herb , whom I had talked to  the day before on the phone. He said "Strohmer, Follow me". He led us to our site and secured us in place. I HAVE NEVER IN 24 YEARS OF TRAILERING EVER BEEN MET AT THE GATE , TO BE ESCORTED TO MY SITE WITHOUT STOPPING AT THE OFFICE FIRST. NEITHER HAD RUTH.

We were so excited we took up his offer to eat at the "Roadrunner Cafe" there in the park. Ruth had Catfish (of course) and tried the 'chicken steak and gravy with mashed potatoes and Italian beans. I don't usually have that dish ,but it came recommended. It was very tender. And fresh. Tomorrow we head for Las Cruces NM for a three days stay and hope to get to Bosque del Apache one of the finest bird Reserves on the Country.