Seminole Canyon: Two Days of Exploring the State Park

Saturday, 6 February 2016 (Part I)
Seminole Canyon SP Campground — Comstock, Texas
Temps: Hi 67F (19C) / Lo 35F (2C)

We had a great time at Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site (SCSP).  Could have used a week here … that would have given us a few extra days to relax in the peaceful environment in which we found ourselves.  But since we did not have that luxury, we just crammed everything we could into the 3½ days we stayed at the state park campground.  If you haven’t been, add Seminole Canyon to your travel plans.

Now for the recap … starting from when we left Houston for San Antonio on February 1st.

Our initial plans for 10 days in San Antonio went by the wayside when the part we ordered for the heat pump repair was delayed by the blizzard on the eastern seaboard.  Still, we squeezed two nights into our schedule on the trek west to stay at the campground at Fort Sam Houston to get our military ID cards reissued now that Mui has turned 60 and graduated to ‘official retiree’ status.  The DEERS office works on an appointment-basis and the process of getting our new cards went smoothly, leaving Mui with plenty of shopping time to fill the larder before we headed west on 3 February to join our friends Mary and Tony at SCSP.

443 miles (713 km) from Houston to Seminole Canyon SP&HS …
with a two-night break in San Antonio en route.

When the ranger at the SCSP visitor/interpretive center asked if we wanted to pick our own site, we jumped at the chance to do so.  After driving around the loops, we chose 31E (30A electric/water), which had the advantage of being close to the bath house — and the campground wi-fi — and backed up to the Z’s site.  Being on the ridge meant it was a bit windy, but we didn’t mind as we had expansive views of the area.

Site 31E — from the front and the back — comes with a covered patio and a fire ring/grill.

We chilled after getting set up.  The sun made it warm enough to sit outside, but once it went down, it grew cold very quickly.  Still, we spent a few minutes outdoors once night fell and it was pitch dark all around us … just to enjoy the millions of stars twinkling above us in this “Dark Sky Park.”  I debated setting up my tabletop tripod to see if I could capture the stars, but the windchill had me scurrying indoors instead.  You’ll just have to come and experience the night skies here for yourself.

The next day greeted us with a glorious sunrise.  In this flat desert environment the horizon starts to glow long, long, long before the sun makes an appearance.  I sat in the co-pilot’s seat in the cockpit our Florida Room and enjoyed the dawn color for at least an hour before the sun finally broke over the horizon.

Dawn colors on a 35F morning — cool … both literally and figuratively.

We spent the morning at the Interpretive Center — very well done … and a good place to be on a cold morning.  There were 60 4th graders visiting as well, but they were separated into small groups and their activitites were planned so as not to interfere with the visit of others like ourselves.  We spent a couple of hours enjoying the exhibits, following the timeline from human habitation 12,000 years ago to the building of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the arrival of the herders and ranchers who settled the area.

Left: Discovery of shattered bone fragments from ancient horse, camel, and
elephant in rock shelters points to man who crushed the bones of his prey
using a stone and a hammer to get to the nutritious marrow inside.

Right: About 10,000 years ago near Seminole Canyon a well-organized band of
hunters decoyed bison to the brink of a natural rock shelter named Bonfire.

Left: The Pecos River Style pictographs are the best known type of rock
art left behind by the Archaic People who once inhabited the area.

Right: Stylized replica of the panther pictograph for which a rock shelter near
the confluence of the Rio Grande and Seminole Canyon has been named.

“Post”Card in front of the replica wall from Panther Cave.

One group of the 60 4th graders visiting the Interpretive Center.  On busy days
like this one, the National Park Service Rangers help the state park rangers.

Right: To remedy the time lost due to falling rocks, steep grades, and sharp curves in the Painted Cave section of the railroad, the Southern Pacific built a viaduct across Pecos River Canyon.

Left: the last section of the exhibits tells of the arrival of the herders and ranchers.

After exploring the Interpretive Center, we headed out to hike the short Windmill Trail.  The highlight of this walk was not the windmill at the end of the path, but the Maker of Peace, a sculpture that stands overlooking Seminole Canyon at the head of the trail.  Long though the description is, I am going to share Ranger Tanya’s interpretation of the Bill Worrel sculpture.

The inscription reads, in part: “… and in honor of the ancestors whose art
adorns the canyons and whose prayers still echo on the wind.”

The various elements of the 17’3” (5.2 m) tall sculpture are as follows:

… the bird represents flight … which is magical because it is not something people can do without aids of some sort; the circle beneath the bird is a sun catcher of sorts … the rising sun is perfectly positioned within it; the head is that of a male deer, but with human characteristics added in the form of hands and fingers; in one hand is an ancient hunting device called an atlatl, a spear thrower that was used thousands of years before the bow and arrow were invented; the circle on the shoulder represents the circle of life, where everything starts with a birth, ends with a death, but yet continues on; the rock on which the sculpture stands represents the rock shelters used for survival.  The loincloth has symbols not unlike those seen in pictographs; and around the neck is a painted rock — a mobile art form.

The second highlight of this short trail was a glimpse of the Fate Bell Rock Shelter from the shade shelter at the rim of the canyon.  Visitors are only allowed on the canyon floor on ranger-led tours, which we did in the afternoon, but the light for photographing the cave was much better earlier in the day.

A three-in-one photo … the Fate Bell Rock Shelter on the canyon floor; the
Interpretive Center and Maker of Peace (look closely) on the rim of the canyon.

Even though it wasn’t a highlight, I can’t pass without sharing a couple of photos from the windmill — or more accurately, the ruins of the windmill built by a rancher at a spring that was used by the early Indians as well as the railroad people.

To get to the ruins of the windmill, I end up going off the path and doing a rock scramble.

We returned to the rig around 1:00p … just enough time to get a bite to eat and rest up a bit before the ranger-led 3:00p tour to see the Pictographs at the Fate Bell Rock Shelter ($5pp).  Although the day’s high was only 62F (17C) — it can easily reach 106F (40C) on the canyon floor — the sun’s rays reflecting off the canyon walls made it feel much warmer … I was glad we had limited our layers and had plenty of water with us for the short hike that turned out to be much easier than described by various sources.

at the bottom of the restricted-access stone staircase from the rim to the canyon
floor, Mui and Ranger Tanya chat about snakes … she hasn’t seen any this season … yet!

We made three stops during our walk — two of which required climbing up some steps to get up inside rock shelters.  Along the way, Ranger Tanya told us how there are no structures within the shelters — the Archaic People were not farmers, nor did they have animals … thus they had no need for storage buildings for excess supplies of grains and such.

“Post”card from the Canyon Floor between the Fate Bell Annex and the Fate Bell Shelter.

Unfortunately, the narrative about the pictographs was limited — Ranger Tanya told us that no pictionary had been found to interpret the pictos, and none of the modern day cultures have claimed the Ancient Peoples of this region as their ancestors.  This information was contradicted on a later tour we took, so who knows who’s got it right ;-)  Anyway, I’m going to share some photos of the pictographs, but here’s a link to an article for anyone interested in reading more about them.

One of several pictographs at the Fate Bell Annex — our first stop.
I see a great big bug … perhaps a centipede.  what do you see?

The pictographs have faded quite a bit — time and increased humidity from the nearby Amistad Reservoir have played a role in this.  And parts have been scarred by efforts to remove modern-day graffiti … why people would want to mark up this beautiful rock art is beyond me.

Looking out from the Fate Bell Shelter, this is what our eyes behold.

A small portion of the pictographs in the Fate Bell Rock Shelter.

This panel of pictographs alone is worth the walk to get to the Fate Bell Shelter.

Can’t resist a reflection photo on the walk back to the Interpretive Center.

We had a grand first day at SCSP … and followed that with another grand day on 5 February.  After consulting with Ranger Tanya about the best time to view the Panther Cave Pictographs, we headed off on a 7.25-mile (12 km) hike by looping together the Canyon Rim Trail and the Rio Grande Trail.  Both are level paths that are easy enough to walk, with the latter being a dirt road that allows park personnel vehicle access when necessary.  Contrary to its name, the Rio Grande Trail has no water views until you reach the overlook at the end, so we opted to return that way … it’s also more of a straight shot since it does not follow the squiggly canyon rim.

Seminole Canyon panorama where it makes a big bend after the Bridge to the Past.

Photo op with another view of Seminole Canyon along the Canyon Rim Trail.

We stopped frequently to study the plants and the fossils we found in the rocks, and to take photos of the landscape, and to rest … though the trail really was easy.  The only wildlife encounter we had was a herd of deer in the distance — too far to photograph, but we enjoyed watching the buck scampering over the rocks, leading his harem to safety once he noticed our presence.  Oh and we saw an osprey flying over the canyon to its nest — that came as a lovely surprise … no photos, though.

A short detour takes us to the Presa Canyon Overlook — I’ve seen pictures of
it filled with water, but it is dry as a bone today.  Could this have something
to do with the Rio Grande being dammed by the Amistad Reservoir?

The main goal of our hike was to reach the Panther Cave Overlook, and we did … at 1:45p … which means we took almost three hours to do about 3¼ miles … put it down to all the lollygagging we did en route.

Hey, hey … we’re approaching the confluence of Seminole Canyon with the Rio
Grande … aka Rio Bravo, as it is known in Mexico, on the other side of the river.

Panorama looking back to another bend in Seminole Canyon before the confluence.

Our first order of business at the shade shelter was to bring out the sandwiches we had packed and satisfy our rumbling tummies.  That was after we sated our initial curiosity about the pictographs by gazing at them with our binoculars for a few minutes first.

My place is saved by a sandwich and some baby carrots.

I said our main goal for the hike — other than to enjoy the landscape, of course — was to see the Panther Cave pictographs … considered to be the most famous picto site in the area.  That is easier said then done.  You see, the 80-foot panel of uninterrupted rock paintings, dated back to the Archaic Period (7000 BC – AD 600) — is on the wall of a rock shelter with a big overhang … and the cave is on the other side of the canyon.  The only access is by boat — a 20-mile (32 km) roundtrip ride … but you have to make the arrangements yourself.  No time to do so this time.  Anyway, we were able to see the pictos with binoculars, and I was grateful I had my Canon SX50 with its 1200mm equivalent reach to take a couple of snapshots.  The photos won’t win any awards, but they make good remembrance images nonetheless.

Panther Cave is across Seminole Canyon and only accessible by boat.  But if
you squint your eyes and look closely, you can see the 80-foot panel of
pictographs and the signature panther for which the rock shelter is named.

This image of a leaping cat is interpreted as a panther.

A not very good photograph of a small portion of the 80-foot long wall of cave paintings,
taken from the opposite rim of Seminole Canyon from where the pictoraphs are located.

Mui and I then scrambled along the rim to the overlook where the Canyon Rim and Rio Grande Trails join up.  We later realized there was an easy path to the overlook, but where’s the fun in that ;-)  A couple of photo ops here and we were ready to tackle the return leg of the hike back to the campground.

“Post”card from where Seminole Canyon joins up with the Rio Grande/Amistad Reservoir.

Panorama of the Seminole Canyon/Rio Grande Confluence.  On the far left,
on the opposite wall of Seminole Canyon, you can make out Panther Cave.

The walk back to the campground was easy enough, but the hot sun was quite brutal and there was no breeze to cool us down.  The Rio Grande Trail proved to be as boring as we thought it would be, confirming our decision that it was best to do it on the way back.  I took only one photograph and that was to show how far our rig still was at the halfway point on the trail.  You can be sure we were glad we had driven down to the trailhead … the uphill walk to the campground would not have been pleasant ;-)

Look closely and you just might see the Phaeton on the ridge in the distance.

That covers pretty much everything we did within the state park boundaries in two days.  Our third day here took us to sites outside SCSP … I’ll leave them to the next post.

[For those interested, I have a lot more photos from Seminole Canyon in my online gallery.]

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.