Balmorhea State Park: Perfect for R&R

Saturday, 27 February 2016
Balmorhea State Park Campground — Toyahvale, Texas
Temps: Hi 79F (26C) / Lo 30F (-1C)

Our plans have changed.  We were going to stay at Balmorhea State Park five nights, but we have reduced the number to three.  Two reasons: (1) high winds forecasted for Monday … we prefer not to be on the road in gusty conditions; and (2) four sites will become available at the Fort Bliss RV park tomorrow … no one is scheduled to leave on Sunday or Monday.  Since that is our preferred campground for the El Paso portion of our trip, we will be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning.  That means we won’t get down to Fort Davis or to the Observatory … all the more reason to return to this part of Texas at some point in the future.

In the meantime, let’s get caught up before we start another chapter of our travels.

February 25 … Lajitas to Balmorhea SP

We bid the Z’s farewell today — they’re heading back home by way of Dallas, while we’re continuing our winter travels in West Texas.  It was sunny and 52F (11C) when we set out on our 151-mile (242 km) drive almost straight due north from Lajitas to Balmorhea SP.  It was a fairly boring drive.  Having driven El Camino del Rio [River Road] between Lajitas and Presidio, I can appreciate why the gentleman Sue and Mo (of Moho Travels fame) met in Fort Davis in January 2014 suggested that scenic road over this one.  That said, not sure I’d want to do the El Camino with a big rig, so this route worked out for us.

En route to Alpine, we went through another Customs and Border Patrol checkpoint — they are ubiquitous around the Borderlands Region.  We stopped just long enough to confirm to the agent our status as US citizens and that no one else was in the rig but the two of us … enough time, in the meantime, for a CPB agent to review the infrared camera reading of the rig and for a K-9 to sniff at our basement doors.

151 miles (242 km) — an easy but boring drive from Lajitas to Balmorhea SP.
The inset shows our travels since we left Port Aransas in January.

We arrived at the park at 12:45p.  The ranger gave us a map marked up with sites suitable for a 40-footer and suggested we drive around and pick a site.  We chose #28, a W/E site next to the bath house.  A shade shelter with a picnic table, a fire ring, and a grill come with the site, which runs parallel to the road.  The sites are all along the perimeter of a huge open space, so outdoor privacy is fantastic.

Our site has lots of privacy with lots of open space.  The bath house is out of sight on the right.

Once we were settled in, we went for a wander around the park.  It’s quite small, so it didn’t take long for us to see everything that there was to see.  The high temp for the day was just 64F (18C), and there was a stiff breeze blowing, so although we wandered over to check it out, Mui nixed the idea of swimming in the pool where the San Solomon Springs is impounded — the primary attraction at Balmorhea SP.

Company 1856 of the Civilian Conservation Corps was assigned to Balmorhea State Park
in July 1934.  The pool was constructed by the CCC, and the earth removed to build
the pool was used to make the adobe bricks that were used to build the buildings.

Although it grew chilly enough for us to scrap happy hour at the picnic shelter, I could not resist the temptation to go out and photograph the colorful sunset that wrapped up our day.

February 26 … A Refreshing Swim for Mui and Birds for Me

The day got off to a cold start — 28F (-2C) — but by mid-morning the sun had warmed things up enough that Mui was willing to brave a snorkel swim at the impoundment pool.

San Solomon Springs is the largest of a series of interconnected springs in the area.  Geologic faults allow the groundwater to move from the underlying limestone into the sand and gravel layers at the surface, creating an artesian spring.  The springs here flows at a rate of 15 million gallons (56 million liters) per day, and the water temperature is between 72-76F (22-24C) year round.  The water actually comes out at the center of the pool and is then diverted into canals around the park and into nearby fields for irrigation.

One of several canals that divert the water from the impoundment pool at Balmorhea SP.

We had the pool to ourselves — except for lesser scaups, American coots, and a few other birds that were enjoying the springs … oh, and the endangered Pecos Gambusia and Comanche Springs Pupfish that call these waters home were swimming about, too.

Mui and his swim friends.

An American Coot shares a perch in the middle of the pool with a lesser scaup.

The water that wells up from underground is incredibly clear.  The endangered Pecos
Gambusia, which is what I think these fish are, help keep mosquito populations in check.

I’m not much for swimming — certainly not unless the water is much warmer — so I left Mui to his snorkeling adventure and went off for a wander that yielded plenty of photo ops.  I wasn’t expecting as many birds as I ended up seeing here … definitely a plus.  In fact, I was so thrilled with my sightings that I went for another stroll before sunset that yielded even more photo ops — especially around the San Solomon Cienega [a wet, marshy spring area] near the campground.

This is about as close as I’ll get to swimming in the impoundment pool.
Don’t let the clarity fool you, this is at the deep end of the pool (about 25 ft/7.6 m).

The San Solomon Cienega overlook is a good birding and turtleing spot.

Ladder-Backed Woodpecker

Red-Eared Slider

The Texas Spiny Softshell Turtle looks like no other turtle I’ve seen before.

Pied-Billed Grebe

There's a large population of American Coots at the park.

A Greater Roadrunner with its back feathers fluffed up to warm itself in the sun.

Black-Crowned Night Heron (Juvenile)

Great Blue Heron	American Coot photobombing a GBH.

White-Crowned Sparrows … the top two are juveniles, hence the different coloring.

Desert Cottontails … yes, plural … there are two of them in this photo.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable day … and a very relaxing one to boot. 

Back to Today …

What with reworking our forward travel plans and a few other chores, I was late going out for my morning stroll.  And when I did, there was very little in the way of birdlife out and about.  Maybe they were all hiding under the roof tiles of our picnic shelter — certainly the house sparrows were there … they made their presence known with a symphony of chirps.

Unlike yesterday, the impoundment pool was humming today — mostly day-trippers out to enjoy the beautiful day, and several groups of divers attending certification classes.  Seeing the crowds, Mui was glad he had gotten his swim and snorkel fix the day before when things were quiet at the pool.

House Sparrows

My afternoon stroll wasn’t very productive in quantity of bird life, but an obliging snowy egret made it worth my while anyway … as did American coots chasing each other in the cienega behind the cottages.  As a bonus, I caught another glimpse of the Texas spiny softshell turtle.  With its flat carapace, long neck, and snorkel-like nose this turtle really is one odd-looking critter.

When a pair of American coot swim into the range of my lens, I have to decide which
birds to focus on … I choose the Snowy Egret with its brilliant yellow shoes.

Show Off!	How about this pose?

American coots playing chase at the San Solomon Cienega.

No dark spots on the carapace = mature female Texas Spiny Softshell Turtle.

Reflections at Balmorhea State Park.

Three days turned out to be just the right amount of time to enjoy the attractions of Balmorhea State Park itself.  Of course, cutting our stay short means skipping some of the other attractions we planned to visit from here.  But that’s life on the road.

[More photographs from our stay at Balmorhea are in my online gallery.]

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