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Published: April 1st 2010
Saloon and Courthouse
Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center - Langtry TX Up and at ‘em! Not really. More like a nice leisurely Wednesday morning with a short drive southeast to Del Rio TX. Our only stop along the way was in Langtry TX - home of the infamous Judge Roy Bean - the “law west of the Pecos.” Artifacts are on display both inside and outside the visitors center. The centerpiece is “The Jersey Lilly” the home, saloon and office of Roy Bean that he named in honor of Lily Langtry, a British actress with whom Bean had become smitten. Bean made several requests of her to come to Langtry - she finally did a few months after Bean’s death. The original building stands today in its original location. Worth a stop if you’re passin’ through. Our trip on into Del Rio TX was uneventful as was the RV set-up and the laundry, cleaning, et. al. on Thursday.
The Texas State Travel Guide touted the area northeast of Del Rio as having several scenic drives. We bit and drove east on US 90 to Brackettville. There we headed northeast through Montell and Camp Wood to Leakey where we stopped at the Real County Museum. The obligatory “where y’all from” led to
Texas Surprise
Scenery Between Camp Wood & Leakey TX am “I was in Silver City about ten years ago for a family reunion.” The museum hostess and Kay were off and running with the family history books. I was busy looking at the artifacts and found some barbed mesh fence like I had never seen. We had a great hour or so and headed north and then west to Rocksprings before catching TX 674 back to Brackettville. We stopped at Fort Clark Springs and learned the museum was only open on weekends. No problem - we were headed back to Brackettville on Saturday anyway to visit the movie set constructed for John Wayne’s “The Alamo.”
On Saturday we found the Fort Clark Museum to be ordinary and modest at best, but the privately owned buildings on the Fort Clark Springs site are well maintained and well marked. Onward we moved to Alamo Village. A long story short, the death of the ranch matriarch has left the continued operation of Alamo Village in limbo; however, negotiations are underway for a change of ownership and major renovation and expansion. If you are in the area, call or check the web site to determine the status of Alamo Village. Seeing this
Only in the Movies
"The Alamo" Movie Set at Alamo Village - Brackettville TX historic movie set is worth a significant diversion. If the developer’s plans (as revealed to us by the Alamo Village curator and historian) come to fruition, Alamo Village will be worthy of a self-standing vacation destination. Stay tuned!!!
Following a leisurely Sunday morning, we drove to Lake Amistad National Recreation Area to learn of its treasures. The displays at the Visitor Center familiarized us with the reasons for the construction of the dam and reservoir, but the Ranger advised us almost all of the recreational activities occur IN the water - fishing, water skiing, scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing. Only two short hiking trails exist, camping opportunities are dry and few picnic areas exist. Following our blank at Lake Amistad, we headed for Seminole Canyon State Park. Down in the canyon, we saw 4,000-year-old Indian rock art decorating the walls of Fate Bell Shelter. After the guided tour of the canyon art, we took the Windmill Trail back to the Visitor Center (about an additional half mile), saw the vestiges of a collapsed wooden windmill and then headed for home.
Del Rio is home to Laughlin Air Force Base and has most modern conveniences like Wal-Mart, restaurant chains and
Unsolved Mysteries
Indian Art Found in Seminole Canyon State Park - Comstock TX car dealerships, but a Monday morning visit to the Chamber of Commerce found it almost completely geared to relocation activities. There was no brochure to plot a driving or walking tour so we set off on our own with a city map. Fortunately, the turnoffs for parks and other landmarks are well marked for newly arrived (presumably USAF) citizens. We stumbled upon an interesting-looking Mexican restaurant near downtown and dining on a very tasty lunch buffet was in order. Our afternoon fare, the Whitehead Memorial Museum is small but well done and offers much of the same fare displayed in many other museums with the exception of the grave of Judge Roy Bean.
Tuesday morning found us making another loop through Eagle Pass, Carrizo Springs, Crystal City and Uvalde. When my traveling days are over and I’m ready to become a true snowbird, southern Texas might be my landing pad. I have always taken a liking to the desert and my twelve years in New Mexico has only re-enforced that sentiment. Each is attractive in its own right but each is unique as well - Eagle Pass appears to be a “blue collar” border town, Carrizo Springs seems to
Law West of the Pecos
Whitehead Memorial Museum - Del Rio TX be a “blue collar” town away from the border, Crystal City looks more agricultural and impoverished and Uvalde looks like it is on the way to yuppieville with art and antique stores en mass. Eagle Pass and Carrizo Springs deserve further consideration when the time nears.
When we left Marathon, I thought we would be less active in Del Rio. Much to my surprise, we have been on the go every day but have had shorter drives, shorter stops and shorter days. This is my first trip to south Texas, and I have learned “it ain’t much like west Texas at all!” There is some beautiful scenic country to enjoy and some meaningful history to appreciate. The architecture is awesome, and the food is just as grand. From here we’ll be journeying about 2-1/2 hours north to San Antonio for twelve days. Plans from there include a week each in Austin, Waco, Tyler and Texarkana before bridging the western edge of Arkansas on the way to Helen’s eightieth.
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