the wandering chick
...Balmorhea State Park
deep in the heart of nowhere
San Solomon Spring

Hmmm. Talk about desolate. I was on my way from Arizona to Galveston in the spring when I decided to stop in and spend a couple days in a nice Texas state park setting. You know the kind: thickly wooded areas with the scent of pine trees, huge pine cones and needles scattered all over the place and sweet-smelling campfires wafting through the air.

Well, if that's what you're expecting, don't go to Balmorhea. I had planned on staying two nights, but when they looked at me kinda oddly when I said I preferred a site with the most shade trees, I quickly changed my mind to just one. Shade trees? ANY trees? I got the idea right away that that wasn't going to happen. I was told to drive around and pick a spot...which told me there weren't a whole lot of people signed up for this place. So, I did pick a spot...not that it was a hard decision: Do I want the left side of the street, or the right side?

Ironically, I ended up staying two nights, because soon after I got settled, some bad weather came through, mostly high winds. And not too many people want to travel the I-10 through Texas in an RV with the winds whipping in every direction and the rain pouring down. So, I stayed put...on the right side of the street.

So, maybe it wasn't what I was expecting, but it does have a couple of redeeming qualities. Its big draw is the world's largest spring-fed swimming pool. The San Solomon Spring is huge, and the water temperature year-round is a constant 72-76 degrees...that's both in February and in July. Imagine that. Call it magic if you want, but the answer to why is that the water flows underground from various mountain peaks in the area. The water's temperature is a reflection of the temperature of the soil and rocks underground which is not affected by the above-ground heat and cold.

Another saving grace of the park is its Cienega, a wetland for aquatic wildlife including two endangered types of desert fish that are found only in these waters: the Pecos Gambusia and the Comanche Springs Pupfish. There's a trail along the wetland, but it doesn't travel far.

Balmorhea is located in west Texas about 12 miles south of the I-10 between Van Horn and Fort Stockton.

The San Solomon Spring pool is one and three-quarter acres and 25 feet deep. Between 22 and 28 million gallons of water pass through it each day.
a canal leading to San Solomon Spring
The park's wetland is fed water from the pool by way of canals such as this.
the wetland
The Cienega, or wetland, is filled with aquatic life.
the swimming pool
the swimming pool
the swimming pool
the swimming pool
the swimming pool
the swimming pool
fishes in the pool
Swimmers to the pool are encouraged to take scuba gear to enjoy seeing what non-human types they may be sharing the pool with.
the canal that runs through the park
the canal that runs through the park
the canal that runs through the park
the cabins
The park's lodging consists of these cabins, adobe-style with typical hotel amenities. Kitchenettes have been removed from the cabins.
barn swallow
the Cienega
Barn swallows are common residents of the park.
sparrows with nest material
nest-building sparrow
It appeared to be nest-building time for a few LBBs (little brown birds) that were in the vicitity of the RV sites.
in the town of Balmorhea
The town of Balmorhea was a near-ghost town, but it did have this western shop with interesting objects made of metal and such.
in the town of Balmorhea
Mission Mary
Mission Mary stands as a monument to several similar missions that served the Balmorhea and Calera areas from 1895 to 1925. It's located on the state highway leading to Balmorhea State Park from the I-10.
Mission Mary
Balmorhea Lake
As if the state park isn't remote enough, the Balmorhea Lake is even deeper into nowhere. Pretty in its own right, it's fairly large, has a few picnic spots and attracts lots of water birds such as the black-necked stilt below.
Ballmorhea Lake
black-necked stilts
black-necked stilts
Ballmorhea Lake
Ballmorhea Lake

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