We started out early this morning to go to the Hot Springs not too far from our campground. Before we got to the end of the gravel road we found this sign...
Since we were driving our one ton dual rear wheel truck, we parked at that point and walked the rest of the way. That gave us an excellent opportunity to enjoy the changing shadows as the sun was rising higher in the sky.
Continuing on down the road we came to the location where in 1909 J. O. Langford built a house on top of a bluff and developed a small health resort utilizing the spring's natural hot water for baths.
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J. O. Langford home.
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Interior of Langford home.
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The Langfords were forced to leave Hot Springs in 1916 because of border unrest related to the Mexican Revolution. When Langford returned in 1927 he built a motor court for his guests and a general store which also served as the U. S. Post Office for Hot Springs.
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| Motor court for Langford's guests. |
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| Remains of the General Store and Post Office |
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| Another view of the General Store |
Continuing on the trail toward the hot springs we saw these cliffs with pictographs from ancient people who lived in the shelter of the cliffs.
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| Pictographs |
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Pictographs
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J. O. Langford advertised the hot springs as "The Fountain that Ponce de Leon Failed to Find"
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| The bathhouse was right on the edge of the Rio Grande River. |
The river is very shallow at this point and Mexican nationals come across and attempt to sell their handcrafted wares to U. S. tourists.
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| Looking across the Rio Grande from the Hot Springs trail and into Mexico. |
After we left the Hot Springs area we drove to the site of the Daniels Ranch which at one time included irrigation features.
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This 1920 adobe farmhouse, one of the few historic buildings
in the area, is typical of Big Bend's agricultural period. |
Later in the morning we hiked the Nature Trail that departs from the Rio Grande Village Campgrounds.
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| A restored wetlands. |
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| Another view of the wetlands. |
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| Burros grazing across the river in Mexico, |
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| The village of Boquillas del Carmen seen in the distance. |
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| The Rio Grande River |
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A sharp bend in the Rio Grande River. From the high observation
point the Rio Grande River was on three sides of us. |
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Looking past an Ocotillo plant and across the Rio Grande
River into Mexico. |
