2007/02/17
I Thought No One Lived in a Ghost Town
This morning we headed out on a jeep tour to a privately owned ranched with 2 other people and a driver. It was a beautiful sunny day but unfortunately it was a little chilly and there was a cool breeze blowing — luckily the woman at the outfitters gave us blankets. We drove about 15 minutes north of town and then turned onto a privately owned ranch road .... well maybe trail is a better description. We stopped to look at fossils, desert plants and an old mercury mine.
In the afternoon, Ed and I headed to the Terlingua Ghostown. Terlingua had been a prosperous mercury mining community until 1942 when the Chisos Mining Company went bankrupt. All operations ceased permanently in 1944 with all the equipment being sold off. All that was left of the town were empty buildings. In 1967 the first international chili cook off was held in the ghost town and a homes were begining to be rebuilt and occupied. Our jeep tour guide is one of approximately 120 people who currently live in the ghost town and the town is also home to several restaurants and bars, a general store and a guest house. After our tour of Terlingua we headed to Lajitas about 15 miles west along the Rio Grande. The Big Bend Ranch State Park begins in Lajitas and continues north about 50 miles to the town of Presidio. The Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center and Museum presents an archeological, historical and natural profile of the Big Bend Region — lots of good information as well as a wonderful desert garden. Lajitas is also home to a large vacation resort .... I guess this is the place you go when you really want to get away from everything.
This is a Button Cactus.
The metal tubes are condensers used in the refining of mercury from the ore. Just to the left are 2 vertical shafts going down hundreds of feet.
A view from the mine site.
Willow mountain an example of columnar jointing --- jointing occurs when a thick body of magma cools slowly underground, contracts and splits into pencil-shaped columns.
One of the many ruins in Terlingua Ghostown.
Some of the ruins have been repaired and additions added making them livable. The one in the front is used as the reception area for the guest house.
Take me to your leader .... interesting decoration on this home.
Terlingua cemetery.
Is this a Yucca or an alien?
Yeah, Ed really is on the trip.
A pretty flower
The resort in Lajitas
One of many buttes along the road.
I guess the locals are in a hurry for their beer --- Speedy Drive Thru Beer.
In the afternoon, Ed and I headed to the Terlingua Ghostown. Terlingua had been a prosperous mercury mining community until 1942 when the Chisos Mining Company went bankrupt. All operations ceased permanently in 1944 with all the equipment being sold off. All that was left of the town were empty buildings. In 1967 the first international chili cook off was held in the ghost town and a homes were begining to be rebuilt and occupied. Our jeep tour guide is one of approximately 120 people who currently live in the ghost town and the town is also home to several restaurants and bars, a general store and a guest house. After our tour of Terlingua we headed to Lajitas about 15 miles west along the Rio Grande. The Big Bend Ranch State Park begins in Lajitas and continues north about 50 miles to the town of Presidio. The Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center and Museum presents an archeological, historical and natural profile of the Big Bend Region — lots of good information as well as a wonderful desert garden. Lajitas is also home to a large vacation resort .... I guess this is the place you go when you really want to get away from everything.
This is a Button Cactus.
The metal tubes are condensers used in the refining of mercury from the ore. Just to the left are 2 vertical shafts going down hundreds of feet.
A view from the mine site.
Willow mountain an example of columnar jointing --- jointing occurs when a thick body of magma cools slowly underground, contracts and splits into pencil-shaped columns.
One of the many ruins in Terlingua Ghostown.
Some of the ruins have been repaired and additions added making them livable. The one in the front is used as the reception area for the guest house.
Take me to your leader .... interesting decoration on this home.
Terlingua cemetery.
Is this a Yucca or an alien?
Yeah, Ed really is on the trip.
A pretty flower
The resort in Lajitas
One of many buttes along the road.
I guess the locals are in a hurry for their beer --- Speedy Drive Thru Beer.
