This dirt road is touted to be an improved dirt road,
but I am here to tell you it is rough as an old washboard.
Once again it was slow going on this 13-mile drive
from the Santa Elena Canyon to the Study Butte
entrance to the park.
It was a drive the G-man wanted to take;
before it was over he was rattled to bits
and suffered from motion sickness.
Alamo Wash
A Cultural History of the area
Luna's Jacal(pronounced hah-KAHL)
Gilberto Luna lived all of his life along
Alamo Creek where he raised a large family.
He farmed in the dry Alamo Creek drainage using
the technique of floodplain farming.
I am 5 ft. 2 in. tall so it is interesting to see the scale of the jacal.Here again it would be hard for even a chigger to make a living,
yet Glberto Luna survived & even thrived.
yet Glberto Luna survived & even thrived.
The area in which Luna built his jacal, farmed, and raised a familywas part of the Comanche War Trail.
Somehow Luna maintained peaceful relations with
these warriors and with the Apaches who also resided in the area.
(Click on photo below for link to Luna's Jacal.)
Gilberto Luna in the 1930sGilberto Luna died in 1947 at the age of 108.
The Badlands
This area is other worldly in appearance.
Truly I don't know why a person who grew up in a state
where tall trees abound would fall for a place like this.
I expect it is the climate, the altitude, the vastness of the area.
One does not have to try hard to see for miles.
On a good day, when the air is clear, visibility can be 50 to 60 miles.
After I had been in Texas for a year and returned to my native
Georgia for a visit I felt very claustrophobic.
I was surrounded by tall trees that don't allow
much in the way of vistas.
Of course, I now live in the piney woods of Bastrop County
but I only have to drive a few miles to enjoy the wide open spaces.
where tall trees abound would fall for a place like this.
I expect it is the climate, the altitude, the vastness of the area.
One does not have to try hard to see for miles.
On a good day, when the air is clear, visibility can be 50 to 60 miles.
After I had been in Texas for a year and returned to my native
Georgia for a visit I felt very claustrophobic.
I was surrounded by tall trees that don't allow
much in the way of vistas.
Of course, I now live in the piney woods of Bastrop County
but I only have to drive a few miles to enjoy the wide open spaces.
10 comments:
oh i remember Luna's `jacal - we were fascinated! imagine living there. perhaps the climate has changed? obviously he got something right!!
oof we have some washboard roads here - awful!
fascinating and starkly beautiful. i appreciated the additional information on the link! steven
amazingly enough those washboard roads are much easier to travel when you are going 40 - 50 mph. You hit every bump hard going slow but when you go fast you only hit the tops of the ridges. At least that's my theory.
Ellen you make me laugh... yes, it's a theory!!!
Val, I am amazed that you have been in this area & delighted to know it.
Steven, it is quite beautiful & the photos capture very little of the dramatic scenes.
This is an interesting, historical perspective of a place I've never heard of before. Because I have such thin, pale skin, the thought of being in such a place terrifies me. It is very beautiful though. Your pictures are remarkable. The dry arid country around feels like it is- in your mouth dusty-just looking at the images. I loved the story of Gilberto Luna. Living in the woodlands with the Huron is way more appealing to me than living in the badlands with the Comanche and Apache. He survived for 108 years though. Fascinating, Cheryl.
Linda, it is an amazingly beautiful place. For absolute certainty one needs sunscreen, long sleeves & pants, and a big hat. Luckily for those of us who like to go there scientists came up with sunscreen.
I would love to one day see more of your part of the world. I have been to Toronto a few times and on the west coast to Victoria Island, Vancouver & north of there. It is beautiful in a very different way.
Land spreadin' out so far and wide! Beautiful post.
Lizzy -- Gilbert Luna history portrays a smart man and a hard worker. Wish he had wrote a book as I would like to understand his thinking. I've heard of flood plain farming -- I believe it originated with the native Indian population. Great post -- barbara
As a native Texan I should know more about our state. Thanks to you I do... I've only been to the Big Bend area once. Don't know why, but we've just never tried to explore that part of our state. Maybe that should be a goal for my mother and I this coming fall...
Thanks for your comments today! I've replied to them on both blogs...
Rick
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