Watching it Rain in Balmorhea

Location: Balmorhea State Park (el. 3,300 ft); Balmorhea, Texas

All pictures (except one) was taken with Nokia Lumia Icon 929 Cell Phone
click pictures to enlarge

My plan was to be here in Balmorhea for only 3 days. Well today is day 5 and I'm still here. Sunday was suppose to be moving day with plans to move on to a state park in Junction, Texas about 250 miles from here. But, plans change. I checked the weather forecast on Saturday and it indicated heavy rains in Junction for Sunday and Monday. I extended my stay here at Balmorhea and have been stuck inside watching the rain since yesterday morning. Looks like I will be able to leave tomorrow morning. Since I have reservations at Bastrop State Park for Wednesday thru Friday, I'll only stay one night in Junction. I have plans to enjoy some great BBQ with another RV'er/Blogger at Junction. I've been told the state park in Junction has flooded out so I have reservations at a commercial park close to the interstate. 

Before the rains hit, I packed a lunch and drove over to Davis Mountain State Park. I stayed there for a few days back in February of last year while waiting for the weather to clear around El Paso before heading to the west coast. Davis Mountains were a real "wow" for me last year and I wanted to see if they had the same effect on me this year. The difference this year is that I will have recently come from the Rocky Mountains while last year I would have came from the dry desert of extreme southwest Texas. It wasn't as much of an impact this year, but when I got to the overlook in the park, and gazed out onto the open plain, a small, but audible "wow" came out of my mouth. As is usual, there was no one around to hear it but me. 

After enjoying my bologna turkey sandwich with a great view of the plains, I continued on with a long swing through the mountains to intersect I-10 west of Balmorhea. It was a nice drive.

This isolation due to the rain and no over the air TV stations has given me lots of time to think about things. 

The rest of the post will be pictures since too many thoughts are racing in my head for any reasonable blogging. 

On the way into the Davis Mountains

Remember my question about why Mesa's are flat? I wonder if these are the beginning stages of Mesa development. They have the steep sides and only need to have the material on top erode away. In a few hundred years, well, maybe.

A nice bench to enjoy the view

This was my view while enjoying my lunch

This structure was built by the CCC in the 30's. 

An overall view of the structure

The view through the large "picture like window" from inside the structure. I took a picture from the same spot last year.

American and Texas Pride. Flags proudly flying in the middle of nowhere. It was great to see!!

Clinging to life.
Never give up. 

For my Louisiana friends,,,,the junction of I-10 and I-20.
I-20 begins here.

The swimming hole at Balmorhea. It was built by the CCC when they enlarged a natural spring. Today, that spring produces 15 million gallons of water every day.

A view of the CCC's handiwork.
Well done. 

A cloud coming up over the activity center.

A nice picture of the campground with the dark clouds.

One decent sunset while I've been here.

This is the first in a series of 3 pictures. I was barreling along the highway doing about 70 mph when I noticed an isolated tree on the top of the mountain. I stopped quickly and took out the fancy camera. 

I'm still not familiar with all the settings on the fancy camera because I don't use it very often.

Now that is a nice shade tree growing all by itself. It would take a pretty good hike to get to it. I wonder how many people have sat under that tree and enjoyed its shade. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.