Seminole Canyon State Historical Park

[homerboy2u]

 One could approach this park in a rush going your way to Big Bend National Park or coming the other way around to Amistad  Lake NPS,but to dedicate sometime to tour this very small but amazing park requires a will to actually deviate your course and spend sometime to savor what men really did to survive in one of the harshest areas to call it home.

 Paleo indians took upon that challenge and called it home since 12,000 years a go. it is incredible to even say that number: 12,000 years ago humans were roaming this place to find sustinance and to compete for survival amongst earthly creatures so big (mammoths,Giant camels,Giant deer) i do not know how they manage to survive with out technology and weapons just to live day by day. Yet,they not only overcame these obstacles,they flurished and became masters of the land knealing to no one but their tribal chief and spiritual leaders for guidance.

 I learned so much on this trip,i plan on returning again to expand even further my knowledge of the area,somehow i call HOME.

 Jim and Casa Grande were the ones who introduce me this incredible place thru their Trip Report and later i explored the park's Website as well, I thought it was time for me to schedule a trip there being so close to home and i also needed a break from work, since i was under a lot pressure from the real world,so i went.

 For you Google Earth nuts,here are the coordinates: N29 42.354 W101 19.138

More to come.....

[BigBendHiker]

Hi Homero...thanks for posting...that park is on my list to see one of these days...

[SA Bill]

Eagerly awaiting the report...and pics...of course.

I know exactly what you mean about that park, Homero! I'm only a couple of hours away, and I've gone right by it many times going to and from BB, yet I've never made the time to visit. I've read a lot of reports about the rock art and that is something I'd really like to see. I'll bet I will be making time for a trip to SCSHP after I read your report!
 Bill

[chisos muse]

You're such a tease with 1 photo... 

I love this park, but you must go off trail. Did y'all find the spring? Great stargazing and right at the beginning of the Chihuahuan...

[BigBendHiker]

You're such a tease with 1 photo... 

I love this park, but you must go off trail. Did y'all find the spring? Great stargazing and right at the beginning of the Chihuahuan...

Hi Chisos_Muse!
Where is the spring located?


BBH

[chisos muse]

from what I remember, stand with your back to the welded funky sculpture and head off in the direction of 10:00. just look for the trees.... 

[BigBendHiker]

Thanks...

[homerboy2u]

from what I remember, stand with your back to the welded funky sculpture and head off in the direction of 10:00. just look for the trees....

Padowan;

 He/She who quenches it's thirst with water from the birthing Chihuahuan desert and absorbs the environment,earns his/her right to call itself an offspring of the motherland,for you have raised your arms in to the skies and the forefathers have blessed you with their soul.

 Por favor,allow me to gather my thoughts and continue with the TR.....

[Picacho]

Doesn't this park have some canoeing? 

[homerboy2u]

Doesn't this park have some canoeing?

 Yes you can,but you must leave the park and head on to the Pecos river marina in order to do that.



 You can see how some pictures,places,pieces,smells or persons can have some influence on others,in this case the statue left an imprint on my daughters as they posed for the camera on the pecos River outlook.



 They are not aware of it,but it is etched for ever in their minds.

[homerboy2u]

I love this park, but you must go off trail. Did y'all find the spring? Great stargazing and right at the beginning of the Chihuahuan...

 And i would the first one to thank you for providing this information , until i came back.Hence giving me another perfect excuse to return and find the Spring for this lovable board.

 As i said previously,having human presence for the past 12,000 years is just so incredible to learn.It certainly gave me a sense of belonging,i ws born near this area and it is very little that i knew of it's long and recorded history,I have had the opportunity to explore areas of vastness on the Mexican Side of the Rio Bravo and have stumble upon places and things that have many familiarities that in a way help tie a not of knowledge in my mind.

 It was not after 7,000 years later that the offspring of these Paleo Indians who decided to leave their beliefs,religions and spiritual beings painted on the Seminole Canyon walls of Fate Belle shelter that we get this unique opportunity to have a look in to it's past.

 But let me rewind a litle bit the story to get to the point where we came in to the park.

 It was Saturday,i happened to watch the Park's Video just to see what to look for whiel in there. For starters the water on the Pecos is many times higher than in the video,if you sk me all is flooded by today's standards,comparetively speaking with the takes on the video.

 Any how,there were business calls and obligations i needed to attend that just did not help in getting away earlier as wanted. My family was extremely happy for making them wait on me until i got off...

[homerboy2u]

Finally we split out of Dodge and headed for Del Rio.Strange, ,i remember very clearly saying to the Customs officer in Eagle Pass i was heading for Seminole C. adn he never told me i would need a permit to gt there,givevn i am a foreign national,anyhow,we skimmed Del Rio and picked up some stuff at Walmart's just before heading out for the park.

 I must add that while we were back at our house i saw that we were getting all of our camping stuff in the SUV we have. I saw all we were loading and then saw my wife wearing high heel leather boots...for camping and hiking?, i asked her for her tennis shoes she was in a rush to get away that she said: "Forget about the sneakers,get in and let's get out!!!"...i said nothing, tlod her i needed to go to the bathroom, rushed to our closet ,picked up her pair of tennisshoes,wrapped them over with my fleece garment and gor in the vehicle,i just nevr told her and later at night i waited for the effect....

[homerboy2u]

I got to the  Border Patrol checkpoint,i was not aware of this check spot .Certainly the border line has changed since i was near this area,so we got to the officer in turn,asked us for our papeles and i said that there were 3 mexicans and 2 U.S. citizens heading over to Seminole Canyon for camping and the u.s.customs agent  did not request our permits in Eagle Pass because nobody told us we would need them. I showed him our Border crossing cards and also our youngest daughters legal papers adding that if we needed to go back it would be ok to return too.

 To my surprise,he let us go and said to enjoy our time in the park.Not with out checking my stuff out to corroborate my story. I have never gone in to the states with out a legal permit before,however this was long ago part of the border stretch too and between the two contries citizens could move along the border line with out requestiing a legal permit to do this.Things have change,unfortunately.

 I got to the park at around 7 pm, long after office hours which they close at 5pm.Inmediately i  saw the late night fee deposit box,took a tour de force around the park to find our spot and claim it for the night.

 According to the Park Map there are only 31 spots and i got #28, no electricity.

 Park fees for that spot was $`12.00 dlls for the place and $6.00 dlls per adult, a total of $18.00 dlls for all of us.Children under 13 are free. This is a very nice place for stargazing and extremely close to the park showers and bathroom, yet far away enough not to hear any noice from anyone coming or going to the W.C...Mas o menos 100 yards away.

 There was a FIRE BAN in effect for the whole area,so any attempts for building a fire later in the night,would have to be reconsidered.

 

[SHANEA]

Where pretel is the new "Check Point Charlie" DHS/CBP station at? I know there is one outside West of Del Rio-I can't remember if it is/was before/after Seminole Canyon. I believe it used to be before Seminole Canyon.

Fireban-from what they are saying, the entire state is a tinder box ready to go up in a conflagration firestorm like Dresden and Tokyo.

[homerboy2u]

Where pretel is the new "Check Point Charlie" DHS/CBP station at? I know there is one outside West of Del Rio-I can't remember if it is/was before/after Seminole Canyon. I believe it used to be before Seminole Canyon.

Fireban-from what they are saying, the entire state is a tinder box ready to go up in a conflagration firestorm like Dresden and Tokyo.

 O.K., i never said that it was a new BP checkpoint,i said it was new to me. The permit check is located about 10 miles before getting to Comstock,once in comstock the park is exactly 9 miles onward Hwy 90 heading west,west of the pecos that is.