Terlingua......A Ghost Town

Outside the National park are three little cities, Study Butte, Terlingua  and Lajitas. All three are mainly gasoline stations, campgrounds, and a few outfitters that will take you jeep riding, rafting, or just touring around the National Park. Flat, dusty and hot, paradise for sure. There are also a few local restaurants and I think I saw a grocery and laundrymat.

we pushed thru the two cities and ended in Lajitas which is actually a golf resort and the RV Park we stayed at. 

There were pictures of it on the last post. 

One more fun thing we did there was go to the Barton Warnock Visitor Center. It is the home of the Roadrunner. It is an interesting bird and is very curious. It sometimes will follow a hiker down a trail. It is thought to bring a person good luck. So it is desirable to have a Roadrunner living close to your house or follow you while walking. In Mexico it is known as a "paisano" or country gentleman.

They are excellent rattlesnake hunters but also eat small rodents and lizards.

The feet of these birds are different too. They have two toes in front and two in back, also known as zygodactyl feet.

 

Beep Beep

The gardens at the visitor center were beautiful

 

But the best part of the day was while we were walking we found a Geocache. These are things like time capsules that people hide anywhere. They contain trinkets, or whatever people want to put inside. Usually they also have a log book you can sign to say when you found it and where you are from. You can even add something to the cache before you place it back as you found it for the next person who comes along and discovers it. 

 

Bill dragged out the box.

 

Filled with crappage

 

We were good geocachers and put it back. 

On to The Terlingua Ghost Town.

 

Terlingua was at one time a mining town that harvested Cinnabar the compound that mercury comes from. The little town sprang up around it and eventually was abandoned when the mine closed. There is a Historic Cemetery, a hotel of sorts, a theatre, a chili cook off in November and a couple of other odd things.

 

No explanation needed

 

A few of the graves. 

 

Not much to do here

 

 

This is still an active burial area. Relatives of the original town folks and owners of the mine, who are buried here, can be buried here also.

 

Gift shop

 

Check out the chairs on the Front porch

 

 

These are individual motel rooms.

 

I like the cars

 

 

The last one.

 

Bill decided to try out the cage that dropped two men into the shaft of the mine.

Passing Wind had a lot going on in his yard.

 

The local watering hole

 

Refreshing for sure.

 

Those pesky Mule Ears listening.

After we had our beverage we headed back to the Maverick Ranch. Tomorrow we are off to Fort Davis and Davis Mountain State Park. 

 

Going to miss the Mayor

 

Always drinking!

Oh yes, hope you all are well, and God Bless America!