Chuck did not get to enjoy his Mexican lunch that we had in
Boquillas yesterday for very long because he got up sick around 3 am Sunday and
spent the next half hour in the bathroom.
Yuck! We're pretty sure it was what he had for lunch
because he was the only one who had a beef burrito when we were in
Boquillas.
We took it easy this morning wanting to make sure he was
feeling better and by a little after noon, he was feeling well enough for us to
go tour the ghost town of Terlingua about 6 miles to the west of the
campground.
Terlingua which means
"three tongues" was given its name by Mexican herders because of the
Comanche, Shawnee and Apaches who lived on its upper reaches. It became the quicksilver capital of the
world with the cinnabar strike in 1890 yielding 40% of the nation's quicksilver (mercury) need by 1922. Howard E. Perry owned the
Chisos Mining Company that mined the quicksilver and at one time 2,000 miners
lived here. After the mine later flooded and then the mineral price
of quicksilver fell, the miners walked away, leaving their homes behind. Terlingua died and
became a real ghost town after World War II.
Terlingua is a real ghost town that you can walk through and see old buildings and homes and all for free. As of the 2010 Census, Terlingua had a population of 58 except during the first weekend of November when two different chili cook-offs are held which means one big party.
Bonnie and I headed for the Terlingua Trading Post first while Ken and Chuck went to the Starlight Theatre. Chuck came and got us so we could hear this musical group of 3 ladies. The Starlight Theatre was the original theatre for Terlingua...
...and has a bar...
...stage and dance floor...
and the restaurant where the group was singing.
We sat and listened to them play 4 or 5 songs several of them which they had written themselves. There was one song about a waitress named Shirley, one song about a true story of a young goat herder, a U.S. citizen, who was mistakenly killed by American Marines serving on Anti-Drug Patrol in 1997, and the song that made me cried entitled "Tied to an Angel" about the hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, in 1900, killing 8,000 people. The song is about an orphanage where the nuns tied the children to themselves in attempt to keep them from drowning but they all lost their lives.
The lady in the middle of the above picture also did a lot of the painting and art work for the theatre. Probably the most curious feature of the Starlight was the stuffed mount of the former mayor of the town of Terlingua in front of the stage: Mayor Clay Henry, a goat, who loved his beer and could out drink the rest of the patrons.
After listening to their music for about 45 minutes, we walked back to the Terlingua Trading Post.
The Post had a surprisingly large quantity of all sorts of gifts, souvenirs, arts and crafts. But I think it is best known for its front porch...
...where the locals like to sit and talk with each other and anyone who will listen to them.
The Chisos Mountains could be seen from the front porch of the Terlingua Trading Post.
As we began our walking tour of Terlingua, the wind and the dust were really starting to pick up (which made it seem even more like a ghost town).
We walked over to an old covered up mine shaft...
...and one of the elevators that lowered the miners into the shaft.
As we walked behind the Trading Post, we could see Mr. Perry (the mine's owner) old abandoned mansion on the hill.
Next, we walked up to the old school building.
Can't you imagine some school kids looking out this window wishing it was time for school to be over?
We walked up to an old house. When we looked inside, it appeared someone may have been trying to restore it.
Behind the house was a huge outdoor fireplace or maybe an outdoor oven.
As we walked up to the church, Bonnie looked for "ghost town" glass from old bottles that had been broken but ghost town glass does not get tumbled like seaglass and is not quite smooth enough to keep.
The stained glass windows to the church were open...
...allowing a couple of birds to build nests near the ceiling and rest on the cross at the front.
The stained-glass windows were very pretty.
We walked back to the car and began to drive towards the old cemetery. Remnants of abandoned houses could be seen everywhere.
The cemetery looked just like you would expect from a ghost town...
...with the graves slightly raised above ground and covered up with stones.
When we left Terlingua, we began heading further west towards Big Bend Ranch State Park. The State Park was formerly a working ranch that was donated to the State of Texas. Its 311,000 acres make it the largest state park in the State of Texas.
On the way, we passed by this unique place called "Passing Wind." :) It had a replica of the top of a submarine, an old sailing ship, and an RV with a cover over the top where I guess the owner of Passing Wind lived.
We also passed by an old movie set that had been used in several movies including the 1995 movie Streets of Laredo staring James Garner, Sissy Spacek and Sam Shephard.
The office manager at the campground had told us this was a beautiful drive to Big Bend Ranch State Park and that the road has a 15% grade about 30 miles from the campground. The drive was beautiful...
...and we saw some interesting rock formations...
...that reminded us of the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon.
But probably the most interesting part of the drive was all the curves and hills. Sometimes it looked like there was nothing on the other side when you crested the hill.
We reached the 15% hill...
...and Ken pulled over at the viewpoint and parked the car.
 |
| Make sure you got your parking brake on, Ken! |
Mexico is on the left side of the river here and the US on the right.
After looking out at the views for a few minutes, we got back in the car and headed up the 15% hill...
...and then down the other side...
...and then up and down...this way and that.
 |
| Great driving, Ken! |
...for one more look at Big Bend Ranch State Park.
When we got back to the campground, we began getting ready for leaving tomorrow. Chuck tried taking a little nap, but the wind was blowing so hard and rocking the camper so much that I don't think he got much sleep. After dinner, Ken and Bonnie came over for a game of 7-Up-the-River and a game of SkipBo. Both games were very close but tonight the women emerged the winners of both games.
What an amazing adventure we have had at Big Bend, Terlingua and Boquillas!
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