Balmorrhea State Park

Pecos, TX

Weather: low 28 degrees, high 50 degrees, clear skies, light breezes

We got a fairly late start this morning, which was due to a good night's sleep. I love it when the sleep is uninterrupted. Pecos is a quiet town, and where we are staying, it's even quieter.

Since we had seen what we wanted here yesterday, we decided to take a trip about 40 miles southwest to Balmorrhea. What would attract us to Balmorrhea? Well, we had never been there before (good reason to go there), and Balmorrhea State Park is there. What's the big deal with the state park? There is a large spring there that feeds a concrete lined swimming pool with water at the rate of 1,000,000 gallons an hour. In my book, that's a lot of water.

The water stays a constant 76 degrees year round, so I guess the swimmer we saw there this morning when the air temperature was 40 degrees felt warm. In the summer when the air temperature is 110 degrees, the water probably feels cold at 76 degrees.

The park has an RV camping section that is really nice, and we can see that we would stay there someday. In fact, if we had known how nice the park is, we would have stayed there this time. Ah, well. Next time.

The water that flows out of the spring feeds into Lake Balmorrhea, a few miles away. Before it gets to the lake, some of the water is taken off for irrigation. The mountains in the background are the Davis Mountains.

These ducks were in the swimming area at the state park. In looking on the Internet and in our bird books, the closest I can come to identifying them are as Scaups. Anyone out there who might know?

Late in the afternoon, I noticed some drips coming out of where we hook up our water hose to the RV. I found that a connection that goes to the city water connection had loosened slightly. I pulled everything out of the basement, mopped up the water, and tightened the connection. It looks like the leak has stopped for now, but that's something I'll keep my eye on.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Willits, California: Heart Of Mendocino County

Not all who wander are lost.