Road Trip with Tyler to Devils River State Natural Area & Seminole Canyon State Park -- Texas -- (Not a Backpacking Trip) -- December 2017
Trip Summary
This was a fun little road trip with Tyler out to Southwest Texas to check out Devils River State Natural Area and Seminole Canyon State Park. I have always wanted to do the full 4 day paddling trip down the Devils, but haven't yet been able to put that trip together. The Devils River is well known for being extremely remote, but also great for large mouth and small mouth bass fishing. Because Tyler loves bass fishing I thought it would be great to take him out to the "Del Norte Unit" of the Devils River State Natural Area, one of only two public access tracts on the Devils River, for a few days of fishing and exploring. I left my place on Friday morning (December 29th) & picked up Tyler for the long drive out to the Devils River. After a few hours of fishing and checking out some of the large springs that feed the river, we spent Friday night at the bunkhouse within the natural area. Saturday was our full day at the river. We fished most of the day and went for a short hike. Tyler caught about a dozen bass and had several more on his line that got away. I even caught a few! The water of the Devils is very clear and you could see lots of large bass, carp and catfish swimming around where we were fishing. I was also struck by the amount of colorful birds, hawks and ducks in and around the river. The weather during our full day at the river (Saturday, the 30th) was great - clear sky, warm and sunny. I even got a sun burn. We left the Devils River Saturday evening and spent that night at a hotel in Del Rio. The next morning (Sunday, the 31st) we drove about an hour west of Del Rio to Seminole Canyon State Park, which protects a few shelters containing "Lower Pecos Style" rock art and archeological sites. The Lower Pecos style pictographs are some of the oldest in North and South America (3,000 to 4,000 years old) and are spread out over the Lower Pecos & Devils River drainages in Val Verde and Terrell Counties. After our visit to Seminole Canyon, we made the drive home in cold and icy conditions. We were really lucky to have such good weather for the days at the river.
Map of our Drive
I had to pick up Tyler in Georgetown, so that added some miles to the drive. The drive out to Devils River took about 5-1/2 hours from Georgetown. The last 22 miles of the drive to the Devils River Natural Area were on a dirt road, the "Dolan Creek Road", which was in good shape and doesn't require 4WD in dry conditions. After leaving Devils River we had a night in Del Rio, then headed over to Seminole Canyon State Park for a tour of the rock art in the Fate Bell Shelter. About a mile down I-90 from Seminole Canyon is that high bridge over the Pecos River, so I took Tyler to the overlook so he could see that quickly before the drive home. On the drive back I took the very scenic Hwy 163 between Comstock & Juno so Tyler could see Bakers Crossing, which is the "put in point" for the 4 day paddle trip down the Devils River to Lake Amistad.
PICTURED BELOW: Me at the entrance of Devils River State Natural Area - about 18-20 miles down the Dolan Creek road, a long dirt road off highway 277 (between Sonora & Del Rio)
PICTURED BELOW: First view of the Devils River - at the end of the 22 mile dirt road, within the Devils River State Natural Area. About a mile from the river they have a locked gate and make you walk that last mile to the river access point.
PICTURED BELOW: Devils River
PICTURED BELOW: Me cooking dinner during our night in the Devils River State Natural Area.
PICTURED BELOW: the chicken spaghetti I made
PICTURED BELOW: Tyler liked it.
PICTURED BELOW: The bunkhouse we slept in at the Devils River State Natural Area. We had the whole bunkhouse to ourselves. No one else was out there. Nobody was at the campsites either. The bunkhouse had 5 small rooms, each with two twin beds, and one bigger "common room". There were also two bathrooms. The bunkhouse was heated and had AC. There were also picnic tables for cooking, a covered picnic table in the back along with a metal grill and camp fire ring.
PICTURED BELOW: A view from the bunkhouse
PICTURED BELOW: The room I slept in at the barracks at Devils River State Natural Area.
PICTURED BELOW: Me making breakfast tacos
PICTURED BELOW: Making breakfast tacos
PICTURED BELOW: Tyler reeling in his first bass from the Devils River
PICTURED BELOW: Tyler's best bass of the trip. He caught about a dozen and had another half dozen on the line that got away.
PICTURED BELOW: Tyler fishing on the Devils River
PICTURED BELOW: Tyler catches another bass!
PICTURED BELOW: clear, calm water of the Devils River where we fished most of the day
PICTURED BELOW: Tyler & I after our day of fishing on the Devils River
PICTURED BELOW: Good view - looking south on the Devils River. It was a tough, short "bushwhack" up to this high point on the canyon wall. Finding a way up required rock hopping & navigating through lots of cactus & other thorny plants. But well worth the effort
PICTURED BELOW: clear waters of the Devils River
PICTURED BELOW: Tyler & a good view looking south on the Devils River
PICTURED BELOW: Tyler in front of "The Maker of Peace" Statue by Bill Worrell, which is at the Seminole Canyon State Park visitor center & museum
PICTURED BELOW: 4,000 year old pictographs in the Fate Bell Shelter, Seminole Canyon State Park
PICTURED BELOW: 4,000 year old pictographs in the Fate Bell Shelter, Seminole Canyon State Park
PICTURED BELOW: View of the Fate Bell Shelter in Seminole Canyon State Park. It's only about a mile walk from the visitor center to this shelter. The rubber mats on the ground of the shelter are to suppress dust from walking in the shelter. Dust & dirt along with sunlight & humidity from nearby Lake Amistad are causing the rock art to fade. The dust & dirt stirred up in the air actually protects the pictographs, but makes them less visible. Half of this shelter has never been excavated and likely contains countless artifacts & human burials. You can also see in this picture remnants of ancient roasting pits & rock middens on the floor of the shelter.
PICTURED BELOW: On the park's guided tour of the 4,000 year old pictograph panels in the Fate Bell Shelter, Seminole Canyon State Park
PICTURED BELOW: A winged figure pictograph (approx. 4,000 years old) of the "Pecos River Style"; Fate Bell Shelter, Seminole Canyon State Park
PICTURED BELOW: Tyler & the I-90 bridge over the Pecos River, next to Seminole Canyon State Park
PICTURED BELOW: Me & the I-90 bridge over the Pecos River, next to Seminole Canyon State Park
