Uploads from mlhradio, tagged seminolecanyon

Indian Shaman statue at Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas (Picture A Day October 18, 2009)

nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:54:37 -0700

mlhradio posted a photo:

A large bronze Indian shaman statue outside the visitor's center overlooking the canyon below at Seminole Canyon State Park. Located on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert in southwest Texas, the park contains some of the best examples of prehistoric pictographs in the nation. In the deep, protected ledges cut into the limestone canyon walls, Indians have left their mark for millennia. Some of the wall art dates back to the earliest human occupation on the continent, nearly ten thousand years ago, just after the last Ice Age when the region was cooler, wetter, covered in grasslands and light forest.

You can view more photos from my 2009 'Picture a Day' set at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157625855768121/

And the fun continues with a Picture a Day through 2010 at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157620610035860/

Picture A Day October 22, 2009 - Pyrrhuloxia at Seminole Canyon

nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:52:26 -0700

mlhradio posted a photo:

At first I thought this was a female cardinal, which is generally devoid of most red color except on the tips of the wings and tail. But there's just too much red, ~~and upon closer inspection I tend to think this is really an immature male cardinal, less than a year old, which has mottled, patchy red throughout.~~ Spotted in the trees along the windy mesa above Seminole Canyon.

You can view more photos from my 2009 'Picture a Day' set at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157625855768121/

And the fun continues with a Picture a Day through 2010 at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157620610035860/

UPDATE: Over on Livejournal, someone pointed out that this is much more likely a male Pyrrhuloxia, or Gray Cardinal - very similar but the beak is the dead giveaway.

You can view more photos from my 2009 'Picture a Day' set at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157625855768121/

And the fun continues with a Picture a Day through 2010 at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157620610035860/

Picture a Day June 16, 2011 - Middle Archaic Period Pictograph at Fate Bell Shelter

nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:54:49 -0700

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Native Americans first arrived in the southwest corner of Texas around 12,000 years ago as the last ice age was receding, and Texas was a much more verdant climate. But that slowly changed over a few thousand years to the current arid, desert scrub landscape. For the past eight thousand years, various Indians have lived around what is now known as the Fate Bell Shelter, a deep overhang in the canyon walls that overlook Seminole Canyon near where the Pecos River and Rio Grande meet.

Today, this is the star attraction of Seminole Canyon State Park, roughly an hour west of Del Rio. While most surviving pictograph locations are on private land and secretly hidden away to prevent vandalism, this is one of the few places where the public can easily see examples of early rock art in Texas. The Lower Pecos River Style, as seen here, dates back approximately 4,000 years to the Middle Archaic period, although other more recent art styles can also been seen at the shelter.

For anyone interested in learning more about prehistoric rock art throughout Texas (there is much, much, much more), visit www.rockart.org/

Ancient Pictographs at Panther Cave, junction of Seminole Canyon and Rio Grande (Picture A Day January 22, 2010)

nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:54:10 -0700

mlhradio posted a photo:

The southwest corner of Texas is riddled with hundreds (if not thousands) of sites where Indians have left their mark on the land. Native Americans have inhabited the region for nearly as long as humans have lived in North America, dating back to the end of the last Ice Age, when the region was much wetter, with green plains and prairies. But as the climate has slowly changed over the thousands of years into a harsh desert, the Indians had largely moved on to more fertile regions. But memories of their occupation remain.

One of the more well-known sites is at Panther Cave, found on the banks of Seminole Canyon just above where it meets with the Rio Grande, a couple hundred yards from Mexico. This overhanging rock shelter is part of the Lake Amistad National Recreation Area, and can only be accessed by boat. However, it is possible to view the cave from the end of the Rio Grande Trail in Seminole Canyon State Park, across the deep chasm of the water-filled canyon below. This is about as close as you can get, still a few hundred yards away, with the giant red panther (about nine feet across) visible, dating back to the Archaic Period. There are many other pictograph sites in the region, including the impressive Fate Bell Cave further up the Seminole Canyon, and definitely worth a visit for anyone interested in Native American history.

Find more photos from my 2010 Picture a Day set at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157620610035860/

You can also view my 2009 Picture A Day set that started it all at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157625855768121/

Picture A Day September 28, 2009 - Rock Throwing Into Canyon Prohibited

nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:51:38 -0700

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At the terminus of the Pressa Trail, a one-mile spur off the Rio Grande River Trail in Seminole Canyon State Park. This very-little-known little trail ends at the junction where the Presa Canyon (on the right) joins with the Seminole Canyon, which continues another two miles to the right before meeting with the Rio Grande and the Mexican border. This also marks the very edge of Lake Amistad (the main body of water more than 20 miles distant), the upstream legs of the canyons generally dry, the downstream leg usually filled with water. Countless thousands of years of erosion have slowly cut into the soft limestone as the canyon is carved deeper and deeper - from here it is almost a 200-foot sheer vertical drop to the water's edge below. Many of the more sheltered underhanging rock ledges along the canyon walls contain many of the nation's finest examples of prehistoric pictographs, some dating back to the end of the Ice Age nearly ten thousand years ago. I also consider this overlook perhaps one of the most scenic spots in all of Texas.

You can view more photos from my 2009 'Picture a Day' set at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157625855768121/

And the fun continues with a Picture a Day through 2010 at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157620610035860/

Panther Cave and boat landing at Seminole Canyon State Historic Site - seminolecanyon156

nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:03:31 -0800

mlhradio posted a photo:

Seminole Canyon State Park, Val Verde County, Texas. One of the more remote state parks, tucked into the southwest corner of Texas about an hour's drive west of Del Rio.

This area has been inhabited since the very earliest days that humans set foot in North America, going back nearly 12,000 years - back during the last Ice Age when the land was more verdant with now-extinct animals still roaming the surrounding prairies and forest. But over the millenia, the climate changed to its current, arid desert landscape - and the Indians adapted.

All through these years, the local Indians drew pictograms all over the surrounding canyon walls and caves. In the dry climate, protected by overhanging rock walls, many of these pictograms survived through the ages. Some of the more famous sites, such as the Fate Bell and Panther Cave, are the feature attractions of Seminole Canyon, and can be visited by guided tour through the park.

However, I have not yet visited these sites - instead focusing on other areas of the park. On the first visit (March 9th, 2008), I arrived after the park had closed for the day. I walked along the short 'Windmill Trail', a small loop near the visitor's center. This trail leads down to a small year-round spring and the ruins of a water catchment system that was used by local settlers over the past hundred years.

The return trip (September 27, 2008) was much more fruitful - I chose to hike the Rio Grande River Trail, a six-mile out-and-back loop that leads to the far corner of the park, almost a stone's throw from Old Mexico. With recent rains it was fairly lively and green, with countless butterflies passing through on their annual migration. The trail starts alongside the original 'Loop Trail', the 1882 railroad alignment that was abandoned a decade later when a less strenuous route was forged and the Pecos River High Bridge was built.

The trail itself is pretty boring - a flat, featureless hike across a nondescript desert plain. But the main highlight of the hike quickly comes into view. There is a mile-long spur shooting off to the left called the Pressa Trail, which leads to an overlook looking down at a three-way intersection in the Seminole Canyon below. Here, the waters from Lake Amistad many miles away along the Rio Grande peter out; to the right, the waters are wide and deep, muddied from the recent rainstorms. To the left, the two forks of Seminole Canyon are mostly dry. From the top of the overlook, sheer cliffs lead staight down over a hundred feet to the waters below. The view is, well, *breathtaking* - and worth the trip.

Back on the main trail, a few miles later it comes to an abrupt end at the junction where Seminole Canyon merges with the Rio Grande. The location overlooks the Panther Cave pictograms, on the opposite shore far below, accessible only by boat. To the right, a few hundred yards away, are the hills of Mexico. Here, the water is deeper, the canyons steeper, the chasm wider. An impressive view, although not as amazing as the Pressa Trail overlook.

From here, it is a straight hike back along the south portion of the loop, my only companion a great horned toad trying to hide in the gravel of the trail. I would like to return to this park to take the guided tours, and there are other tours available nearby on private land to other pictogram sites as well. And I am told this park is also fabulous for bird watchers as well.

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nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:04:37 -0800

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nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:03:13 -0800

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nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:04:00 -0800

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Picture A Day November 27, 2009 - Upstream at Presa Canyon

nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:53:12 -0700

mlhradio posted a photo:

At the three-cornered junction where Seminole Canyon joins with Presa Canyon at the end of the misnamed Pressa Trail. The walls of the canyon are between 100 and 200 feet high, nearly vertical and smooth, with large multi-ton blocks of limestone spalling off to the waters below. Thousands of years of desert varnish turn the rock a dark grey, but the newer rock exposed when a block falls away is a light golden tan.

You can view more photos from my 2009 'Picture a Day' set at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157625855768121/

And the fun continues with a Picture a Day through 2010 at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157620610035860/

Picture A Day November 14, 2009 - Oh Centipede, You Can't Run Away...

nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:55:06 -0700

mlhradio posted a photo:

Spotted clinging to the rock wall at Seminole Canyon State Park - a nasty critter trying to find a dark crevice in the wall to hide. As near as I can tell, this is some sort of subspecies of Giant Desert Centipede (Scolopendra Heros). Most photos of this species have the two segments of the head as black, and the last three segments of the tail as black - but a few creepy-crawlies with just the two black tail segments (as above) have been spotted. This one was around nine inches in length, under a perpetually-shaded cliff overhang that protects some prehistoric Indian pictographs.

You can view more photos from my 2009 'Picture a Day' set at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157625855768121/

And the fun continues with a Picture a Day through 2010 at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157620610035860/

Picture A Day October 12, 2009 - The Mouth of Presa Canyon

nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:53:47 -0700

mlhradio posted a photo:

At the junction where Seminole Canyon merges with Presa Canyon at the end of the Pressa Trail in Seminole Canyon State Park. Two miles in the opposite direction is the Rio Grande and Mexico, and this marks the edge of Lake Amistad, the arm of Presa Canyon veering to the right is dry. The canyon walls are between 100 and 200 feet down to the water's edge below, with plenty of sheer drops, making access to the water a near impossibility. The slow process of weathering in the desert cracks the rock walls, with large chunks breaking away every once in a great while (like the precariously perched rock to the left). The exposed limestone rock turns dark from oxidation ('desert varnish'), the recently uncovered rock faces remain a light tan. In the protected undersides of the ledges along the canyons, some of the oldest pictographs in America can be found, marking nearly ten millenia of human habitation in the region.

You can view more photos from my 2009 'Picture a Day' set at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157625855768121/

And the fun continues with a Picture a Day through 2010 at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157620610035860/

Picture A Day February 5, 2010 - The Edge of Texas at Seminole Canyon

nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:52:17 -0700

mlhradio posted a photo:

Where Texas meets Mexico at the mouth of Seminole Canyon. The waters of Lake Amistad, thirty-plus miles distant, fill upstream along the Rio Grand and a couple miles into Seminole Canyon. The Rio Grande (in the distance) separates the state from Mexico in the background. Near the waterline on the right-hand-side sits Panther Cave, one of the most famous of numerous ancient pictograph sites in the region; the waters in the canyon below are inaccessible from the sheer limestone cliffs that rise one to two hundred feet to the flat desert plain above.

Find more photos from my 2010 Picture a Day set at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157620610035860/

You can also view my 2009 Picture A Day set that started it all at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157625855768121/

Bobcat (Lynx rufus) along the hiking trail at Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas (Picture A Day September 19, 2009)

nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:52:42 -0700

mlhradio posted a photo:

Now here's something you don't see every day - an adult bobcat (Lynx Rufus) walking through the Texas desert brush. Along the first mile of the Rio Grande River Trail at Seminole Canyon State Park, the trail parallels the original 1882 alignment of the transcontinental railroad. The metal rails are long gone, but an earthen berm remains - crossing over this small rise and there she (he?) was - less than fifty feet away, slowly walking towards the sheer canyon cliffs just beyond. With a very stiff breeze blowing towards me, I don't think the bobcat ever noticed I was there - and I was able to snap off a quick photo before she disappeared behind the weeds. Hard to tell without a proper frame of reference, but this was a fairly big cat - easily thigh-high. While unusual to come across such a large cat, they are found all over Texas, and are primarily shy, nocturnal creatures that are more prone to slink away rather than attack. But it is a reminder that Texas is not quite as tame along the fringes as one might think. Picture taken on the very first non-hundred-degree day in the region in nearly three months, still in the clutches of a record drought.

You can view more photos from my 2009 'Picture a Day' set at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157625855768121/

And the fun continues with a Picture a Day through 2010 at: www.flickr.com/photos/matthigh/sets/72157620610035860/

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nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:05:11 -0800

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nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:02:21 -0800

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nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:05:23 -0800

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nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:00:13 -0800

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nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:05:35 -0800

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nobody@flickr.com (mlhradio) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:02:48 -0800

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