Traveling to an Oasis in West Texas

We departed Green Valley, Arizona on November 12 with the original destination of Deming, New Mexico as our next stop back to Texas. We got on the road by 9:15 AM so there was a good chance we could travel some serious miles. Our original destination was the Dream Catcher Escapees RV Park for one night but we were making good time so our plan changed to driving through New Mexico and getting to El Paso, TX for the night. We found a new Cracker Barrel on the east side of the city early enough to park in their huge parking area behind the restaurant.

This restaurant was located in a new shopping area with a lot of new facilities, traffic and unfortunately noise. Sleeping that night required ear plugs. The next morning Karen stayed in the trailer to enjoy her "quiet time" while I headed to breakfast for eggs, bacon, hash brown casserole, biscuits and gravy at the Cracker Barrel. Yummy! Before departing we took a walk to burn off some of that big breakfast before hitting the road again.

The destination for Wednesday was Balmorhea State Park, a 46-acre state park located on the San Solomon Springs in Reeves County, Texas, opened in 1968. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department manages the park. The park is open year-round, and visitation is capped at 900 people per day. San Solomon Springs is a collection of artesian springs located near the small towns of Toyahvale and Balmorhea in Reeves County, Texas. Between 20 million and 28 million US gallons of water a day flow from the springs, so no chlorination is required for the 1.75 acre swimming hole before flowing through a reconstructed marsh, all located within Balmorhea State Park. The springs line the sandy bottom of the central portion of the swimming hole, about 25 ft beneath the water's surface. The pool is home to several species of fish and turtles, including the Texas spiny softshell turtle.

The main feature of the park is the 3.5-million-US-gallon freshwater pool built around the springs. It is the world’s largest spring-fed swimming pool. The spring's constant flows 22 to 28 million US gallons or about 300,000 bath tubs worth a day. The water temperature ranges from 72 to 76 °F (22 to 24 °C) and up to 30 feet deep. The pool bottom is flat in the more shallow areas and has a more natural rock bottom in the deeper areas. The pool is used for swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving.

Texas State Parks Board bought San Solomon Springs and the surrounding land in 1934. Company 1856 of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the pool between 1934 and 1941 as part of the New Deal during the Great Depression as a way to open up jobs for people needing work. The CCC also built San Solomon Springs Courts, which rents rooms available for overnight stays. Camping and recreational vehicle sites are also available. A private concessionaire operated the facility until 1968 when the Parks and Wildlife Department took over management and it became part of the state parks system.

The Balmorhea State Park Cienega Project, started in 1995, recreats a desert wetland in the park. The original cienega was lost when the CCC channeled water from the springs into the pool. The cienega now serves as a habitat for endangered fish such as the Comanche Springs pupfish and Pecos gambusia as well as other aquatic life, birds and other animals.

We arrived at the park and set up the rig then walked over to check out the spring. The water was a bit cool and there was some wind, so we decided to wait for tomorrow to get into the water with our snorkeling gear. This will be a great location to test out my new underwater housing for my iPhone before our Princess cruise and trip to Indonesia.

We walked around the entire pool at the spring and as you can see there was no one there. The water is near crystal-clear and I spotted fish and turtles swimming in this massive body of fresh water in west Texas.

On Thursday, November 14 we enjoyed a light breakfast of coffee and avocado toasted bagels before heading to the spring with our snorkeling gear. We had the whole spring to ourselves to explore. I wore my 3 mm wetsuit to help me keep warm while trying out the new underwater housing for the first time. I had a problem with my "cheater lens" in my mask so I couldn't really see how sharp the images and video appeared in the water.

All in all, I am pleased with this first test of the new underwater housing. But I definitely need to deal with the mask issue before we leave for Indonesia.