2006/03 Southwest USA trip (AZ-MN) - Balmorhea |
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Van Horne is down on Interstate 10, our familiar freeway that runs close to the US southern border. On entering Van Horne I was pulled over by a young lady sheriff and given a ticket for doing 28 in a 25 school zone. There were no schools or schoolchildren visible. Perhaps they had all been mown down by mad speedsters doing 28.
We had an hour’s drive along the freeway to Balmorhea state park. Balmorhea is the site of an enormous warm spring which produces enough water to keep a large lake filled. The park has a very large swimming pool, but we’d be leaving that until the next morning, as Balmorhea is also famous for the blue agates that can be found in areas on the lake’s north shore. We spent the afternoon pushing our way through thorny bushes and picking up likely rocks. We found a few good Balmorhea blues and lots of small pieces.
Back at the park, each site in the campground has its own adobe ramada, though we didn’t need any shade on this mild 
evening. I took a short walk to the park’s “cienega” a small swamp fed by the warm springs. It was a mass of birds, mainly coots, enjoying the warmth and moisture, plus a lot of frantic fish jumping after bugs, and a few spiny turtles.
Saturday February 25th
We woke up to 70 degrees and blazing sunshine. Obviously a good time to hit the pool! Unfortunately, we soon had a strong wind and that 70 didn’t feel quite as good. The pool is enormous with a central area about 25 feet deep and a couple of Olympic-sized side pools for the kids. As the central area was full of people learning to scuba dive, we opted for the kiddie pool. Although the water temperature was 74F we were the only people in the pool who weren’t wearing wet suits. Sandie got cold and went off for a hot shower, but the pool felt quite good to me, certainly warmer than the English Channel.
The pool is fed by the San Solomon Springs. If the park service drains the pool for maintenance then the flow from the springs is strong enough to refill the pool in a few hours. Although the edges of the pool are masonry, the floor is mostly natural rock, and we shared the pool with the local wildlife. At one time I was floating surrounded by coots. Unfortunately coots have no sense of sanitation.