Campground Selfie
I was really looking forward to my stay at this campground, mainly for the guided tour of the pictographs in the canyon. This spot didn’t let me down. I had a great stay here. This spot is right next to the Rio Grande, and the nearest town is Comstock, with a population of under 200 people. I didn’t get any radio reception, and only a few channels on the TV that came in from Mexico. I did have good internet access though, so that was a pleasant surprise.
After checking in at the visitor center, I drove towards my campsite to get set up for my stay. Along the way I noticed what looked like an old pizza oven about a hundred feet off the road. This is actually an old bread oven that was probably used by bakers who sold bread to the railroad workers who put in a section of a railroad that spanned between El Paso and San Antonio.
On the day that I arrived there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Since it was too late to start one of the longer hikes I had planned for my visit, I went to look at the bird blind set up near the center of the campground. It’s a nice shaded spot that overlooks a fountain set up to attract birds that might want to cool off from the desert heat.
My first full-day started off with the pictograph tour in the morning, followed by a hike on the Rio Grande trail in the afternoon. It was another sunny day, and the temperature during the morning tour was great. The afternoon was nice too, but it got pretty hot. It was still a good time; there’s something about solitude on the trail that just can’t be beat.
On my second day, I hiked the trail to the La Presa Overlook. This day was a little overcast and it sprinkled a little bit while I was on the trail. It was just enough to cool things off, so desert heat wasn’t a concern. The weather conditions during the day, though, foretold a rough evening ahead.
During the evening a storm moved in with winds in the 60 mph range. Sitting in the trailer, it was honestly a little scary. I ended up getting ready to make a dash for the bath house if things got any worse. Luckily the worst of the storm only lasted about a half hour. I was sitting in the trailer watching the flashing lights of emergency vehicles going back and forth along the highway a few miles away, with the wind blown rain falling sideways. When the storm finally passed, all was well, but I felt bad for the folks who were tent-camping on the other side of the campground. That had to be even more scary for them.
All in all though, I had a great time here. If I’m in the area again, I wouldn’t mind spending a few more days here to explore the rest of the trails and visit some of the other nearby historic sites.
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