Recommended Area Daytrips
Borden County, Texas
Deborah and I love to explore west Texas. We always discover things we want to know more about. We would love for people to email us at the email address on the website if you know more. If people know of links that help people learn more about Borden County, we would love to add them to this story as well. (This includes information about ranches that cater to hunters or campers, as well as historical information!) We love Borden County!
On July 30th, 2005, Deborah and I visited Borden County. Here's a record of what we observed.
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Much of Borden County is ranch country. Just east of Vealmoor on SH 1785 a couple of unconcerned ponies (with the presence of two people and a dog) sought the shade of a big mesquite on top of a hill. The temperature was 101, and the hill had the only breeze.
North of Vealmoor on SH 1054 Borden County road 224 turns west towards the caprock of the Llano Estacado. Dozens of oil field roads turn off as well, and when the county line is reached, the roads become unmarked. We got lost, and ended up on what was probably an oilfield road. We decided that we had better turn around before being accosted for trespassing on private land. This draw is that of the main headwater branch of the Colorado River, but no water runs in the draw. We did find puddles of water, though.
The frog in the water did not move for over 20 minutes. When we returned to the site, a roadrunner snuck up on it, but it sank into the water.
Caprock habitat – a juniper forest. The grandfather of Sammy Hunnicut of Big Spring ranched in this area in the early 1900s. Sammy tells me there is a set of old rock pens somewhere nearby, rock pens that may date to the Comanchero or pastore eras. Comancheros might have kept stock hidden here while trading at the Comanche camps south of Muchaque Peak. Jesus Perea may have had pastores in the valley by 1876, just a year after Quanah and Isatai agreed to live on the Oklahoma Comanche Reservation while camping near Muchaque Peak.
After bothering the frog, the roadrunner joined another briefly. The second roadrunner hid, but this one sat next to the road in the shade. His beak is open because he is gaping, one of the ways that birds rid themselves of excess heat. The flat light of early afternoon heightens the sense of heat – afternoons are for siestas!
By 2.30 p.m. puffy clouds began to form. Looking north on SH 1054, the ranch country is wide and open… beautiful range country in wet years – and a glory with full stock tanks.
Mesquite gets huge in the draws of Borden County. This fawn wanted to cross the road to join its mother, but refused to try to jump the fence.
In Gail, this old homesite attracted us – the method of construction of the fence, the old chinaberry tree, and the suckers of tree-of heaven (ailanthus).
Muchaque Peak from the southwest. Most folks call it Mushaway Peak. J.J. Sturm, when he met with Quanah in 1875, recorded Comanche names of landmarks, and said that the word Motso’kue meant “old man plucking his hair.”
The gray plant in the foreground is Artemisia ludoviciana, also known as holy sage. When an American Indian offers prayers to the 6 directions, powdered leaves of this plant are tossed in each direction. The plant is also known as estafiate, and drunk to settle an upset stomach..Sage is also important in sweat lodge ceremony.
Willow Valley Road crosses the Colorado River south of Muchaque. The valley has many willow trees, and quite a few cottonwoods. The valley was a favorite winter camp of Comanches. In dry ears without much dried grass, the Comanches fed their horses with the bark of the trees. I have been told of a turnaround tree, where the Comanches would ritualize their arrival at the winter camp.
I would like to know more about the old bridge over the Colorado on the Willow Valley Road. The newer bridge is not kept in the best shape – several cactii had germinated along the edge of the bridge.
Just to the east of the Junction of Borden County road 328 and SH1785, this old house intrigued us. The style over the fence (partially visible in the lower left of the picture) surprised us. Deborah thinks the house was built in the 1940s, I guessed in the 1920s. Maybe someday, someone will help us learn more about the house.
Cooperia drummondii, the white rain lily, likes limestone soils. It is only seen after a rain for less than a week. When we see it, my wife Deborah and I feel blessed!