DRIVES Scenic
BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK AREA With more than 100 miles of paved roads throughout the park, visitors have access to gorgeous vistas and the possibility of spotting wildlife. The 30-mile Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive provides access to Santa Elena Can- yon, several historic sites and scenic overlooks.
www.nps.gov/bibe
EL PASO Take Rim Road up to the southern tip of the Franklin Mountains for pictur- esque views of the city.
On the northern side of El Paso, the Transmountain Road (State Loop 375) offers a 10.5-mile road exploration of the Franklin Mountains. Travelers will find pullout areas to stop and enjoy the view.
www.visitelpaso.com
DAVIS MOUNTAINS Within the Davis Mountains State Park, Skyline Drive (Park Road 3A) traverses the mountain past plains grasslands and pinyon-juniper-oak woodlands.
www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/ davis-mountains
From Fort Davis, the 74-mile scenic loop takes drivers along Texas 118 through the mountains then along Texas 166 through extensive grass- lands and pinion and ponderosa for- ests back into Fort Davis. The route includes views of Mount Livermore and the McDonald Obsevatory. There are several pullouts and picnic areas along Texas 118.
www.davis-mountains.com
PINE SPRINGS In the Guadalupe Mountains National Park area, Highway62/180 provides gorgeous views of the mountains. Just south of the park, two picnic areas give visitors an opportunity to stop and admire the beauty of El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak, the highest peak in Texas.
www.nps.gov/gumo
SIERRA BLANCA Leaving the town along F.M. 1111 and traveling north offers more than 40 miles to enjoy the desert beauty, including blooming yuccas in March and April.
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The Chinati Foundation in Marfa is an art museum founded by Donald Judd.
ing cliffs. Visitors should contact the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau for addi- tional restaurant options. An El Paso outing is incomplete without a
trip up the Wyler Aerial Tramway. Te four- minute glide of the tram car up to the top at Franklin Mountains State Park takes visitors to a viewing platform with a 7,000-square-mile view of three states in two nations.
★ PAINTED PAST Petroglyph and pictograph sites, many of
which can be found along the Rio Grande, are a beautiful part of Big Bend Country. Both Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park have examples of picto- graphs. However, people specifically seeking rock art generally head to Hueco Tanks State Park and Seminole Canyon State Park, with a potential side trip to nearby Lake Amistad National Recreation Area. About 32 miles northeast of El Paso, Hueco
Tanks State Park is named for the natural rock depressions where rainwater pools. People who sought water, food and shelter at the site leſt pictographs in crevices among the park boulders. Pioneers also marked their visit on the rocks. Among the images of handprints, dancing figures and horses is one of the largest groupings of masks or face designs In North America. Visitors, both self-guided and guided tours, should expect
to climb boulders to reach the rock art. Te guided tours (by reservation Wednesdays through Sundays) include three different routes and difficulty that provide access to areas not open to self-guided excursions. Seminole Canyon State Park’s Fate Bell
Shelter near Comstock contains some of the oldest pictographs in North America. Te only way to visit the shelter is by guided tours, usually Wednesdays through Sundays. Be prepared to climb down steps to enter the can- yon area. Ten enjoy an easy walk along the canyon floor before climbing up to the Fate Bell Shelter. Some of the rock art has faded, so interpretive panels with watercolor renditions of the paintings from the book “Te Rock Art of Texas Indians” help viewers. Nearby Amistad National Recreation
Area has Panther (jointly managed with Seminole Canyon State Park) and Parida caves; both are only accessible by boat. Pan- ther Cave’s rear wall is covered with hun- dreds of pictographs. Boaters travel about 10 miles and climb a 60-food staircase to an ele- vated catwalk to view the artwork, including a 10-foot-long red-painted panther. Parida Cave was a stop on the Southern Pacific transcontinental railroad. Travelers in the late 1880s unfortunately painted graffiti over and adjacent to the prehistoric pictographs, but it still shows the sights and sounds of a remote prehistoric rock shelter. Lake levels may affect the ability to reach the sites.
PHOTO: J. GRIFFIS SMITH/TXDOT
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