Spring Training Trip - Day 16

We got an early start this morning for the longest travel day of our trip, a 550 mile drive from Tucson, AZ to Fort Stockton, TX.  We were on the road by 7:40 am  and headed east under clear skies and dry roads on I-10.  Being Saturday, I guess, traffic was fairly light - just us and the truckers, a few locals near the small towns across the desert, and some RVs, but not many.


You never know for sure what to expect on this stretch of highway.  In the past, we have encountered dust storms, high winds, and heavy rain - sometimes all at once.  Luckily, this trip we couldn't have asked for better conditions.  The temperature was pretty close to the low 60's all the way,the skies were clear skies and there was little if any wind.  It made 9 hours of driving almost tolerable.


We did hit a lot of traffic going through El Paso, TX (as usual) and stopped for lunch at a rest stop east of town.  Since the pictures are few today, I thought I would just add them into the blog.  (Clicking on the pictures will make them larger).

Lunch in the RV

View from the rest stop - looking toward Mexico

The scenery along the way had its moments, but we had seen it before (and documented in previous blogs).  We've included a few road shots on the way to Fort Stockton however, just so we remember how much space is out here and what the road looks like.  The speed limit most of the way through Texas on the portion of I-10 we were on is 80 mph.  Most of the trucks were cruising at 75 mph; we had the cruise control set on 70 mph and didn't have any problems.

We arrived at the Fort Stockton RV Park about 6:15 pm (we are now in the Central Time Zone).  The park is O.K. for an overnight stay and the people are nice.  We are also staying here in April on the way home and get a 20% discount for a return stay.

On the way into town we noticed wrought iron sculptures on the ridge lines.  They are western figures and accompany a sign saying Fort Stockton.  The picture we were able to take from the RV is not very descriptive, but the sculptures make a nice touch to the approach to town

Fort Stockton  has an interesting history.  Since early pre-historic times, the area around here (Comanche Springs) has had water and has been a major crossroads of trails in the area.  The springs used to flow 80 million gallons of water daily, and made this place a  way station along several well-traveled routes.

To protect travelers along these routes, the U.S. Army established Camp Stockton in 1858. The post was abandoned during the Civil War, but was reestablished in 1867.  By 1886, after the "Indian Menace"  was no longer a threat, the fort was once again abandoned.  The town of Fort Stockton however continued to grow and experienced several "booms" including railroad, farming, and ranching.  Oil was also discovered nearby in 1926, including the world's fourth  largest oil reserve.  A seven year drought in the 1950's and increased irrigation for farming dried up the springs as the water table dropped.

An editorial note: Some people are concerned about a planned above-ground oil pipeline running from Canada to  Houston, TX  potentially damaging the ground water in the Oglala Aquifer covering much of the mid-west.  A more serious threat to the aquifer receiving little attention is the continued lowering of the water table in the aquifer due to agricultural demands and increased growth and development in this naturally arid part of the country. Extraction of groundwater in the aquifer continues to exceed recharging and a water crisis in in the future is almost certain to occur.

It is on to San Antonio tomorrow with a much shorter drive.