God's Country, West Texas

This past week we were privileged to spend five days at the Limpia house on Limpia Creek north of Fort Davis.  The locals call it "God's Country," a name that needs no explanation.

We used to come out here every other summer for years, but it's been seven long years since we've been here.  Our first evening at the Limpia house in seven years was very poignant.

The cliffs to the right of the house were still flushed with the fading sunset as we drove down to the creek, a mile from the house.

Looking south toward Ft. Davis there was still color in the sky above "Wun Hung Lo" (the lefthand peak) and "Chichi de Juana" (the two-hump peak in the center).  Chichi de Juana is a local name, and we named the one-humped Wun Hung Lo.

A favorite after-dinner tradition of ours is to drive down to the creek and sit on the rocks to watch the sunset while we have family devotions.

Here's the gang:  Herb, Jean-Marc and Jenny, and Kara.  (I'm there, too, of course, but since I'm always behind the camera, you won't see much of me!)

Saturday morning we settled on a drive to Horsethief Canyon for our first outing, driving a trusty ranch truck and the old Jeep.  Cathedral Rock is one of the landmarks behind the house.

More cliffs in the morning sun.

We stopped along the way so that Herb could peel prickly pear cactus fruits for everyone.  He did it so that no one else had to have fingers full of the thin spines which are impossible to avoid.

Looking back we got a different view of Star Mountain than the one we see from the house.

We drove under Bishop's Nose, the pointy rock to the right of the house in the first photo.  It's fascinating how unfamiliar the rock formations look from a different perspective.

An oasis for cattle at a tank with the Three Bears in the background (another of our names).

Kara christened this Butterfly tank for the beautiful flocks flittering all around it.

Crossing over the Jeff Ranch we stopped to visit with owner Bobby McKnight and saw some of his cowboys working cattle.

"Just slip out the back, Jack!"

Yep, that's a road!

The old Horsethief House.  And yes, Horsethief Canyon was named for a horse thief that was tracked there many years ago--and hung on a handy tree.  When I saw some cattle up behind the house, I left our picnic to go see what they were doing.

 Two's company . . .

 . . . and three's a crowd!

This range heifer isn't shy at all.

When you have to Jeep up a 45° slope, it's time for everyone to get out and let Herb take it up, just to be safe.

After climbing up behind the Horsethief House we arrived on the plateau below Rincon Peak.  Rain, rain, please come our way!

This is one of the most beautiful views on all the ranch.  The flat-top peak in the far middle is Star Mountain, across the creek from the Limpia house.  That's how far we'd come!

Kara enjoyed watching the rain in the distance, hoping it was heading this way.

Rincon Peak is an official name that appears on maps, but we call it "Jenny's Tiara," since Jenny was about nine years old and decided it looked like a broken princess' tiara.

She could climb it when she was nine, and she climbed it again with Herb and Jean-Marc.

Life finds a way!

Most of us have something we've chosen a name for on the ranch; this is "Susan's Gargoyle."

Cute range babies . . .

. . . and a protective mama who doesn't like us stopping to look.

"Bye, friends, I've got to go--Mama's calling!"

We could not believe the grass!  The rains started about a week ago, and it doesn't take much for the grass to take off.

Jeff, the cowboy who lives in an old adobe house a mile from the Limpia house, had been out all day on horseback and just gotten home.

The windmill is picturesque in front of Star Mountain, but it mostly relies on electricity to pump water.

Back at the house we were eager to sit on the west porch and relax after a long day on the rough roads.  There's no better way to end the day!