Escapees January-February 2023

skp stops

Celebrating Pueblo History and Culture Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site 6900 Hueco Tanks Road No. 1, El Paso, TX 79938, 915-857-1135, tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/hueco-tanks

“A Generous Gift” by Rene Agredano #103274, in the September/October 2017 Escapees magazine tells the story of an Escapees park manager being asked by terminally ill park resident, Rita Poe, to distribute nearly $800,000.00 of her money to various public lands after her death. A side bar in the article, “The Impacts of Rita Poe’s Generosity” lists 12 places where her money was given. One of those places was Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site, 20 miles east of El Paso, Texas. Hueco State Park contains the largest concentration of painted mask pictographs in North America and was recently designated a National Historic Landmark. We had a fun day there with a lot of rocks to climb over and under. One trail used chain railings to help us up, and had pictographs in a cave where we had to sort of lie down to get in to see the eight masks. Access to the park is restricted to protect the fragile areas. They issue permits for 70 people per day to access the North Mountain area where people can go without a guide. During the busy season you have to get a permit ahead but this time of year on a weekday (March) they told us to just show up. We drove in, got in line, fi lled out the paperwork and then went to the interpretive center (former 1898 ranch house) for a fi ve minute explanation of where we could and could

not walk. We were not to step into a hueco. Huecos are indented areas in rocks that collect rain water. Tiny shrimp and toads lay their eggs there. When the hueco dries up, the eggs lie dormant but if you walk in one, you kill the eggs. The next rainy season the eggs hatch and the life cycle starts over again. If you walk to Cave Kiva where there are eight picto graphs, get directions from a ranger at the interpretive center as the cave is not easy to fi nd. Once you follow the ranger’s directions and get in the general area of the cave, these coordinates may be helpful (31.92369 -106.0465). Other caves can only be accessed with a ranger-led tour. Not many tours were offered when we were there in March. Check their website for further information at https://tpwd.texas.govstate-parks/hueco-tanks. The entrance to the park is at 6900 Hueco Tanks Road No. 1 (31.926453 -106.042437). The day-use fee is $7 per person. There is a campground at the park. Check their webpage for making reservations. A ranger told us it was okay to park overnight along the road outside the park gate, except where it says no parking. As you head toward the park gate, overnight parking is allowed at 31.905417 -106.04845. Joyce Space #61818

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ESCAPEES Magazine January/February 2023