Pinto Canyon

Saturday, May 9, 2020 - Alpine, TX

This morning we ran into the store to pick up some chicken to have a picnic lunch in Pinto Canyon.  Don told us it was very nice and what little I could find on the internet sounded nice also.  Once we got to Pinto Canyon Road, most of the drive was on a dirt road.

Eventually we came upon a sign stating that we were entering Pinto Canyon Ranch.  The next 11 miles are private property and we have to stay on the county road.  It was a beautiful drive; the views were amazing.

The flowers were very beautiful!

This flower had a wonderful aroma, so I posted this picture on Facebook to see if I could find out what it is.

Holly thinks it is Whitehorn Arcacia.  When I looked it up on the internet I think she is right.  :)

We then came across the ruins of an adobe house, which is really hard to see in the picture.  It blends in very well with the scenery.

Then we crossed over a ravine.  I am sure during monsoon season this is full of water.

Then we drove through a small creek with a little bit of water.

Eventually we came to a paved road in the town of Ruidosa.  It is a ghost town.  :)

There is also a General Store and Cantina, but due to Covid-19 it was not open.

We really thought we would come upon a picnic area, but we never did.  We thought we would drive by Chinati Hot Springs, then pull off somewhere to eat our lunch.  :)

Chinati Hot Springs is also closed, but when I got back I looked up information on the resort and it seems like it would be a nice place to spend a night or 2.  :)  For more information check out their website.  Chinati Hot Springs

We finally stopped at a "Y" in the roadparked in the middle of the road, and ate our lunch.  :)  In the 30 minutes we sat there, not a single vehicle was seen.

We decided to drive back on the paved road, so after lunch we drove back down to Ruidosa, turned east, and drove back on the paved road.  :)  It was very hilly (whoop-de-doos), which I tried to take a picture of, but it did not really show up well at all.

Pinto Canyon was not at all what we expected, but it was a very enjoyable drive.

It was another wonderful day!