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SWIMMING
TO MEXICO
Part
IV by
John Troesser WATER: Fort Clark and San
Felipe Springs,
Lake Amistad and Devil’s River
TOWNS: Brackettville,
Del Rio and Ciudad Acuna
FROM DALLAS : Glen
Rose |
Swimming
to Mexico, Part III
FORT CLARK SPRINGS is a former Cavalry Post, which
has been turned into a private resort, owned by its members. Berms have been added
to the old parade ground, which is now a golf course, but the main attraction
continues to be the spacious spring-fed pool. (Las Moras Springs). Rooms
are available at the 38-room hotel which was formerly a barracks. Guests are allowed
the use of the pool for the length of their stay. 210-563-2493. Rates are comparable
to hotels in Del Rio and Uvalde. The pool is not comparable to pools in Del Rio
or Uvalde. When you go, just remember that the pool closes Thursdays for cleaning.
A museum and many well preserved buildings make it easy to imagine life here in
the 1860s. The Post Theater remains as it was in 1946, the year the Post was decommissioned. |
| The
pool at Fort Clark (Las Moras Springs)
TE photo |
BRACKETTVILLE
is named after Oscar Brackett who was a sutler to the Fort. This is the county
seat of Kinney County and the 1910 beaux-arts Courthouse
will be seen at the intersection of James and Ann streets.
ALAMO
VILLAGE (Information updated April,
2000)
If you follow the signs north on Hwy 674 you’ll
find Alamo Village, the movie set built for the 1959 John Wayne movie.
Open nine to five, seven days a week. Call them for information at 830-563-2580
or visit their website t: www.alamovillage.com
In addition to the Alamo
replica (which most tourists prefer to the real item), there’s a complete
western town circa 1880s on one side and a Mexican village on the other.
Lonesome Dove was one of the more recent productions filmed here. This is the
largest movie set built outside of Hollywood.
There is a complete full
service restaurant serving homemade Barbecue and Mexican food and the restroom
facilities are much nicer than they were in the 1880s.
As you leave
town, follow the signs to the Seminole Scout Cemetery, just west of town
on 90, then south on 693. Continue west on 90 to Del Rio.
Del
Rio Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save
|
SAN FELIPE SPRINGS
DEL RIO
Besides Ciudad Acuna, Del Rio will be the last city on this particular
tour. As you enter Del Rio you’ll notice a golf course on your right. The road
through the course is San Felipe Springs Road and will take you to the source
of San Felipe Creek. The springs release 90 million gallons of
pure water daily eventually reaching the Gulf of Mexico via the Rio Grande.
Moore City Park with its stone banks offers a safe and shallow
place for kids to play in San Felipe Creek.
The Del Rio Chamber
of Commerce is at 1915 Avenue F. 830-775-3551. Check with them for walking
and driving tours of Del Rio, and information on crossing the border to Ciudad
Acuna. The bridge to Acuna is nearly 3 miles from Del Rio, but all day
parking is available at reasonable rates on the U.S. side.
Del
Rio Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save
|
LAKE AMISTAD
CIUDAD
ACUNA has
a population of nearly 120,000 but is surprisingly clean and tranquil compared
to other border towns. The Dam at Lake Amistad is a good photo opportunity
for the magnificent twin eagle statues (fraternal not identical). If one is there
at dusk, a flag lowering ceremony takes place on the Mexican side with the Mexican
national anthem provided by a tape on a cassette recorder.
The big attraction
of course is Lake Amistad. With 1000 miles of shoreline and 65,000 acres, this
is one lake in Texas (and Mexico) that is not over-fished. Besides fishing, Lake
Amistad offers swimming, boating and even scuba diving. Managed by the National
Park Service, the headquarters is on Hwy 90 just west of the city limits. The
U.S. side has 3 marinas with one reserved for Air Force personnel. The Mexican
side has a marina and a Mexican fishing license is required if you fish that side,
but it is sold at the U.S. marinas as well.
Every October the two cities
have a month long Celebration of Friendship, with races, beauty pageants
and all sorts of festivities, which proves that U.S.– Mexican relations would
fare better without politicians.
Del
Rio Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save
|
For The Adventurous:
DEVIL’S RIVER
Devils
River State Natural Area : 830/395-2133
From Del Rio
take Hwy 277 north for about 40 miles to Loma Alta. Continue
north for three and a half miles, left on Dolan Creek Road for 22 miles. The Devil’s
River State Natural Area has a 12-mile hiking trail. Here the springs feed
the river which empties into Lake Amistad. The Devil’s River would be river #
10 but due to its remoteness we only mention it briefly.
Texas' least-known
Lover's Leap is a
cliff on the Devil's River... more
Del
Rio Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save
We hope you’ve enjoyed traveling with us and look forward to serving you in the
future. Please remain in your car until it comes to a complete stop. Look for
next July’s feature "Swimming back from Mexico".
"Now,
go take on the road." |
BACK
TO
SWIMMING
TO MEXICO - Part III
Water: Medina, Sabinal, Nueces
and Leona Rivers and Rio Frio
Towns: Utopia and Uvalde
SWIMMING
TO MEXICO - Part II
Water: Guadalupe River
Towns:
Boerne, Comfort, Center Point and Kerrville
SWIMMING
TO MEXICO - Part I
Water: McKinney Falls, Aquarena Springs,
San Marcos, Blanco and Pedernales Rivers
Towns: San Marcos, Wimberley
and Blanco
SWIMMING
TO MEXICO - Introduction
Rivers
Included in This Trip
Their Lengths, Sources, and Termination Points
See
Mexico |
GETTING
THERE FROM DALLAS:
For our
Dallas / Ft.
Worth readers:
If swimming to Mexico doesn’t fit your schedule, get out your compass and
draw a 50-mile radius on your map, using Arlington as a center. See all those
lakes? You can explore on your own or wait for next summer’s "Swimming
around in Circles" article.
In addition to all these lakes,
the Brazos and Paluxy Rivers provide excellent tubing and canoeing.
The two rivers converge just south of Glen
Rose in Somervell County, a charming county seat that hosts both the Comanche
Peak Nuclear Power Plant (Tours Mon. – Sat. 9-4) and Dinosaur Valley State
Park (254-897-4588). Split atoms and dinosaurs is a combination second only
to alcohol and firearms, as far as we're concerned.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
Dinosaur footprints are visible in the rock, under the water.
Glen
Rose Chamber of Commerce: 254-897-2286.
To pick up the Swimming
to Mexico trail, go south on I-35 to San Marcos and Aquarena Springs.
Book Your Hotel Here & Save
Dallas
Hotels | Glen
Rose Hotels | More
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