The Herb Traveler – Texas
herbsdottir on the go

Big Bend National Park, Texas

"The Natural West ... Texas Style -- Cactus" 

Where am I? Some of what I see gives the impression of a majestic doorway to the Beyond; yet, in reality, is a glimpse into Earth's beginnings, the Permian past.  I'm surrounded by the widest expanse of chicory-blue skies, splashed with paintbrush clouds, grounded by pyramidal mountains, mammoth buttes and mesas; these, surrounding volcanic basins.

Sandstone walls are awash in brick-red and apricot.  Grey limestone and creamy volcanic tuff offset the soft greens of a myriad of cactus shapes and sizes.  Getting here requires crossing miles and miles of flat road, Texas Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) line the way; passing acres of ranch land -- cattle and oil country; RV parks; and funky; one-street eclectic towns.  The post office is the true meeting place of these far-flung communities offering hundreds of post office boxes and a chance to say; "hello" to your neighbor.  Here is the 'notice me' call of an approaching train towing the longest strand of working container cars. The railroad helped populate the wild west, and towns grew up around popular train stops.

If you are ready to make an educated guess, we are exploring one of the most remote National Parks in the U.S. -- a true hidden treasure. The southern boundary of this park follows the once mighty, Rio Grande River. 
And so, the name is fitting: Big Bend National Park, Texas.

Set on over 800,000 acres, park lodging is incredibly scarce.  Less than 80 rooms in the lodge and then, more space for camping and RVing.  If you plan to visit, plan to make reservations up to one year in advance.  

And now; let me tell you of some of the amazing cacti, yuccas, and agaves you will encounter in early spring.  There are an abundance of prickly pears in so many sizes and shapes thirsting only for a few drops of rain to open their colorful 'tuna' fruits.  I was completely taken by the Purple Prickly Pear (Opuntia macrocentra). Thorns are extremely nasty, however, these can be beautiful used as an ornamental.

The Texas Prickly Pear (Opuntia lindheimeri), its young leaves, called nopalitos, are commonly eaten and can be prepared several ways; and, the fruits of this cactus are used for making jellies. The Blind Prickly Pear (Opuntia rufida) called by this name because there are no visible spines but thousands of sharp, tiny bristles 
called glochids.  Cattle munch on this succulent and its leaves are fried and boiled in several southwest dishes.

March is the month that the Giant Daggar yucca (Yucca faxoniana) is in bloom.  A single scarlet and almond blossom may weigh as much as 70 pounds and provide the most amazing bouquet a bride would ever carry - a real show stopper and the flowers are edible!

The Sotol Cactus (Dasylirion leiophyllum) has so many uses.  Native Americans wove the leaves into mats. The heart of the plant can be roasted and eaten.  And, perhaps its most notable feature is as an alcoholic drink, called 'sotol', is distilled from the spongy trunk.

The forbidding Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), pronounced 'o-co-TEE-yo', whose roots are used to treat swelling; and because this branching plant has the ability to grow when only the stem is placed in the ground, early settlers constructed 'living fences' for corrals and other enclosures.

Candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica), pronounced 'can-de- Lee-ya', grows in masses of soft green, leafless stems and a wax is extracted by boiling the plants for candles and other products.  This was a thriving commercial product in the 19th century for polishes, chewing gum and soap.

Well, an appropriate ending to this tale will be some lyrics from Roy Rogers and Dale Evans: 'Happy trails to you until we meet again.'