Seminole Canyon State Park

After Big Bend National Park, Terlingua, and Big Bend Ranch State Park, I drove a few hours east and stayed the night in Del Rio, Texas. The next morning I visited Seminole Canyon State Park before returning to Austin for the last time as a resident of the state.

Seminole Canyon showcases some of the oldest rock art in North America. Dry climate and shady overhangs protect Lower Pecos River Style petroglyphs believed to have been created over 4,000 years ago by Archaic Indians. Although little is known about the meaning of the art or its creators, experts today believe the paintings were of great cultural and religious significance and likely made under the influence of peyote or other hallucinogens that grow naturally in the area.

I began my day at the park with a ranger-guided tour of Fate Bell Shelter. That is the only way to see the petroglyphs up close. Then I hiked three miles out into the desert along the canyon rim to the point where Seminole Canyon merges with the Rio Grande. Across the canyon, I used binoculars to catch a glimpse of Panther Cave, a rock overhang with an abstract, nine-foot long panther petroglyph on its back wall.