Tag Archives: Hueco Tanks

There was a time, not so very long ago, when access to Hueco Tanks was unrestricted.  Hundreds of thousands visited every year.  But, as usual, there are always a few idiots who ruin a good thing for everyone else.  Now visitation is tightly controlled, with a maximum number of visitors allowed into the park at any given moment.  It’s best to call ahead to reserve a time, or you could face a long wait.  Our wait was around an hour or so, but we went during the off season on a school day.

Ancient Petroglyphs

Why the concern?  Why the restrictions?  Why must you view a video at the re-purposed ranch house before setting out onto the trails?  Here’s why:

Ancient Pictographs alongside more recent Historical Inscriptions and destructive graffiti

It takes a special kind of moron to do that sort of damage to a historical site that is also considered  sacred ground by the Tigua Indian Tribe at the nearby Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (more on the Spanish Mission at Ysleta del Sur next week, as David Williams tours with Ursula and me the famous El Paso Mission Trail).

Hueco Tanks Boulders

It’s easy to see why Hueco Tanks is sacred ground.  Just look at all the plentiful flora it supports:

Mexican Bird of Paradise

Prickly Pear Cactus

Prickly Pear Cactus

Mesquite Tree

Ocotillo in Bloom

Cactus Blooms

Cactus Blooms

Last week I hinted to you the importance of the wetlands located within Hueco Tanks.  Beginning over 10,000 years ago this oasis supplied critically needed water to the Clovis and later Folsom Paleo-Indian cultures.  Later cultures supported here were the Mesilla and Doña Ana phases, stretching into the Mogollon Culture which I detailed in my series on the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site (links to Part 1,  Part 2, and  Part 3) .   Eventually the Mescalero Apache moved into the area

Sand Verbana

More recently (1857-1861) Hueco Tanks served as a convenient watering hole for the famous but short-lived Butterfield Overland Mail Trail that connected St. Louis to San Francisco, since Hueco Tanks was still some 30 very long and trying miles/48 kilometers from the settlement of Franklin (later called El Paso).

Butterfield Overland Trail Map

 So, as you can see, Hueco Tanks has a long and very rich history.  But history didn’t just end here with the demise of the Butterfield Overland Mail Trail.  There was another chapter would begin with the arrival of U.S. Cavalry troops, and eventually the 25th Infantry Regiment, one of the four established  Buffalo Soldier Regiments that helped to tame the Wild West during the height of the Indian Wars.  And, yes, these troops did indeed quench their thirsts here at Hueco Tanks on their many patrols away from Fort Bliss.

Buffalo Soldiers at El Paso’s Fort Bliss in 1916

A little shocking trivia for you:

Question:  In what year did the American Indian Wars end?

Answer:  1924

That’s right.  Less than 100 years ago, after World War I and during the Roaring Twenties.  Just think about that for a moment.  When the Roy Rogers Show aired in 1951, the American Indian Wars were still recent history having ended only 27 years prior.  Have Gun – Will Travel was only 33 years removed, and The Rifleman a mere 34 years after the last raid in Southern Arizona at the end of the Renegade Period and the Apache Wars.  The Mexican Indian Wars would last yet another nine years — until 1933.  No wonder Westerns were so popular in the 1950s-1960s.

Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

And here is today’s photo gallery (check out the Victory Claim following the gallery):

Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

Prickly Pear Flowers

Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

Prickly Pear

Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site

Victory is Mine (I hope):  My long-standing battle with the Destinary website, owner Sonia Bosquez-Platt, and her business Indianapolis Tour & Travel may at long last have come to an end.  As you’ll recall Destinary has repeatedly and without permission or compensation used my travel blog posts for commercial gain.  They did so without proper attribution and with “links” that went nowhere, all the while claiming that my posts were, “Posted on (fill in the date) | By destinary,” thereby falsely (and I believe deliberately) implying that they had originated the material.

Apparently Destinary got tired of running on their own website my rant on their ludicrous claim to my intellectual property.  They haven’t reposted any of my material for quite some time now.  I guess they tired of their own site calling attention to potential clients that they were claiming as their own material to which they did not have rights or permission to use.

But I’m cautious in my optimism. I almost declared victory once before after a months-long absence of such repostings, only to have Destinary start up again.  Rest assured, however, that if Destinary slides back into their wanton ways I will without hesitation declare war once again.  And it’ll get even uglier next time.