Until recently, only a bullet-pocked, vandalized state historical marker, erected in 1936, miles off the paved road, gave any hint of the wrenching frontier dramas that once played out here, 30 miles northeast of Fort Stockton.
As the marker inscription notes, the crossing got its odd name from the bleached animal skulls found hanging from bushes by a government surveyor in 1850.
Will have to add that to my bucket list. There is a reason for the fame of the phrase Law west of the pecos.
ReplyDeleteSpent a night in Ft. Stockton back in the mid 80s, man that place was in the middle of nowhere. 2 truck stops and a motel.....
ReplyDeleteJD
It's interesting how someplace so key to a region and its history becomes an out of the way backwater once modern road building removes geography from the equation.
ReplyDeleteSimilar spots include Box Canyon in eastern San Diego County or the Guernsey Ruts in Wyoming.
Fort Stockton is a booming oilfield town now. Just recently a new huge Walmart superstore opened.Big as any I've seen elsewhere!!
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