Concho River 11k Walk in San Angelo, Texas - Monday, April 18, 2022

What an unexpectedly lovely 6.8-mile walk we had today! It was 56 degrees and breezy when we started from the Red Lion Hotel at 8:55 am. From the moment we crossed the street out of the Red Lion parking lot, we started walking on the Concho River Trail. 

The Concho River in San Angelo, Texas.

Rio Concho Park beckoned. The
right-hand trail stayed along the river.

The Concho River, San Angelo, TX.

Today's walk will take us through the San Angelo Historic District and along the rivers. After a short walk next to the river, we went up to street level to cross the river on a bridge. As soon as we crossed, we saw more of the Art in Uncommon Places (AIUP). [See yesterday's blog for a full report on AIUP.]

Art in Uncommon Places.

And then we were in downtown San Angelo amongst many murals and Painted Ewes, not to mention the cool historic buildings.

The historic building below has been converted into "Think Inside the Box," an Escape Room.

Think Inside the Box.

I must say, after seeing other stockyards around the country, this one tickled my funny bone because it's so small!

Downtown San Angelo Stockyard.

Eggemeyer's General Store in 
old San Angelo, Texas.

A beautiful mural on an
antique shop.

A pink chandelier (you know
you want one. LOL).

San Angelo Military History Mural.

Leddy Hand-made Boots.

Scope out the boots on Leddy's painted ewe in the photo below. Leddy's has been making and selling boots and saddles since 1922.

Leddy Boots' Ewe.

I took close-up photos of the different parts of the military mural (seen above).

Goodfellow Air Force Base.

Kudos to the creator of this 
wonderful, three-part mural!

San Angelo Army Air Field.

Fort Concho.

Close-up of Department of Texas
Federal Forts. 

You can see in the photo above why Fort Concho was so important from 1866-1890. It was responsible for protecting the Butterfield-Overland Stage Line, the San Antonio Military Road, the Goodnight-Loving Cattle Trail, the Chisolm Cattle Trail, and the settlers in the area.

I like the "Sassy Fox."

A better view of Eggemeyer's 
General Store.

History from the late 1800s.

"Merino Antoinette," by Laurel Dane.

Jesse Rose Boutique - This building's second
floor is decorated to look like a bordello.

Miss Hattie's Restaurant and 
Cathouse Lounge sounds like fun.

History of this block.

The San Angelo National 
Bank described above.

Chadbourne Street Mural.

Mercer Boots.

Angry Cactus Bar & Grill.

OK, I plan to make a trip here!!!

These shoes were sitting on 
top of the trash can!

Take heed, men!

Bob on the boardwalk in historic 
downtown San Angelo, Texas.

Picture-taking was fun today. I asked Bob to take my photo a few times because there were quirky things to see.

I might have to
become a pop-art
zebra for Halloween!

The Lion's Club ewe.

Cut-out bison.

The Irving Street low-water crossing.

After we crossed the bridge, we
continued on the Concho River Trail
on the other side.

Who is this handsome man on the path?
I'm crushin' on him.

On this side of the river, we passed the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts buildings, more Art in Uncommon Places, and then made our way into the Visitor Center.

Cypress along the Concho River.

AIUP - a VW Beetle facing
into the ground. 

The other side of the VW art
is a bench.

A tile VW Bug.

And pick-up truck tile art.

The San Angelo Visitor Center.

On the back flank of the ewe below, there is a painting of the Concho Pearl. The Concho River is home to about 12 varieties of the Tampico pearly mussel (Cyrtonaias tampicoensis). The natural Concho pearls are harvested from freshwater mussels. However, they are rare now and very expensive. They only grow in lakes around San Angelo, Texas. 

According to an article in Rock&Gem magazine from March 3, 2019, by Helen Serras-Herman, "Pearl production has dropped dramatically during recent decades because of drought, poor quality of water due to pollution, chemicals and siltation, reduced water levels due to dams and irrigation, and excessive overharvesting." (If you click on the Rock&Gem link above, you can read more fascinating facts about the unique Tampico pearly mussels!)

The Visitor Center ewe. You can see
migrating monarchs painted on its head.

Must give equal time to the 
other side of the ewe.

"Las Dos Angelas," by
John Noelke. (2005)

"Las Dos Angelas," by
John Noelke. (2005)

The Visitor Center front entrance. (We
went in the back entrance.)

The "AVA: America's Walking Club"
brochure in the Visitor Center.

Texas has a lot of counties. Below is a photo of all the county courthouses in Texas. Impressive!

What to look for in Texas and 
mileages from point to point in Texas.

Info on the Concho River.

The pretty grounds behind the
Visitor Center next to the river.

Tile art under a bridge.

After the Visitor Center, we crossed back over the Concho River and ventured back downtown. 

We're about to cross over 
the river.

Bob on the bridge.

The San Angelo Visitor Center.

Another ewe...no artist listed.

One of many fountains along
the Concho River.

Another pedestrian bridge.

The Girl Scout building.

Following the Concho River.

Here we are in San Angelo's
Historic Downtown again.

Painted ewe in front of Anita Title (2016).

This is described on our walk 
instructions as "The Ranching Mural."

Santa Rita Oil Well #1, 1923.

The Santa Rita Oil Well #1 is the well that launched Texas's Permian Basin oil field. Frank T. Pickrell recalled how the Santa Rita Oil Well got its name. [Information is from a PB Oil & Gas article, October 12, 2017, by Bobby Weaver.]

From an interview with Frank T. Pickrell in 1969: "The name Santa Rita originated in New York. Some of the stock salesmen had engaged a group of Catholic women to invest in Group 1 stock. These women were a little worried about the wisdom of their investment and consulted with a priest. He apparently was also somewhat skeptical and suggested to the women that they invoke the help of Santa Rita who was the Patron Saint of the Impossible! As I was leaving New York on one of my trips to the field two of these women handed me an envelope and told me that the envelope contained a red rose that had been blessed by the priest in the name of the saint. The two women asked me to take the rose back to Texon with me and climb to the top of the derrick and scatter the rose petals, which I did."

The whole article about the history of the Permian Basin oil field is well worth a read. So click on the link to the article above the quote!

Cotton ranching.

Cattle ranching

Hereford cattle ranching. 

Sheep shearing.

Sheep-shearing record.

Sheep ranching.

Tom Green County building.

Tom Green County Courthouse.

San Angelo City Hall.

Stephens Central Library.

There is only one thing on this walk that really disappointed me: The walk does not have pour walkers go through Paintbrush Alley! If you read my blog from yesterday afternoon, you know how much I loved that place. Most of the art in Paintbrush Alley honors the 1956 movie "Giant." It's such a cool spot! If you want to visit it, Paintbrush Alley is between #15 and #16 on the 11k Concho River Walk directions. Look for it on the left side of the street after crossing Twohig.

Look for this sign painted on a dumpster
at the entrance to Paintbrush Alley.

Such a great spot for a photo!

If you do enter Paintbrush Alley, be sure to watch your footing. There are uneven surfaces. The Alley is about three blocks long. Return to the walk route at the spot you veered from it. From Paintbrush Alley it is 1-1/2 blocks to the river. 

Now we're headed to the river. On our way to the Visitor Center, we turned right on the river after the low-water crossing. This time, we're turning left before the low-water crossing. Ahead of us is a park called The Bosque on the Concho.

The Bosque on the Concho.

This park on the river has a small miniature golf course, a tile art pick-up truck with a picnic table as the bed of the truck, and a lot of art along the river.

Bob and I could just imagine how early a family would have to get to the park to snag this picnic table for lunch.

Another fountain along the River Walk.

Fish art.

More fish art.

Art under a bridge.

Bob patiently waited for me to take
a ton of photos. Thanks, honey.

A man-made waterfall.

Celebration pedestrian bridge
at 4k(!) on the walk. We're not
even halfway yet.

Pearl of the Concho
mermaid sculpture.

Bob is walking toward the 
Museum of Fine Arts.

Types of fish in the 
Concho River.

Water education.

How the system works.

Bob used to work for a commercial roofing company that installed metal roofs. He said the metal roof on the art museum is unique and looks very complicated.

"Garden Sprite," by
L'Deane Trueblood.

Looking toward the 
Aeromotor Windmill.

"Passing it On," by Linda Chandler.

Typical late 19th-century house in
Old Town Historic District.

Zenker house built in 1900.

Allen-Hartgrove house built in 1909.

An old church.

A. J. Baker & Co., Bankers (1899).

The building in the next photo has a story to go along with it. It used to be the Santa Fe Railway Freight House. I went a little out of my way to get this photo. When I caught up with Bob, I found out that this is now a senior center. Bob was waiting for me in the shade near the entrance. When I caught up to him, he said a lady had invited him to go in and have lunch. She told him it was very good and he would meet a lot of interesting people. Too funny! I can't leave him alone for a minute.

The Senior Center.

A local business.

San Angelo's first historic mural.

The old Santa Fe Railroad Depot.

Fort Concho National Historic Landmark.
(We will visit this tomorrow.)

We spent a number of blocks walking along a busy road in an industrial area and a sketchy neighborhood. We then walked next to the wastewater treatment plant. Stinky!

From there we crossed the historic Lone Wolf Bridge over the Concho River.

Lone Wolf Bridge.

Lone Wolf Bridge.

AIUP "Forever Love."

We walked 2k through South Concho Park until we reached Bell Street and then crossed a bridge. Below the bridge was a dam. Bell Street Lake is formed by the convergence of the North & South Concho Rivers behind that dam.

South Concho Park.

Bell Street Lake (you can see 
where the two rivers merge).

More art.

Concho River Trail points of interest.

We are now 2k from the finish of our walk. For 1k, we will walk along the lake. The last 1k back to the hotel takes us across the river and through James M. Rogers Gazebo Garden and then under a railroad trestle.

James M. Rogers Gazebo Garden.

Winecup or Poppy Mallow wildflowers.

And with that, we could see the Red Lion Hotel and the fountain in their parking lot. We made it! 

And if you read this far, you're a real trooper. This was such a fun walk, I just kept writing about it. 

We headed home for lunch. Both of us were very hungry. Bob cooked a wonderful bean, cheese, avocado, and tomato omelet for us. We also had toast and black seedless grapes. It was a very yummy lunch. Thanks, Bob. You're a keeper!!

Tomorrow, we are doing the Fort Concho & Water-Lily Garden 10k walk.