Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs"), Presidio County, TX (November 24-26, 2019)

In November 2002, Brenda and I went with some friends to Chinati Hot Springs (the name of the business operating at what is officially known as Ruidosa Hot Springs). On that trip, our friend Bill Corrigan proposed to Lucia Athens, and she said yes. So this November 2019 trip was kind of a return to the source. The source of the hot spring water and the source of Bill & Lucia's now 15-year marriage. May they have many more years!

To make the trip even more enjoyable, we ran into Myron Hess & Gail Rothe, who coincidentally arrived just after us on Sunday the 24th. Then by chance Janine Bergin & Bill Breaux came in on the next day with four of their friends, all from Austin. So we had a big gathering of Austin folks and a good time sharing the communal kitchen, hot springs, and campfire.


View of the Chinati Hot Springs oasis from the hill above.

We only put down a few birds, because we were doing lots of other things besides birding. The few that we saw on the trip and approximate numbers. (Posted on eBird at https://ebird.org/checklist/S62081550?share=true)
White-winged dove - 10
Killdeer - 2 in Hot Springs Creek
Ladder-backed woodpecker - 2
Ruby-crowned kinglet - 2
Canyon wren - 1
Northern mockingbird - 2
Lesser goldfinch - 25
Northern cardinal - 2
Pyrrhuloxia - 1

From here, Bill & Lucia and Brenda & I headed over to Big Bend Ranch State Park and camped in the Grassy Banks campground. https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/cliftonladd/29345-grassy-banks-campground-big-bend-ranch-state-park-presidio-county-tx-nov-26-27-2019


Three favorites: sunburst diving beetle (Thermonectus marmoratus), a short-wing katydid (Dichopetala sp.), and a potter wasp (Eumenes bollii).

(Notes 146: 14-21)

Posted on December 10, 2019 05:29 AM by cliftonladd cliftonladd

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Aoudad (Ammotragus lervia)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 09:50 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").
After consulting Glass (1973) "Key to the skulls of North American mammals," I think this is Ammotragus lervia.

Photos / Sounds

What

Buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:23 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Little Walnut (Juglans microcarpa)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 04:28 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Texas Brown Tarantula (Aphonopelma hentzi)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 26, 2019 10:29 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Lotebush (Sarcomphalus obtusifolius)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 10:26 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Common Flesh Flies (Genus Sarcophaga)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 10:43 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 10:45 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Creosote Moth (Digrammia colorata)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 10:51 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 10:59 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:02 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

American Three-square Bulrush (Schoenoplectus americanus)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:02 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Screwbean (Strombocarpa pubescens)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:04 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:10 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Mule Fat (Baccharis salicifolia)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:19 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:27 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Skeletonleaf Goldeneye (Sidneya tenuifolia)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:38 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Leatherstem (Jatropha dioica)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:39 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Brown-spined Pricklypear Complex (Complex Opuntia phaeacantha)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:46 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Yellow Trumpet Flower (Tecoma stans)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:48 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Double-banded Bycid (Sphaenothecus bilineatus)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:57 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Boll's Potter Wasp (Eumenes bollii)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 12:06 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Sunburst Diving Beetle (Thermonectus marmoratus)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 12:46 PM CST

Description

In Hot Springs Creek, downstream from Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Milky Backswimmers (Genus Notonecta)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 12:50 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 11:29 AM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Hairy Grama (Bouteloua hirsuta)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 03:52 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Christmas Cholla (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 03:55 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Southern Cattail (Typha domingensis)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 04:11 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 04:37 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Texas Virgin's Bower (Clematis drummondii)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 04:47 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Five-stamen Tamarisk (Tamarix chinensis)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 04:53 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Willows (Genus Salix)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 04:55 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 05:08 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

Whorled Pennywort (Hydrocotyle verticillata)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 25, 2019 05:26 PM CST

Description

At Ruidosa Hot Springs (dba "Chinati Hot Springs").

Photos / Sounds

What

North American Deer Mice (Genus Peromyscus)

Observer

cliftonladd

Date

November 26, 2019 08:34 AM CST

Description

I caught only this one mouse, using 10 traps in one night. Caught at the edge of the brush along Hot Springs Creek, just downstream of Ruidosa Hot Springs, about 20 m from the edge of the creek, and about 5 m above it.

Elevation approx. 3,480 feet.

Tail shorter than head and body, and sharply bicolored.

Comments

I never heard of this place but now I want to visit it!

Posted by mikaelb over 4 years ago

I recommend it! We camped there ($25/person/night). The cabins cost around $160/night, I think.

Posted by cliftonladd over 4 years ago

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