Toyahvale Outfitters

About 45 miles from Pecos Texas and not too far off Interstate 10, lay Balmorreha State Park. Set on the foothills of the Trans-Pecos mountain range, waters from high above find their way to a desert oasis and bubble up as the Solomon Springs.  This water has been ever flowing and hydrating the desert orchards of the Apache, Comanche, Spanish and early Texas rancher and farmers for centuries.  In the 1930’s the Civilian Conservation Corp began work on containing and creating a true Texas swimming hole.  Because the water is crystal clear, cold and deep it has drawn SCUBA divers for decades.  Across the highway and around the corner this building, replete with its old signage and fading Texacana motif beg me to paint it in the early morning sun.  The weathering dive flag and the black picket fence, the dead tree and the branding irons hanging on the rafters all said, “Paint me”.  This was the home of the Solomon Springs Outfitter at Toyahvale, Texas.