Photo One is Highway 167; it's paved for 26 miles then magically turns into Casa Piedra Rd. Then, it leads to the now defunct community of Casa Piedra, created by the Vaquez family a hundred years ago. By then the road is bladed gravel and rocks and something most cars can travel, though sharp rocks can certainly do in car tires in a heartbeat.
We parked at the ruins--and historical sign--of Alamito, the cemetery for which is across the railroad tracks; the pavement ends a few hundred yards up the road, and we parked here to ride our bikes north on the pavement for 10 miles, enjoying the scenic vastness that's this landscape.
Alamito was a nineteenth century community that fell apart when the wife of the founder died and he moved back east. Nothing in the historical sign or around the remaining structure--pictured here in photos 2-7--tells us what the small room structure here was, of the home, school, and chapel that was originally here. Historical accounts talk about how much more water was here a hundred years ago, and how much of the land around was farmed and ranched, but there is little of that landscape remaining from which to extract more natural riches.
The next real stop was Fort Leaton, a recreated fort originally built by Juan Bustillos in the 1830s, and then bought by Ben Leaton a few years later, at a time when this was true frontier. Leaton's reputation as a scalp-hunter, trader, and a true entrepreneur of the time, plying his trade by playing all sides and showing few scruples in the process. Starting with photo 10 and going through #28, the re-created fort is an interesting structure worth driving down to see. (If you're visiting Big Bend Ranch State Park, a very worthy destination, it's on the way, and you need to stop here for your park permits anyway)
The second to last photo is from The Teepees, where we stopped for bluebonnet photos, and I'm shooting back west toward The Big Hill. The last photo was from our table in the Starlight, a place I haven't eaten in in about 25 years and can also recommend it for atmosphere and good food.