Hebbronville and Falfurrias, Texas

First timer?  In this formerly once-a-day blog (and now pretty much a once-a-week blog), I use an app that provides a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48).  I call this “landing.”

I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town or towns I land near.  I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. 

To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is) please see “About Landing” above.  To check out some relatively recent changes in how I do things, check out “About Landing (Revisited).”

Landing number 2459; A Landing A Day blog post number 895.

Dan:  Today’s lat/long (N27^o 6.275’, W98^o 34.066’) puts me in South Texas:

 

My local landing map:

I spent some time on Google Earth (GE), trying to figure out my drainage pathway across this arid, stream-less landscape.  More-or-less, I figured that I landed in the watershed of Los Olmos Creek.  Here’s my streams-only map:

So the Los Olmos (which means “the elms”) discharges to Laguna Salada (not labeled, the small bay into which the Los Olmos discharges); on to Baffin Bay (sounds veritably Canadian), to Laguna Madre, the bay behind Padre Island.

Even though I landed out in the boonies, I did have decent GE Street View coverage of my landing:

And here’s what the Orange Dude sees:

I had to send the OD about 50 miles east to get a look at the Los Olmos Creek:

And here ‘tis:

And was I sure that this was Los Olmos Creek?  Thanks to the Texas State DOT (as usual), yes I was:

I suspect that it’s tidal – I don’t think that much water would be flowing out of the desert . . .

While checking out my landing on GE, I noticed a peculiar pattern of paths or roads:

I zoomed in to get a better look:

And looked in close nearby:

I could see no hint of these “roads” using Street View.  Bottom line:  I have no idea what they are!  The South Texas version of the Nazca Lines?  Maybe . . . 

I suspect that this is a shot in the dark, but any local readers who have a clue would be welcome to post a comment!

So, Hebbronville (pop 4600) is close to my landing, but it had no decent hook that I could find.  But I did find this video, which gives a little history and the flavor of the area:

 

Moving 30 miles east of Hebbronville, we hit Falfurrias.  Not unexpectedly, this town shares a distinction with Hebbronville:  both are the only place in the entire world with their respective names.

Falfurrias (pop 5,000) was named by Edward Lasater (the town’s founding father), after his ranch.  So how did his ranch get its name?  From Wiki:

Town founder Edward C. Lasater stated that Falfurrias was derived from a Lipan word meaning “the land of heart’s delight”. Others believed that it was the Spanish name for a native desert flower known as the heart’s delight. [Who cares what “others believed?”]

Another theory [and who needs another theory?] is that Falfurrias is a misspelling of one or another Spanish or French word. Still another [yet another??] theorizes that the name refers to a local shepherd named Don Filfarrias. The term filfarrias is Mexican slang for “dirty and untidy”.  [Sure, sure.  Of course, Mr. Lasater would name his ranch after some dirty and untidy shepherd . . .]

Falfurrias is known as the home to a shrine honoring Don Pedro Jaramillo (?? – 1907).  From Wiki:

Don Pedro Jaramillo, was a curandero, faith healer, and folk saint from the South Texas Valley region. He is known as “the healer of Los Olmos creek [hey!  That’s my watershed!] and “el mero jefe” (the real chief) of the curanderos.

“Curanderos” has its own Wiki entry (and it mentions our Don Pedro):

A curandero is a traditional native healer/shaman found in Latin America, the United States and Southern Europe. The curandero’s life is dedicated to the administration of remedies for mental, emotional, physical and spiritual illnesses.

The role of a curandero can also incorporate the roles of psychiatrist along with that of doctor and healer. Some curanderos, such as Don Pedro, the Healer of Los Olmos, make use of simple herbs, waters, and even mud to effect their cures.

Others add Catholic elements, often found alongside native religious elements. Many curanderos emphasize their native spirituality in healing while being practicing Roman Catholics.

Curanderos are often respected members of the community. Believers consider their powers to be supernatural and think that many illnesses are caused by lost malevolent spirits, a lesson from God, or a curse.

Want to learn more about SeñorJaramillo and learn a little about Falfurrias, as well?  Check this out:

 

Time to close out this post with a photo posted on GE.  About 20 miles SE of my landing is this shot of the “Tacubaya Truck Waterfall,” by Bob Chavez:

I couldn’t help myself.  I found out that the cool truck waterfall is at the “The Barn at Tacubaya Ranch,” an event venue owned and operated by the Chavez family.  From their website:

That’ll do it . . .

KS

Greg

 

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