Paisano Pete

We braved the winds and took a ride into town to see the sights. It turned out to be far more interesting than I anticipated.


Our first stop was to see Paisano Pete. He's the world's largest roadrunner at 11 feet tall and 22 feet long. Hilarious!

The visitor center was closed on weekends, so we just followed the signs for the historical tour of Fort Stockton. We had a brochure that described the route and the various stops.


The military presence began here in 1858 with the establishment of Camp Stockton. The post protected travelers and settlers that used the many roads and trails that crossed the Comanche War Trail. By the early 1880's, the indians were no longer a threat and gradually the town evolved around the fort. This is an original guard house and there are also officers quarters and some barracks remaining.


These are the remains of the oldest house that was known to have existed in 1859. It's in total disrepair and is said to house ghosts and spirits. They have erected shelters over the top, but it is still crumbling.


Nearby is Pecos County's original jail built in 1883. Some of the buildings are not marked as historical and at first we were not sure if this was the jail. It's a striking building, but the bars on the tall windows gave it away.

We also visited the town park, the fort cemetery, the oldest remaining school and the Comanche Springs. It was the largest spring in the system and flowed 65 million gallons of water a day.

By this times, the wind was truly howling and we beat it back to the coach. The weather deteriorated throughout the evening and as it got dark, the thunder and lightning storm began. We watched the sky light up over and over while the rain pelted the motorhome. Hail was also predicted but thank heavens, it never arrived. After a couple of hours, the storm subsided and the wind died down to about 35 mph. It was a loooooong night!