The Devil's River comes into view and is maybe a hundred feet wide, and is the clearest river I have ever seen - the bottom can be seen across the entire river.  I splashed the day's heat off my head, removed my shoes and socks and waded in. The spring-fed water was refreshingly cold.  Our canoe outfitter tells us this river is one of the cleanest in the world, largely untouched by the hands (or feet) of mankind.

We poked our noses into the brush along the river bank, looking for herps. I managed to scare up a small Rio Grande Leopard Frog (Rana berlandieri), a species I had failed to photograph in south Texas the previous February. On rocky ledges near the river bank we found several Tree Lizards (Urosaurus ornatus), a new species for all of us. A pair of old friends also scampered across the rocks, Merriam's Canyon Lizards (Sceloporus merriami) and the Desert Side-Blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana).

All too soon, our hosts had picked up their canoes and were ready to head back up the road, so we piled back in the van and jolted our way back to where the Blazer was parked. After exchanging thanks and goodbyes to our guides, we decided to push on to the campgrounds at Seminole Canyon. The primitive campgrounds here at the Devil's River State Natural Area were more primitive than we were prepared for - no water, no bathrooms, and the campsites were merely open areas bulldozed flat and cleared of brush.

Even though the area wouldn't serve as a base of operations, we were glad to have checked the area out, and now we no longer had to wonder about the big green splotch on the map. Perhaps we'll make it back one day, but for now it was time to reach our camp at Seminole Canyon, and prepare for the night's road cruising.