Family Gatherings

   Family Gatherings 

by

   Mike Capron

Four of July is designed for family gatherings, I love it……..!!!!!!!!!     Anne, Aunt Joan and myself just got back from a 5 day trip full of family gatherings. Ft. Davis and Mark Fillman’s family on Wednesday for a great lunch with them and Wayne Baize at Mark’s Cow Camp in Ft.Davis.  We all left to more family gatherings for the 4th of July. My bunch left for the Spike S near Hueco Tanks and old friends Bonnie and Cindy’s . The Spike S is a beautiful home and gathering place. We left the next morning for the Bobby Jones gathering at Cornudas for the 4th of July. This is a gathering spot for years of locals and friends. Cornudas is the name of a post office, a cafe, a stage stop, and a pile of rocks left from a volcano where Bobby Jones has a 4th of July Gathering of families and friends every year.  We drove 2 hours on dirt roads to get to Bobbys from the El Paso side and it is about the same coming from the east side and Dell City. Well worth the trip for us as the gathering was full of old time friends. We had a great visit and pot luck lunch. I was visiting with Terry Nelson who was raised on the Guitar Ranch between Dell City and Salt Flat. I day worked there when I first went to work on the Six Bar Ranch in the early 70’s. I got lost in a dust storm and had to let my horse take me home. I visited with Terry about the Ranch and he told me the size and how the Guitar’s had owned it since they bought it from J.M. Daughtery. Mr. Daughtery started driving cattle up the trail from Texas in1886 to northern markets until 1887. This is when he started buying ranches in Texas and became one of the largest land owners in Texas. I know of 5 ranches that are over 100.000 acres each that J.M. Daughtery owned. I would enjoy a book written about these ranches and Mr. Daughtery.  

 The clouds built and it started raining just like it was supposed too on the 4th of July. We had a lovely drive from Bobbie Jones to the Spike S. Thunder showers and small rain clouds built and rained all the way to the Spike S until dark.  We saw a full double rainbow and rain showers all over the country. I loved it……..!!!!!!!!! 

We got up and had a wonderful breakfast at the Spike S and then loaded for Sierra Blanca, We had a small art show at the Court House in Sierra Blanca for a 4th of July celebration.  Lots of good people enjoying the opportunity to visit and share. We stayed until mid-afternoon and then loaded and headed to Sheffield, TX.  We were still a couple hours of driving time from Sheffield, but we stopped in Ft. Stockton for groceries and a little ice cream at Dairy Queen. We got home in fine shape, unloaded and got to bed, tired but thankful for such a wonderful 4th of July gathering.