The World's Largest Spring-fed Swimming Pool at Balmorhea State Park

The reason we stopped at Balmorhea State Park was to experience the world's largest spring-fed swimming pool located there. We don't make advance reservations because we like to have the flexibility of changing plans with the changing weather. We've been seeing a lot of that changing weather lately! After studying the forecast, we wanted to be at Balmorhea on a beautiful blue-sky day with temperatures in the 80's. We got our wish!

The picture above is of just one of the "legs" of the pools. To get a good description, we need to start at the beginning with a panorama shot of the entire pool. It gives the false fish-bowl angle to the situation, but it helps to understand the layout. There is the main pool that goes from 3 feet in depth all the way to 25 feet. The leg that continues in the distance on the left is around 20 feet deep, while the leg on the right is 3-5 feet deep. As you can see, there are several diving boards, and we're guessing this place is really busy in July.

But in January, people would have to be crazy to consider swimming, right? Welcome to crazy-ville, because after we scoped out the pool, we changed into our swim suits. You can see the difference in the color of the water, as the depth goes from 3 foot to 25 feet. It's in that deep section that we saw the scuba divers in their wet suits practicing their skills later that day.

The pool is a result of the San Solomon Springs, which discharge 19 million gallons of water per day. Because it comes directly from the springs, the water in the pool has a constant temperature of 75 degrees. Even on an 80-degree day, that feels a little cool when one first gets in. But after a few minutes it begins to feel better (or your entire body goes numb--we're not sure which is correct).

Because it is coming straight from a spring, the water is perfectly clear and a beautiful color. This is a natural environment, with no chlorine or chemicals added to the water. So you share the water with other natural water-dwellers, like hundreds of fish.

The bottom is cement in the shallow sections, but has its natural base when it drops off to the deep sections. For the first time in two years, we got to use our snorkel gear. Using our masks, we could look down at the natural rocks and fish and water plants through the perfectly clear water.

In the deepest section there was a high dive, and of course Mark would jump off it while we were swimming. It was at this end of the pool where most of the tiny fish live. We had hundreds of three-inch fish around us. They must have been hungry, because they kept nibbling on us. We were told that people spend big money for a spa treatment that uses this same fish-nibbling technique to remove dry skin, and we got it for free!

Some people might get a little creeped out with sharing a swimming pool with fish. Those people would probably also be creeped out knowing that there are ducks in the water, as well as turtles.

But because it's the world's largest swimming pool, there is plenty of room for everyone, and the ducks and turtles didn't even try to nibble on us.

When we returned in the evening, we could see a larger flock of ducks, enjoying the fact that the dozen swimmers we saw in the afternoon were now gone. The ducks could now enjoy having the place to themselves.

The pool at Balmorhea was a fun and unique experience, and we were so blessed with a beautiful weather day to enjoy the water. As we walked back to the motor home, we saw the most curious cloud overhead. It was a single cloud with an unusual ripple effect in the middle of a beautifully blue sky.

What we didn't know was that other things were unusual in the atmosphere. The same forecast that brought us this wonderfully warm January day, would also be bringing us some chilly weather. We checked the forecast and saw that there were night-time temperatures well below freezing in our future. Living in a motor home with water pipes and tanks that are vulnerable to freezing temperatures, we looked at our options. No matter if we drove north, south, or further west, we were stuck with some cold weather. So we decided to just hunker down and spend another couple days at our very comfortable spot at Balmorhea State Park.

We spent our time in constructive ways. We sorted through all the citrus fruit, looking for soft pieces that needed to be used quickly.

We used our covered picnic table as a pecan shelling station, getting the pecans we gathered from the city park ready for some homemade desserts. We did our shelling while we watched programs on our outside television.

We took walks in the park, keeping an eye on the San Solomon Cienega in our backyard. Connected to the swimming pool by a system of canals, this wetland area is bordered by native tall grasses and reeds. It is protecting two rare and endangered species of small fish.

Just like the swimming pool, it is also home to some water birds like red-eyed coots.

Denisa also spent a good amount of time chasing after the local roadrunners. They have grown used to camera-toting tourists, and will stand still for portraits.

She really enjoyed getting to see the details of these steely-eyed hunters.

So while we sit a little longer waiting for some warmer weather, we will enjoy the wildlife of this area. Too often we run down the road too fast and miss seeing the beauty of the roadrunner.