Day Trips: 700 Springs, Junction
There's a lot of water spouts at Texas' 11th-largest spring
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., May 8, 2015
Seven Hundred Springs pours out from the bottom of a cliff surrounded by the arid landscape between Junction and Rocksprings. Green ferns and moss grow between the cascades of clear water gushing over the white limestone.
You can be forgiven for not knowing about the 11th largest spring in Texas. Although it supplies the South Llano River, the spring has been private property for most of modern history.
According to Frederica Wyatt, chair of the Kimble County Historical Commission, the spring appeared in the diaries of Spanish explorers. The canyon where the water comes to the surface may have been the site of the lost San Clemente Mission. Established in 1684, the short-lived mission's exact location has never been found.
One tale Frederica loves to tell is when Bonnie and Clyde camped in the grove of pecan trees across from the springs. A local woman recognized the outlaws from their picture in the newspaper, but before her husband could round up a posse, the pair disappeared.
Without the pressures of big city wells or large-scale irrigation on the aquifer under the rocky soil in Edwards County, the spring has never run dry. Even during the seven-year drought during the Fifties, the springs continued to flow.
There are two ways to see the beautiful 700 Springs. You can rent a cabin or lodge at 700 Springs Ranch, or join the annual spring tour sponsored by the county historical group – see www.junctiontexas.com.
1,241st a series. Collect them all. Day Trips Vol. 2, a book of "Day Trips," is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
