One of the more pristine water sources in Texas resides just a short hike up a canyon near Dolan Falls on the Devil’s River. Dolan Creek feeds the Devil’s, much in part from natural seepage from the canyon walls that line its path through acres of wilderness and sparse ranch land. The creek is mostly composed of a hard bedrock bottom, and when the water resides from flood level, small tinaja-like pools, like the one above.

On the fringe of the Chihuahuan Desert and the Edwards Plateau, the juncture of both Dolan Creek and the Devil’s River serves as a miniature oasis for the surrounding vegetation and fauna. Since it is controlled by the good folks at the Nature Conservancy, it’s also in good hands. It’s hard not to be outside during a visit to this area! These kinds of places are becoming fewer and fewer, so if you ever get a chance to visit Dolan Creek or similar areas, enjoy your experience fully!

Here’s a little blues music for floating the river…

River Run, by Jerod Foster from Jerod Foster on Vimeo.

Each year, I get to co-teach a 15-day photography workshop in Junction, Texas, at Texas Tech University’s satellite campus. Wyman Meinzer and I guide 12 students in to some of the most pristine parts of the state, including areas around Mason, Austin, Utopia, Sonora, Langtry, and further west toward the Big Bend! Much of that time, we spend in the water, sometimes up to our neck, and once or twice, a camera has been dropped (one by yours truly). Not many people beyond the students get to see this river land that we shoot once a year, so I thought I would whip up a quick video to showcase some of the water we so diligently work over with our eyes while we are there during the spring. The rivers we primarily shoot on include the Llano River and the Devil’s River, both of which offer a unique image!

P.S. To see the video in high-definition, just click through and watch it on its Vimeo page.

Enjoy!

I’ve posted before about the Devil’s River, however, most of those posts include images of Dolan Falls. Dolan Falls is the site of the largest amount of water pouring over a set of boulders, however, no one ever gets to see the other direction, the side of the falls that represents a more serene environment. The only evidence of the falls is the wash of foam on the opposite bank. Just goes to show that in Texas, the context is dynamic and ever-changing. Surprisingly emergent!

Enjoy!