La Frontera del Llano
- Length: 94 Miles (151 Kilometers)
- Duration: A Half-Day, One Way
- Elevations: 3,947 feet (1,204 meters) to 6,090 feet (1,858 meters)
By Michael Pitel
When the railroads began settlement of the West, homesteaders flocked to remote Harding County and Southern Union County until the Great Depression and Dust Bowl years crushed their dreams. The county is rich in history and has geography that includes mesas, grasslands, plains and rivers. Of particular scenic interest are the spectacular Canadian River Canyon and Kiowa National Grasslands.
Begin in the hamlet of Abbott (homesteaded in 1915). To the south is the village of Mills, named after lawyer-rancher-entrepreneur Melvin W. Mills, whose Orchard Ranch in nearby Mills Canyon, was wiped out by a 1904 flood.
Farther south is the town of Roy, where country fiddler Bob Wills worked in a barbershop while moonlighting as a musician in 1927-28. It's also the 1934 birthplace and boyhood hometown of Pro Football Hall of Famer Tommy McDonald.
Talking about Bob Wills, south of Roy is the town of Solano. From the highway, you can see the Solano Church. In the summer, on the last Saturday of each month, enjoy western swing music, dancing under the stars, and a family-style dinner.
In Mosquero, historic memories are stirred by views of Bell Mountain, the Goodnight-Loving Cattle Trails, the old EPSW railroad and today's working cattle ranches. Mosquero Canyon's Dinosaur Freeway paralleled a prehistoric inland sea. Northeast of the village is the turnoff to the remote rancho of Bueyeros, settled in 1878, and its Mission of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, built in 1894.
South of Mosquero is the Rincon Colorado Mission of Gallegos (1840) and its red-sandstone Iglesia de Inmaculado Concepcion (1910). Farther south and downstream from Ute Lake is the town of Logan that bills itself "the best little town by a dam site." Gas, food, and lodging are also available in Logan.
