Nothin Honey

2/22/2019.  Elevation 2434

We ain’t got no cell service so no internet, no TV stations and driving through the park, not even any radio stations. 

We’re just outside of Big Bend National Park in Stillwell RV park for 3 nights, it’s certainly nothing to write home about, although in comparison to a couple of others we discovered while out side the other side of the park, at a different entrance, while we were in search of gas. We have no complaints with the oversized spot we have. There were no RV spots inside the park, probably because of the cold spell up north. Everyone, like us, is looking to escape the cold.

We arrived around 11:15 am after spending last night looking for the Marfa Lights. It’s something I can mark off my list. I didn’t see much in them after looking at them for a minute or two, I was ready to go in. It was getting cool, and dropped to around 33 last night.

After we arrived and got set up we went for a drive, while our driving around Big Bend NP the Jeep at one time said 82, out of the freezer into the oven? Na, it’s very comfortable here most of the time……….minus the wind of course. We didn’t get out much or go for any walks, just looking around from the jeep.

Of course the wind is blowing everywhere we stop.

Speaking of blowing wind…… WOW the wind picked up while we were asleep and a little before midnight this one gust woke us up, a couple of minutes after that one, along came the real wind, we thought the coach might roll over for a second. We decided to bring in the slide in and that settled some of the rocking and flapping from the slide topper. I don’t know when it died down, I apparently went right back to sleep.

Inside the park the vegetation looks much like other places we have been and changes with altitude, going into the park we’re around 2400 feet. The park starts with sparse brown grass and changes to mostly Creosote bushes, sprinkled occasional ocotillo and prickly pear cactus then some yucca plants thrown in to break things up. This as the landscape changes from flat to naked washes to vegetation free jagged mountain peeks, the remains of eons old volcanos. Other areas the rocks are titled at odd angles.

The leaves are starting to come out, yup in February, one wash, near an old homestead had several cottonwoods. The leaves that were about half grown and a bright light green. Others are just now coming out. It wont be long before the cactus are beginning to bloom. We did fine one prickly pear caucus bloom in a protected spot, it probably missed the last freeze being protected by some large rocks.

Along the Rio Grande River were a few small trees about 2 inches around, they had bark like wild cherry but were not, the leaves were different, there were also smaller willow trees, the most common was bamboo, but I think that’s an invasive species and they are trying to keep the bamboo cut down so the native species can make a comeback.

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2/23/2019

After a couple of hours soaking in the hot springs it was time to continue our exploration of the park.

The hot spring is natural spring that comes out next to the Rio Grande River, at one time in was a commercial enterprise, now all that’s left are the the walls of some old buildings and enough of the walls of the soaking area to set about neck deep in a few areas. Others areas of the approximately 10 x 10 pool are shallower. Probably with a shovel you could probably make the shallow areas deeper, as it’s just sand and debris underfoot.

Once we left the hot spring we did a 1.5 mile hike at Boquillas Canyon besides the hike there is an over look and a small border crossing there, which we didn’t do it. Some Mexicans ferry you across the river in a small boat then they set you up with transportation, back of a truck, donkey, to horse, to a small town where you can buy nicknacks or have lunch. Each step cost some $$ of course.

Then we drove around the rest of the park………… Miles and miles.

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2/24/2019

We drove a LONG ways to do the 1.6 mile hike up the Santa Elena Canyon. It’s where the canyon walls close in on you, the walls are TALL and squeeze in the river. The only direct sun is at noon.

Once we were done with the Hike we moved to our next hike, this was 1 mile round trip.

Were we attacked by Bigfoot??

Mary and I were at the very end of a box canyon when we keep hearing these rocks falling. After the 4 th or 5 th one, I was starting to get a might worried Bigfoot might be chucking rocks the size of softballs at us. We could hear them bounce down from above but couldn’t determine where they were coming from or where they were landing.

I was starting to get a mite worried because if Bigfoot really was up there tossing rocks at us and he got lucky enough to hit me a softball sized rock just might leave a bruise on my pretty lil noggin.

About then I remembered back to where we thought we lost the trail and then there was a big arrow made out of rocks in the middle of a wash, now I was just sure Bigfoot made that arrow to lure unsuspecting hikers back there to use us a target practice. They are willey critters you know!

Looking around I was sure we were being watched, I could just feel Bigfoot’s beady little eyes burning into the top of my head, I could almost hear him thinking come on just one more step to he left, I have a rock with your name written on it, come on just a little more to the left.

Meanwhile my knees are knocking together while I’m looking for some place to hide but the only thing round is a skinny tree with no leaves on it.

Then Mary was standing there glaring up with a rock in her hand screaming at the top of her lungs, come on Bigfoot, you want a piece of me? Bring it on.

Who comes up with this stuff anyway? Oh, wait that was me. Ok so I may have exaggerated a little bit, but at first, I did think it might have been some people on the upper rim dropping rocks for fun, not knowing that there were people below.

Turns out we were worried for nothing it was just a goat up on the wall eating.  Actually it was a momma and her baby. We found out later that the goats are considered invasive, they apparently were imported to some hunting lodges around and promptly escaped to Big Bend.

Now, it could be that there really was a Bigfoot army up there and they pulled back because some other people were making their way towards us. I guess we’ll never know…….or will we?

Big Bend National Park

The good, it’s BIG with lots of varied scenery, completes with multiple pull offs and overlooks.  All the trails we walked on were for the most part well marked. At the beginning of the trails are signs with how long the round trip is and the number of feet in elevation change you’ll have.

The bad it’s BIG with outings requiring well over 100 miles round trip, not only the milage but time. The speed limit is 45 and on some roads it’s 35.

We saw wild Javelina, which look like wild pigs, Deer, an Elk, Goat, Roadrunners.

We didn’t see any rattle sakes, scorpions, tarantulas, Bear, Mountain Lions or Bigfoot. Come to think about it we didn’t even see any signs warning about Bigfoot. They did have signs warning about Bears and Mountain Lions for the higher elevations.

Lots more pictures at www.rmtravels.smugmug.com