Day 21 – April 24

In anticipation of an early departure and a full day of driving my Ipad alarm song of All Day and All of the Night awoke us at 6:30 to much cooler weather than we have been used to over the last week, temperatures in the 50’s rather than the 70-80’s. We were hoping to get to, or close to, Big Bend National Park in Texas so were prepared for a long haul, 2 driver day. Big Bend is situated on the Rio Grande River, which forms the border between Texas and Mexico.

We drove for miles and miles along the 377 south through very arid countryside. In places it is so rocky that there isn’t even a sign of grass. There are however masses of a scrub tree that seem to be a short lived species as most of them had either some withered grey branches or had given up the ghost altogether and stood leafless. We have been told that Texas has been in drought for about 3 years so this may not be the typical landscape.

There are very few signs of livestock. In an hours drive we only saw a few longhorn cattle, some very large goats and one horse. However lots of turkey vultures soaring in the sky and feeding on the frequent road kill of the small deer which populate the area. We have seen several wild turkey and a roadrunner, which was very cool. However no Acme shipping crates or Wilie Coyotes have been spotted so far.

As we got closer to the Mexican border we saw an increased presence of US Border Guards and at one location we were stopped while two guards and a German shepherd inspected the vehicle. Apparently we didn’t have any of what they were looking for so the stop was short.

The landscape and vegetation changed slowly as we made our way west and south. The roadside colours of the day before were replaced with a subtle palette of browns, greys and greens that had their own beauty. We began to see more rock out crops along the road and in places where the road had been cut through the hills various colours of geologic formations were laid out in distinct contrast.

We stopped for lunch at Langtry, the home of the famous western judge, Roy Bean – ‘the only justice West of the Pecos’. His admiration for the British songstress Lilly Langtry led him to the name the town after her. The visitors centre for Langtry is built on the grounds of Judge Bean’s old store/courtroom, which is still in tact and provides an interesting glimpse into the history of this Western culture. The visitors centre also boasts a lovely cactus garden, many of which were in bloom, despite the drought conditions.

As we headed due south from Marathon to the Big Bend National Park the landscape and scenery went into overdrive. Beginning with some small hills and culminating in spectacular cliffs of every shade of brown, the road ended at Big Bend where the views were spectacular. We are all just awestruck by the magnitude of this place. I am not even going to try and describe the scene, the photographs will have to speak for us. We arrived at the Rio Grande Village campsite at about 6:30. By the time we were set up the sun was setting in the west in concert with an almost full moon that was rising over the reddening cliffs and we all ran for our cameras to try and capture the moment.

Day 22 -April 22

As check out at this campground was 12 o’clock we were up early(ish) to have breakfast and take the nature trail hike. Diane and I headed out first but Jane and Ike quickly caught up as we were distracted by all the photo opportunities along the way. Again the scenery defies description. We have great scenery at home but here the difference is the magnitude of the scenery. As you climb to some of the vista you are engulfed by scenery, it is of a magnitude that is hard to describe.

There are a lot of birds around and along with the prolific turkey vultures we saw a gold fronted woodpecker, a yellow chested chat and a vermillion flycatcher ( these were all identified with the help of other campers).

We also saw a clutch of the not so rare Birder Americanus. This species travels in groups and is sometimes mistakenly identified as Hiker Americanus. However the discerning eye will note the subtle differences. Border Americanus is identified by the large optical equipment that is suspended from their necks and the multi pocketed vests across their chests. Hiker Americanus however is distinguished by the oft carried walking staff, short pants, large boots and of course the ubiquitous backpack. One common feature to both species that is the most frequent cause of misidentification is the Tilley Hat which adorns both species heads.

We went to the end of the nature trail and could look and hear across the Rio Grande River. The sounds of a horseback rider on the other side of the Rio Grand echoed clearly to our vantage point.

There was a sign as we started the trail that informed us purchase from Mexican Nationals was forbidden. We didn’t understand what that meant until we saw some decorative items for sale along the trail, unattended but with marked prices and bottles for payment. We also saw as we stood at an overlook a Mexican crossing the river, while someone stood watch on the other side, bringing more painted walking sticks to their vending spot.

After returning from our walk we packed up and moved to the Basin Campsite which is nestled in the Chisos Mountains. This site was a totally different landscape. We were surrounded by steep sided mountains under a very strong sun. Sitting in the shade was the only option for the afternoon as it was too hot for any activity. The locals keep telling us that by Big Bend standards this is not hot yet and that within the week temperatures of 100 F would not be abnormal. It appears that April is the peak month at this park due to those excessive temperatures in the summer.

After a relaxing but very hot afternoon we walked up a trail to the park restaurant whose deck provided a panoramic view of a spectacular sunset.

We returned to camp in the dark (being very mindful of the warning signs that there had been daily sightings of a mountain lion in the campgrounds) for a late supper of barbecued hamburgers but as the wind had risen to almost gale force it was a challenge to keep items on the table or even to keep the barbecue lit so we eventually resorted to cooking in one of the metal food lockers provided at each site for tenters to keep their food away from the bears in the area. Tight quarters but effective.

A full moon rose over the mountains behind us to signal the end to a great day of sights.