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BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK - DAY 3

Today we plan to do the first three of many hiking trails here in the park. We'll start with the ones rated easy and work our way up to the ones rated moderate.

We took a lot of photos, but with poor to nonexistant internet we'll only be able to share several from each hike.

Still there are plenty, so go make some popcorn, grab your favorite beverage, and settle into you favorite chair to watch the slideshow. ENJOY!

DAY 3

Our hike started with just a little bit of an uphill challenge.
But once we reached the first crest it seemed to just keep going further up.
When I arrived at a fairly level spot I turned to see how Tricia was doing behind me.
She was fine. She had been stopping to take photos, so I just kept on moving forward.
With a quarter mile left to go I arrived where the trail really started going up, scrambling over boulders and such. I decided to wait right here while Tricia continued on.
The far away view from halfway up the final slope.
Here is where Tricia photographed these odd looking rock walls.
You have to be on continuous alert for these prickly devils along the edges of the trail.
Still a lot more climbing to do from here.
Finally the payoff for having hiked all the way to the end! A view of "Balanced Rock".
From the summit the trail back to the parking lot looks deceivingly easy.
When you get back to ground level you realize just how far you have to go to get back to the parking lot, even if it is all downhill.
One step at a time, that's how I do it! Look, I can see the parking lot from here.
Now it's only 6.4 miles of gravel road to get back to the smooth paved roadway.
This short trail was all about getting a closeup view of the different species growing in the desert environment. This is the Ocotillo Catus.
A close up of the prickly stalks, devoid of leaves at the present time of season.
A view of the hiking trail and Chisos Mountains in the background.
The lone windmill bringing water up to the surface of the desert.
Two varieties of the Prickly Pear Catus can be seen in this photo.
Up close Prickly Pear Catus.
The windmill again with ROVER in the background next to the pit toilet house.
Not sure what this one is called but it obviously should be avoided.
One more shot of the very abundant Ocotillo Catus.
Not sure how a palm tree found it's way into the desert?
This trailhead is just across the driveway from our campsite.
It starts out with a trio of metal bridges over a pond like area that is filled with an invasive species of river cane.
The first of many unmanned Mexican souvenier stands along the trail. Someone will come across the border at night to collect any monies made and replenish the supply.
The trail goes up to a 360° sunset viewing spot on the flat top mountain next to our campground.
From the top you can see the Rio Grande River and the campground to the west.
Here is a closeup of our campsite at the trailhead.
To the east you can see the Mexican town of Boquillas del Carmen is the distance.
Also to the east is a beautiful flat top mountain range.
But now back to the reason for this hike, tonight's sunset over the Rio Grande River.
One last view from ground level before darkness settles in.

HOW TO TAKE CONTROL OF THIS SLIDESHOW

Option 1 - Do nothing and cycle through the photos at the predetermined speed.

Option 2 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and use the forward and reverse arrows that appear on the left and right centers to speed through the photos. Photos will still change at the predetermined speed if you wait too long. Keep your eye on the clock in the upper right hand corner.

Option 3 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and click on the pause button. You now have full control to go forward or reverse at your own speed. You can also select any of the little round buttons under the photo to navigate through the photos.

WANT TO SEE THE PHOTOS AT A LARGER SIZE?
1st - Click near the center of any photo and it will open to a larger size than what appears in the slideshow.
2nd - Click on it again and it will open to it's original full resolution size.
3rd - You will have to use your browsers back button to return to the slideshow after viewing the full resolution size photo.

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We encourage everyone
to leave their comments
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We would really like to hear from you!

Until next time

TWO PEAS

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BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK - DAY 2

We drove 100+ miles over the paved roadways of Big Bend National Park today.

It served several purposes for us. First, we able to get an overview of exactly what Big Bend looks like without needing to get out of the air conditioned comfort of ROVER.

Secondly, we drove to the opposite side of the park to check out the campsite we'll be spending the second half of our visit at.

We did this because while we were in the process of filling our fresh water tank just outside of the campground a "very knowledgeable and helpful" fellow RVer informed us we wouldn't be able to get THE POD over the roadways leading to Cottonwood Campground. Long story short, he was wrong!

Anyway here are our photos from driving around the park all day.

DAY 2

This long low bridge goes over a dry wash which only comes into play during the heavy rains of monsoon season in late August.
A far away view of the Chisos Basin Mountains.
We learned this black rock in the park has volcanic origins.
A lone tree atop the Sotol Vista overlook.
This tall mountain is called Cerro Castellan (3293 ft.) and can be seen from our future site at Cottonwood Campground.
It wasn't all rocks, cacti and roadway...
We saw some wildlife too out here in the desert.
This roadrunner was occupying our future campsite at Cottonwood.

HOW TO TAKE CONTROL OF THIS SLIDESHOW

Option 1 - Do nothing and cycle through the photos at the predetermined speed.

Option 2 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and use the forward and reverse arrows that appear on the left and right centers to speed through the photos. Photos will still change at the predetermined speed if you wait too long. Keep your eye on the clock in the upper right hand corner.

Option 3 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and click on the pause button. You now have full control to go forward or reverse at your own speed. You can also select any of the little round buttons under the photo to navigate through the photos.

WANT TO SEE THE PHOTOS AT A LARGER SIZE?
1st - Click near the center of any photo and it will open to a larger size than what appears in the slideshow.
2nd - Click on it again and it will open to it's original full resolution size.
3rd - You will have to use your browsers back button to return to the slideshow after viewing the full resolution size photo.

Would you like to be notified of new blog posts?

We encourage everyone
to leave their comments
in our Facebook Group!

We would really like to hear from you!

Until next time

TWO PEAS

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BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK - DAY 1

THURSDAY

TRAVEL DAY
STOP #264

We are so excited today for so many reasons, but the top two have to be that for the first time in 2 years, 3 months, 3 weeks and 1 day we will be visiting one of our 63 National Parks, but who's counting!

Secondly, with tonight's discounted camping fee of just $8.00, our overall average per night camping fee will fall below the $20 a night level for the first time since we hit the road, 3 years, 9 months and 5 days ago, but again, who's counting!

We got off to an expensive start back in 2018 averaging over more than $38 a night for our first month while staying in the state parks down in the Florida Keys. By the end of the year we had our average down to about $23 a night thanks to all the inexpensive camping in Shenadoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

In our second year our average went up again as we visited state parks all along the east coast, with their costly surcharges for out-of-state visitors. By the end of 2019 we were above the $24 a night level.

In 2020 and 2021 we started to whittle down our costs and now in February of 2022 we are getting closer to our ultimate long term goal of averaging just $15 a night. Of course while we work on minimizing our camping costs, the gasoline prices keep going up and absorbing everything we manage to save.

For the next two weeks the blog posts will appear a little different. We have no cell phone signal anywhere in the campgrounds so we have to drive some 40 miles to get signal to upload posts. For that reason I'm going to try and tell the story within the captions of the photos.

DAY 1

Before we even made it into the park we pulled over at a picnic area to eat lunch.
Here we are at the northeastern entrance of Big Bend National Park.
Tricia thought it would be cool to stick her head out ROVER's sunroof to snap this photo while we were traveling 45MPH. It was cool, but it also cost her a pair of $30 sunglasses!
Mountainous scene from inside Big Bend National Park.
To get to our campsite we first had to pass through this short tunnel.
But what a beautiful horizon was waiting for us on the other side.
Finally all set up in our home for the next 6 nights.

HOW TO TAKE CONTROL OF THIS SLIDESHOW

Option 1 - Do nothing and cycle through the photos at the predetermined speed.

Option 2 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and use the forward and reverse arrows that appear on the left and right centers to speed through the photos. Photos will still change at the predetermined speed if you wait too long. Keep your eye on the clock in the upper right hand corner.

Option 3 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and click on the pause button. You now have full control to go forward or reverse at your own speed. You can also select any of the little round buttons under the photo to navigate through the photos.

WANT TO SEE THE PHOTOS AT A LARGER SIZE?
1st - Click near the center of any photo and it will open to a larger size than what appears in the slideshow.
2nd - Click on it again and it will open to it's original full resolution size.
3rd - You will have to use your browsers back button to return to the slideshow after viewing the full resolution size photo.

Would you like to be notified of new blog posts?

We encourage everyone
to leave their comments
in our Facebook Group!

We would really like to hear from you!

Until next time

TWO PEAS

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SEMINOLE CANYON STATE PARK (TX)

SUNDAY

TRAVEL DAY
STOP #263

We had a very short travel day today, but it did come with a little excitement. We were about halfway to our destination when we saw signs on the road stating there was a Customs and Border Protection checkpoint a half mile ahead and we would have to pull over to be inspected.

My first thought was how effective can these checkpoints be when the criminals know exactly where they are. It's not like they are keeping their location a secret.

Then I thought of all the horror stories I've read or heard about of vehicles being emptied of their contents and thoroughly checked by agents and canines. Even when nothing is found, people are left to put everything back into their vehicle by themselves without any help.

That could end up being a very arduous task with everything we have packed into ROVER and THE POD. There was very little traffic on the road today, so no one was in line when we approached the checkpoint.

I pulled in, rolled down my window and said, "Good Afternoon". The agent asked if it was just the two of us in the vehicle today. I replied, "Yes". He then wished us safe travels and sent us on our way. Must be I have an honest face! Of course the face of Santa Clause is trustworthy!! Hee Hee!! - T

All that worrying for nothing, this time anyway!

The rest of the 33-mile trip across Texas' Route 90 was uneventful. That was until after we passed through the very small town of Comstock (pop. 475) and saw a sign stating there were "No Services" for the next 88 miles. I guess that means no food, no gas and no cell phone coverage.

We soon pulled into Seminole Canyon State Park, checked in at the Visitor Center and then setup on our campsite. While in the Visitor Center I noticed there was a small museum and a Ranger led hike is offered Wednesday through Sunday, twice a day at 10AM & 3PM, to see the Fate Bell Pictograph Site.

We are too late to sign up for the hike today, but we are still here on Wednesday so we will do it then. We will probably sign up for the morning hike, because the temperatures in the afternoon will be in the low 80°F's.


Campsite #26 at Seminole Canyon State Park outside of Comstock, TX


Our site came with a really nice shade pavillion to watch the sunsets from.


Our office view out the rear of THE POD.

MONDAY - Today we've planned a little sightseeing excursion outside of the state park. About 20-miles west of the park in the small town of Langtry, TX (as of 2016 the census listed the population as 12, but who knows, today it could have increased to 13, or maybe even as high as 14) where you will find the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center and Museum. But first, in order to get there, we have to cross over the Pecos River Bridge.

Just two miles west of the park is the Pecos River Bridge. Completed in 1892 it held the distinction of being the third highest bridge in the world. It was strengthened in 1910 and again in 1929 to support the ever increasing weight of the freight trains using the bridge.


The right hand canyon wall ends where the Pecos River empties into the Rio Grande River.
The opposite bank of that river is of course in Mexico.

In the top left corner of the above photo you can just make out the edge of a shelter high above the bridge level where I'll bet we could get some excellent photos of the bridge.


But first one more from the road level.


As I suspected, there is where you want to be to photograph the bridge.

While we were up on the observation deck we noticed that downstream was a boat ramp where we might be able to get a new perspective of the bridge to photograph. We'll have to check that out later this afternoon on our way back from the museum.

JUDGE ROY BEAN VISITOR CENTER

We weren't terribly impressed with the indoor/outdoor museum about Judge Roy Bean, but their very well maintained Cactus Garden on the property was well thought out and displayed most of the plant life found here in the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert.

It is funded by the state of Texas, so it also serves as a Rest Area and Travel Information Center. There are restrooms and picnic tables located here for use by the public. There were two very nice employees here to answer all of our "travel related" questions, but they didn't seem to know much about Judge Roy Bean.

I guess they weren't big fans of the 1972 movie starring Paul Newman and Ava Gardner titled "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean".


Judge Roy Bean's historic bar/courthouse, the Jersy Lilly.


Inside of the Jersy Lilly is the infamous bar.


We enjoyed the walk through the Catus Garden more than the museum.

On our way back to the campground we once again passed over the Pecos River Bridge and decided to try and find access to the boat ramp we saw earlier this morning from up on the observation deck.

We stopped in the parking lot/picnic area for the boat ramp to take a few photos and heard what sounded like a baby crying. Being down low in the canyon the accoustics were such it sounded like it could be coming from one of the bushes that were all around us.

What we found was that on the opposite shoreline of the river, some hundred or more yards away, was a large herd of goats up on the canyon ridge. Several at a time they where making their way down the steep canyon wall to the river. The older adults did this with relative ease, but the younger ones were experiencing a little bit of difficulty.

Perhaps making this journey for the very first time they were a little more reluctant to make some of the larger leaps down the rocks. This is were the crying baby sounds were coming from, the younger ones begging the parents to come back up the wall to their rescue.

We watched them for maybe an hour until there were probably several hundred goats grazing on the river bed grasses and drinking the precious water from the river.


The view from up high in the boat ramp parking lot
shows there are a lot of goats over there on the beach.


A closeup of several goats making the perilious journey down the canyon wall.


From the boat ramp you get a better perspective of what they accomplished
coming down that steep canyon wall.


But the reward is they get something to eat, something to drink and
we get another wonderful view of the bridge.

TUESDAY - This morning I need to drive down to the Visitor Center to recheck-in for our last two days here. While I was waiting in line I noticed a small group of people gathering on the back porch for what looked like the ranger led hike at 10:00AM.

When it was my turn I asked about the people waiting outside and was informed that on Monday and Tuesday's they have unadvertisied hikes down into the canyon that are lead by a knowledgeable park volunteer. I asked if it was any different from the Ranger lead hikes and was told they were the same. I then asked if I could change my reservation from tomorrow morning's hike to this afternoon's and was told no problem.

So we are going on the Fate Bell Shelter Tour hike this afternoon to see the rock art that was painted on the walls by the local Native Americans some 3000-4000 years ago. The hike takes about 1-1/2 hours and covers about 2-miles.

We can't wait to see it! It's the main reason we stopped here for a visit.

FATE BELL SHELTER TOUR HIKE

Modern metal art inspired by the ancient rock art we'll soon be viewing.
A view of the Visitor Center from the canyon floor 200 feet below.
Our guide "Miss Betty" explaining the first of many depictions of rock art on the walls.
Most of the rock art is multicolored, black, red, yellow and white.
This one is mostly red, the yellow is hard to see.
This art doesn't match most of the art here, which means it may have been painted many centuries later by a different tribe.
Here is our group entering the huge overhang known as the Fate Bell Shelter.
More art on the walls.
Most of the art has faded over the millennia.
But some is still very visible, even in photographs.


An early moonrise over THE POD on our last night here
at Seminole Canyon State Park

Would you like to be notified of new blog posts?

We encourage everyone
to leave their comments
in our Facebook Group!

We would really like to hear from you!

Until next time

TWO PEAS

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