November 19
In the 50's again this morning.  We have a leisurely breakfast and then set our sites on Grapevine Trail, which someone recommended to Greg yesterday.  We stop by the visitor's center, and see a few deer on the way out of the basin.

A rough 7 mile road to the trailhead.  We pass the landfill for the area which is almost invisible except for signs and a big piece of equipment.  Lots of crows in the area, though, so there must be some "pickings".

We are the only car at the trailhead, so have a nice quiet walk.  Lots of neat rock formations and part of the trail follows a dry river bed until it begins to climb.  Fortunately there are trail signs because it would be easy to get lost amongst the boulders!  At the end of trail is a balancing rock formation.  We wonder around a bit, taking pictures and taking in the scenery.  After 10 minutes or so, some more hikers arrive and we have a drink and then wind our way back.

 Look closely at the above picture and you may see some hikers on the trail down in the valley.

We escape out the road with only one little scrape - Greg is great at maneuvering these roads.
We stop for fuel at Panther Junction ($3.65 compared to $2.85 at home!) and then make the drive back to Rio Grande for a shower and to re-charge the laptop while we have some sandwiches.  Back to our campsite and we decide to tackle the Window Trail - we are leaving a little late and won't have time to dally if we want to get back before dark.

The trail starts out downhill into the valley, then levels nicely.  More brush and bushes in this area, still lots of rocks.

 This trail is noted for wildlife and about half way in, we spot a mother bear (black)with 3 cubs.  This is the bear we heard about that lost a cub a few weeks ago to a car accident. Fortunately they are climbing away from us, so we just enjoy watching them for a while. There are only 20 or so in the entire park, so we count ourselves lucky to have seen them. 100 yards down the trail we come  across some fresh bear scat - we didn't miss running into them by much!

We chat with a few other hikers we encounter and hear tales of huge scorpions and a rattlesnake further down the trail, but we don't encounter either. Whew!

The trail climbs through a rocky gorge and ends at another pour off with a steep drop.  If Greg walked forward a few feet in the picture below he would have a long hard fall. This is what is called "The Window".

Not much water today but it is a beautiful site nonetheless.  I am antsy about getting back before dark so we don't dally.  We reach camp just as the very last bit of sun disappears - didn't have to resort to the flashlight!

Amazing stars from horizon to horizon, and the full-ish moon is late rising tonight so they are all the more visible.  We use the Night Sky ap on my phone to identify some of the formations and planets - Venus is prominent. Too tired to try taking photos…. we enjoy some cheese and crackers and a drink, then finish off the kielbassi and hit the hay!

November 18, 2013 Big Bend

November 18

Cell phone coverage is almost nonexistent, though we have found it at two odd places along the roadway.  The lodge and the store at Rio Grande Campground have wi-fi, but not phone service.

It is 52 degrees at 7:30 this morning.  We stop by the visitor's center to clean up with their hot water facilities, then head for the Ross Maxwell Scenic Highway, which goes from the Chisos Mountains down to the Santa Elena Canyon.  We stop at the Sam Nail Ranch, another abandoned homestead with windmill, a few building remnants and pecan trees which are a brilliant yellow.

We arrive at Santa Elena Canyon Trail about 9:30AM and hike into the canyon, climbing and then descending to the water.  It is very quiet and we are the only people around until we pass a threesome as we are leaving.  The canyon walls tower above the emerald Rio Grande, at times reflecting the fluffy white cotton ball clouds.  A geologist's dream, we can only comment on interesting rocks, faults, and boulders.

We make several stops on the return trip.  Durgan-Sublett House shows the amazing 12" thick walls with stone on the exterior and adobe inside.  Coyote tracks nearby.

Next stop is Castalon Visitors' Center and we reminisce about visiting there 30 years ago with a 3-year-old Bryan.  Orange Crush treat from the tiny store to accompany our sandwich lunch.  Tuff Canyon overlook showcases a deep canyon through white lava rock.

Mule Ears Overlook is self explanatory.

We hike about 2 miles through the desert on the Chimneys Trail before deciding it isn't worth it and instead continue to the Burro Mesa Pouroff, recommended by the ranger at Castalon.  This trail has some interesting rock formations that lead to a huge bore in a cliff which is where all the water from the area drains.  It is dry now, but there are signs throughout the park warning about flash floods and it seems that especially in Summer they get some real "gully-washers".

See several deer - the Carmen White Tails - along the highway.

We go to the lodge for dinner, as we did 30 years ago, and Greg has a burger and fries, as we did 30 years ago!  There are several cabins and a motel nearby, so quite a few diners.

There is a Texas Outdoor Woman's Network group camping at our campground - the Austin Chapter - and Greg finagles a look at one of their Casita RV's, which he pronounces very well-designed.

November 2013 Chisos Mountains, Lost Mine Trail

November 17

This morning we head into the Chisos Mountains to climb the Lost Mine Trail.  Two-and-a-half miles uphill, and then the return.  Beautiful vistas along with assorted wildflowers, rock formations, interesting trees like the weeping juniper and red-barked mandrola tree.

We pass about a half dozen other hikers, most of whom we have seen elsewhere.

Fairly exhausted after this trail, we go to our next campground in the Chisos Basin.  Basically nestled in a basin surrounded by the Chisos Mountains, it is a much smaller campground with no hook-ups, though there is a lodge, a small store and a visitor's center (with hot water!) not far away. We find a great site, so switch from our reserved site and settle in. This campground is full, so we are glad we have reservations! We go to the short Windows View Trail for sunset.  The "window" is basically a v-shaped gap in the surrounding mountains. We will hike to the window another day.

Greg cooks beef fajitas for dinner, with charro beans.  Yum!

November 16 Big Bend

November 16

53 degrees this morning.  Revisited the Rio Grande Nature Trail - no fog at all this morning.
Again saw the Mexican on horseback and watched turtles sunning themselves.

After breakfast of oatmeal, we headed to Cat Tail Falls, a trail not shown on the Park's maps but recommended by a ranger at the Panther Junction Visitor's Center. On the way we took these pictures of a tarantula crossing the road, one of about a dozen that we saw this trip. (Hairy and about 4-6". ) Non-aggressive and moving right along, we are told later that it is mating season and they are "on the move".

 We also saw this javelina along the road. Also called a collared peccary, they are not really related to pigs though the nose surely appears to be! About 20-24" inches tall, 40-60 pounds.

 The several mile long road into Cat Tail Falls trail was very rocky and rough, and we got out at one point and filled in some holes with loose rocks, but made it to the parking area.  The first mile of the trail was on a closed road through desert, then it switched to a smaller trail that led another mile into the mountains and a beautiful water falls. Beautiful agave.

  The end of the trail is a mass of huge boulders which we scrambled over.  Quite an oasis here, with pools and a small stream.  Lots of blue dragon flies  and Greg spotted a tarantula on a nearby rock.  We enjoyed a snack and some water before heading back to the Trek and back out the crazy road with only one small scrape!

Took showers at the store and talked with some fellow Roadtrekkers who bought their 1993 Trek on Craig's List!  They spend summers in Homer, Alaska and the rest of the year in West Texas doing seasonal" work.  We have run into people from Chicago, Minnesota, Sante Fe, Washington, Louisiana, Germany, Australia as well as other Texans.

This cottontail was visiting the empty campsite next to us.  We climbed the nature trail yet again for sunset, and more impressively, moonrise, pictures.

Later we drive to the Rio Grande Overlook and try a few night pictures.  We are the only people around and the stillness and silence is awesome.

Greg reading at the campsite.