Big Bend

 2/21/23

I did get a couple shots of the stars..........obviously my iPhone camera does it NO justice!

Leaving Fort Lancaster!  We were up there pretty high!

Back on Route 10 and 80 MPH!  But, Ernie is NOT going 80!  He has to keep it at 65 so we get good gas mileage (LOL)!

Windmills, windmills, and more windmills!  Never saw so many windmills!

And by the way, don't run out of gas on this stretch of road!  There is NOTHING for miles and miles and miles!

On our way to Big Bend, which you could start seeing hundreds of miles away.  I think we are about 120 miles from Big Bend in this photo!  Have you missed reading the blog?  No cell service or internet for 3 days!  Of course, I had a grant due at work, and with no internet, my boss Steve (who is beyond awesome) took care of it for me!

Getting closer and closer!  

Hello there Big Bend National Park, Hello 90 degrees, hello beautiful scenery!  Thank you my Dear Lord for the most glorious views these eyes have ever seen (except of course, for my kids being born, that was pretty glorious)!

Take a drive out west and I dare you to tell me there is no God!  He is alive and well here!

Rio Grande!

Day 1 Sunset.......Night!  OH, almost forgot, it WAS BEAUTIFUL, except for the gnats!  They 

swarmed us at our campsite, and you had to continually swat them away (even ate a few)!  It was absolutely sickening, but just as the sun went down, they disappeared like magic!  Then is was awesome again!

Day 2 at Big Bend (2/22/23) brought a beautiful sunrise! We headed to the Chisos Basin for some hiking!

Now to get anywhere at Big Bend, you have to drive, and drive, and drive, which normally bugs me to no end, but with these views, the drive wasn't so bad!  The Rio Grande Village Campground is about 30 miles from the Chisos Basin (their campground was full so we couldn't stay there.....I think it was full because there were NO gnats)

This place was called Windows Veil (more about Windows Veil on Day 3)

Ok, so now what....with our energy level high, we decided to shoot for Emery Peak, which was a 5.3 (one way) hike up the mountain!  To get to Emery Peak, you had to take Pinnacle Trail (only 3.8 miles one way)!  NO Sweat!  Until I started sweating!  Now they warn you to take plenty of water (1 gallon per person), but that was unrealistic for a couple reasons.  1.  I wasn't carrying a gallon of water up a mountain and 2.  Ernie did carry a gallon but wasn't carrying 2 gallons)!  He is a beast though!  I had a few items in my pack, but he carried the heavy load...God Bless Him!

Bears and Mountain Lions????????  EEEEKKKK!  We didn't see any though, however, you are always on the lookout!

These cactus are EVERYWHERE and yes they are sharp!

Headed for Emery Peak!

Ok, so hit the brakes..........we were about half a mile to the end of Pinnacle, when my stupid sugar decided to go low!  I ate Skittles, ate a bar, drank water, disconnected and pretty much just got pooped out!  We decided to play is safe and start back down!  Which, I might add, was a heck of a lot easier than going up and up and up!  CRAZY story....we met a couple from HOOKSTOWN, PA who knew my cousins Biv and Jack Moore very well!  I couldn't believe it!  What a small world!

We made is safely back to the car and headed back to camp!

WAIT.......Does this sign say HOT SPRINGS, well sure why not!

Drove a mile or 2 down a dusty gravel road that was extremely narrow!  But, hot springs here we come!

Well, am I seeing things or is this an Oasis?  Threw on our bathing suits and off we went about a half mile hike to the springs along a path that parallels the Rio Grande!  The rock formations were unbelievable!  This place has been abandoned for a LONG time, it was a refuge for people who were sick and they would spend time in the the Healing Waters and leave feeling FINE!

Really, a hot springs right along the river?  Yes really!  The water temperature was 105 degrees and we soaked and soaked!

We even dipped our feet in the Rio Grande (it was VERY cold)!

This is a view from the run off into the Rio Grande!

Now for the narrow road back!  Which might have been a little scarier than the drive in, but Ernie is a good and brave driver!  I just had to watch that our tie downs on the camper didn't hit the hill side!

Back at camp..........92 degrees and LOTS and LOTS of Gnats greeted us when we arrived!  We ate all our protein this day, because I can't tell you how many of those little bastards I swallowed!

Slept VERY well tonight!

Day 3 (2/23/23)

Ok, so now what to do today!  Well another 30 mile drive back to Chisos!  Remember I said more to follow about the Window Veil!  THAT hike was only 5.6 ROUNDTRIP!  No sweat!  I mean we have been averaging about 5 miles or so a day, so no biggie, right!  Here is a reminder....view from the top!

Oh, about half way there!  Still loving it because going down is the easy part!

MADE IT!  And I have to say, it was totally WORTH IT!

UNTIL............Ernie decided to give me a heart attack!  Those rocks were slick, it was a LOOONG way down and HE HAD THE TRUCK KEYS (have I mentioned we only have ONE set of keys with us?)  One of the ladies there at the bottom got a little upset with him for going so close to the edge (to be honest, I think he was a little nervous too)!

Ok, now for the hike back, which at first wasn't too terrible.  There was a bit of a grade, but a lot of level walking as well!  They tell you (or warn you) not to hike in the heat of the day!  With a half mile left, I was feeling slightly nauseated even though we took a lot of rests and water breaks!  It was pretty hot!  My husband, being the kind of guy that he is, told me to wait at the campground entrance (that is the campground we WOULD have stayed at but they were full) and he would hike the half mile to the truck and come and get me!  I took his backpack and sat under a shady picnic area that wasn't being used and waited....and waited!  I was starting to get a little worried when I called his cell (YES, you could get cell reception at Chisos) and he didn't answer!  About 5 minutes later, he called me back to say he just made it back and was heading down to pick me up!

WHEW!!

All in all, it was a great day and we couldn't wait to get back to camp (even with the gnats), take a shower, and drink a cold beer!  Unfortunately, the power was out back at the campground, so NO shower (YIKES)!  The gnats were in full force, as well!  We settled for a "bird" bath and the beer went down smooth!

We met a couple when we camped at Fort Pickens in Pensacola and crazy as it sounds, THEY had the campsite right next to us!  Phil and Jacqui Anderson from New Hampshire are a wonderful couple we hope to see again (maybe on our trip up to Maine, whenever that might be)

We DID love Big Bend National Park, gnats and all!  It was stunning!

But I am glad to have cell reception! Even though it took 300 miles before I was able to actually talk to anyone!  All is well and we will be headed for New Mexico tomorrow!