June 24
Because of our late night we had managed to make up a good amount of our lost time. We continued on I-20 west on our way to Big Bend National Park, TX. Around Abilene, TX the scenery really started to change to a scrubbier, drier landscape with cacti. The low vegetation was still green because of recent rains and milder temperatures. Driving through Midland, TX, former president Bush’s hometown, we all voted it the most ugly area we had ever seen. There was nothing but oil refineries and related businesses along the entire stretch, which seemed to drag on forever along I-20. Everything had that gray, rusty, unkempt, industrial look. Surely their downtown in the distance had to be nicer.
After about 536 miles and 10 ½ hours we pulled into the Rio Grande Village Campground which lies 48 miles south of the park entrance. Big Bend National Park is huge and borders the Rio Grande River along its western, southern and eastern edges The river makes up the international border with Mexico. The park has a mountainous central region, the Chisos Mountains, and the Castolon (with scenic Santa Elena Canyon) and Rio Grande Village areas which lie on the river at opposite ends of the park. Due to the different landscapes and elevations throughout the park, temperatures can vary 20 degrees between areas. Big Bend is home to more bird species (450+) than any other national park, making it a birder’s paradise, more reptiles (57+), and 175 species of butterflies. Approximately 24 mountain lions reside in the park along with black bear. Cretaceous and Tertiary fossils, including a huge pterosaur with a 35 ft wingspan, have been discovered in the rock layers. This area was once lush and swampy.
On the long drive through the park we saw a long-eared jackrabbit with its impossibly long ears. There is a huge variety of cacti, including the devil’s walking stick, aptly named. Of course, we chose the campground in the hottest area at the lowest elevation, however it is close to the Rio Grande and has lots of cottonwood and mesquite trees. We chose a shady spot in a lonely back loop. The summer is definitely the off-season. Beside one other tent camper we were the only ones within the 100 site campground. We kind of like it that way.
There are huge numbers of cottontails and lizards. The numerous birds tweet and sing constantly. Occasionally we could hear a donkey braying on the Mexican side. After our traditional, first-real-stop bratwurst dinner, the javelinas (peccaries, not pigs) walked through the campground and roadrunners hunted cicadas around our site. One walked within a foot of Liam’s chair. These neat birds are bigger and more colorful than we thought they’d be. At dusk the small bats came out, feasting on bugs. Liam and Esther stood a long time watching the bats fly, some swooping within a foot of us. We could sometimes hear them make chirping noises. After a while the mosquitos chased us into the camper.
June 25
After a slow start we drove the 2 mile gravel road that descends a rough, narrow wash to the Hot Springs Historic District. There are ruins of an old resort near a geothermal hot spring. The rocky cliffs had impressive layers and colors and ancient pictographs could be seen. The spring flows water at 105 degrees right at the edge of the Rio Grande. As it was already over 100 degrees outside, we declined to soak in the hot water. Further down the path we found a place where we could access the river’s edge. The Rio Grande was fairly narrow, very muddy, and flowed swiftly. At least we stuck our fingers in this famous river. Of course, Mexico was just 50 or so feet away.
Not wanting to push ourselves too much in the heat as we were not yet conditioned, we headed back to the camper for lunch. The rest of the afternoon we tried not to melt and just hung out at the campsite. All the critters seemed to also take a midday siesta. In the evening we had a mesquite pod war. Liam and Ethan had collected lots of the plentiful pods and broken them into sections. The adults were on one team, the boys on another. We began throwing them at each other. The pods are not particularly big, but can deliver a little sting if the hard edges make skin contact. No one lost an eye and we all had fun.
Later we hiked the ¾ mile round trip Rio Grande Village Nature Trail. The trail starts off on a boardwalk through a spring-fed wetland and tall cattail reeds. A short climb up a limestone hill offers panoramic views of the Rio Grande and the Chisos and Del Carmen Mountains. At several locations along the trail, small trinkets were displayed for sale on the rocks. Illegal visitors, hoping for a few dollars from the tourists, come across the river, set out their goods, a cut-open bottle for collecting the donations, a misspelled price list, and then disappear. The trinkets usually consist of carved and painted walking sticks, small desert animals and plants fashioned out of twisted wire and beads, and occasionally bracelets and necklaces. Throughout the park are warning signs that purchasing items off illegals is, well, illegal, and will be confiscated if found. So, we followed the rules although the wire scorpions and roadrunners were cute.
June 26
In the morning we drove to the Daniel’s Ranch Picnic Area to see the ruins of an old farmhouse and the large field of shady cottonwoods. We then stopped at the Boquillas Canyon Overlook to get another view of the Rio Grande and the Mexican town of Boquillas Del Carmen on the other side. There are several signs throughout the park warning of possible unattended vehicle break-ins at trail heads.We spied a few Mexicans with walkie talkies as we drove by. William is always hyper-vigilant and was constantly scanning the area for suspicious activity. The 1.4 mile RT hike into Boquillas Canyon starts with a short climb up a cliff where our truck would be out of sight and unattended. We hoped for the best. On top of the bluff one can see mortar holes, depressions in the rock made by ancient inhabitants grinding grains and seeds. The trail descends to the river and into the narrow, steep-walled canyon. It is one of Big Bend’s most scenic spots. On the way we passed many more trinket stashes and even two Mexicans. One was a white-mustached, older man with a hat and rolled up pants. His presence had been announced earlier on the trail by an empty bottle with a sign saying “Mexican Singing Jesus”. He referred to us as “amigo” and asked if we wanted to hear Mexican singing. We said maybe on the way back. So, on the way out of the canyon, he sang us three songs, including “La Cucaracha”. He really did have a nice voice that he projected into the canyon. His effort got him five dollars. We did decline to buy a wire trinket from his younger sidekick though. Our truck was just fine when we returned to the trail head.
The afternoon was spent in much the same way as the day before, trying to stay cool with lots of cold lemonade, roadrunner watching, and another round of mesquite pod wars. We enjoyed watching the bats swoop around our heads again. As Liam and Esther turned back to the camper they spotted an owl (elf or spotted?) sitting on a low branch nearby. We tried to call William and Ethan inside the camper without scaring the owl away. Just as William stepped out of the camper with the camera, the owl flew within 5 ft right past him and landed at head height in the closest tree. Even though it was dark, William got some photos with the flash. The owl finally got annoyed at the brightness and flew away.
A few other campers cycled through different parts of the campground, but we were essentially still alone. We had hoped to see more areas of the park, but the vast driving distances and the oppressive heat discouraged us. The Chisos Mountain area would have been a very pleasant and cooler place to stay but we wouldn’t have fit up the narrow, winding road with our camper. We will be in the mountains later in our trip. The Rio Grande can only be seen here.
June 27
In the early morning, William surprised the little elf owl sitting on the bear box in our campsite.
The Davids' Cross-Country Trip 