Spent a week in Terlingua, Texas and explored both the Big Bend National Park and the Big Bend Ranch State Park. Got to float down a portion of the Rio Grande inside the state park and took a number of hikes in both parks.
Talk about a border wall!! Don’t think there is any chance of folks crossing the border legally or illegally near here.
Although the signage said a $5000 fine for crossing the border Laurie figured just touching the Mexican side would not land her in deep trouble.
Scouted out a nice place to put the kayaks in the water and eventually take them out. We did cheat a bit by asking the local outfitters where they were putting in and taking out on their tours.
For the most part the water level was okay for a nice paddle but I did have to exit the kayak for a portage or 15 while Laurie only needed about half as many. Wonder why?
Simply beautiful out here in the desert. Amazing how the water creates an oasis of sorts all along its path. Nothing but brown and dusty except for the river corridor.
Needed our trusty scooter to get ourselves back from the end of the paddle to the truck. It really did need the exercise as we have not found many places to use it recently. The park was good as they did not require an extra fee for us to use it. Should have purchased the $70 annual state park pass for Texas but who was to know that we would use it so many times, here and other parks toward Dallas and Texarkana.
This fabulous animal is a classic Texas longhorn steer. He welcomed us back into Terlingua each day after our excursions. Man those horns look sharp.
This particular hike was in the national park and led us through a nice slot canyon. Not too many folks out on this March afternoon but the scenery was fabulous.
Much of the trail looked like this. We heard about the recent earthquake to rock the NYC area and hoped that we would avoid such a natural disaster here. I think we would have been in trouble with these canyon walls surrounding us if the earth started to shake.
Came across this patch of prickly pear cactus and noted that each of the lobes appeared to have been chomped on by something. Looked it up later to find the local pig like animal called a javelina (pronounced with an h sound for the j) likes to eat them. Cannot imagine trying to avoid the needles whilst chomping into them.
Who would have guessed that a cactus could flower like this? Amazing the resemblance between this and a yellow rose. Not sure if they bloom every year but we happened to see all different types of cactus blooming this trip.
What a beautiful backdrop to be walking into for the day’s hike. The desert is a grand place to visit.
The parks often give you a glimpse of the Rio Grande from some of the remote roads going through the area.
Took another slot canyon hike but this time it was in the state park. This hike wandered from the road toward the Rio Grande but never actually made it there.
Figured we were getting toward the end of our journey at this point. We did get around this pool of water with steep canyon walls to impede our progress.
When you reach a sign that says “End of Trail” , you know your walk is over. We did have to peek to see why and there was no way to drop down to the next level of the canyon without some serious equipment.
We did run into another couple about our age at the end of the road and asked them to take our picture. You can tell it was a slot canyon with all sorts of rock scrambles as my trusty hiking poles are put away in my pack.
Our last hike in the area was called “hoodoos”. We are familiar with this geological phenomenon in the Arizona area and around the Grand Canyon. Cool structures indeed. Amazing it does not come crashing down on someone poking it with a stick!
Check out how pristine and clear this water supply was out in the middle of the desert. If it were more than 70 degrees we probably would have been tempted to take a dip.
You do have to wonder how and why some things get abandoned where there are no roads nearby. The desert climate did not encourage any rust or deterioration to the metal but we noticed that most of the useable parts had been removed long ago.
Folks around here must have enjoyed the Mad Max movies. This is a sampling of the “lawn art” in the town of Terlingua.
We will leave this post with a picture of a “limp” but healthy yucca tree. Kind of an arch beckoning us to walk under it and into the desert.
