Big Bend

We had heard and read wonderful things about Big Bend National Park in southwestern Texas, so it was one of the must-sees on our trip. By the time we arrived there on Friday, March 5th, we were noticing more than changes in the topography and plant life. We were changing, too! Breathing was a little more difficult, for lack of a better word, as our chests felt heavy - but not the heaviness you might have experienced in very humid conditions. Maybe our lungs were working extra-hard to screen out all the air-borne particals we were breathing in. Regardless, breathing actually felt different.

Our skin was much dryer, too, and felt almost foreign. After being in Big Bend for only a day, our eyes felt gritty, our hands were very dry and had taken on a whitish cast, and we just felt dusty - again, for lack of a better word. It was like we had taken on an extra layer, of dust, which could not be shed. Trying to brush it off, felt like sand on sand. Showers and moisturizer helped, but only for a very short time. Karen's (plastic) eyeglass lenses were sandblasted, resulting in allover fine scratches and a large splotch in the middle. The pads of Barkley's paws got rougher and turned a grayish white. The dry weather, and possibly the sand, seemed to help his toe heal. It was now always dry, and the end of it was finally sealed to the elements. Now wait a minute! Dry . . . sand . . . . We were in the desert! The Chihuahuan Desert, to be precise.

We stayed in the Big Bend RV Resort in Terlingua, about five miles outside the National Park.


Terlingua Ghost Town, about 10 miles outside the National Park, was sort of a hippie town, with pop-art flowers painted here and there, a fun approach to buildings, and nice folks just hanging out and smiling.




Kathy's Kosmic Kowgirl Kafe features heated dining and has great sandwiches!


The Terlingua Cemetery is still used.


Other than the fantastic mesas, the first formation we saw in Big Bend National Park was this one, at the Fossil Bone Exhibit parking area. We thought it looked like a dog's head in profile, but we found no mention of it anywhere.


The bluebonnet (lupine) is the official state flower of Texas. Bluebonnets dotted the sides of some of the park's roads.


We slowly bumped along about 10 miles of Old Maverick Road, with its washboard surface which was so terrible that Barkley wanted to bolt out the window! With 3 miles of Old Maverick to go, we saw a Park Ranger flying along in a pick-up. When Bill matched the ranger's pace, we seemed to glide over much of the road.

The park's Panther Junction Visitor Center is fantastic, with educational exhibits, helpful rangers, and a nice shop. We love the National Audobon Society's field guides, so added two books to our collection. The Field Guide to the Southwestern States covers plants, animals, geology, the night sky, and a few other subjects for Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The Field Guide to Wildflowers: Western Region provides much more information on many more flowers than the Southwestern guide could, with all the other topics it addresses. Both books have come in handy many times on our trip, as field guides and nighttime reading material!

Luna's Jacal is one of the exhibits on Old Maverick Road. A sign states that "Gilberto Luna raised a large family in this small house called a jacal." The floor of the house is dug into the ground a foot or two.


This is Santa Elena Canyon in the park. Mexico is on the left, the United States is on the right, and the Rio Grande is in the middle.


Tree tobacco on the Santa Elena Canyon Trail:


The end of the trail:


A tight fit on the trail:



Ringtail tracks near the river on the trail:


The view leaving the Santa Elena Canyon. Bill is looking across the Rio Grande at Mexico.


Cerro Castellan:


Bill looking over Tuff Canyon:


March 7th sunset looking across TX-118 from our RV park:

Big Bend, Part 2

From the Rio Grande Overlook on March 8th:


Wildflowers at the Rio Grande Overlook:

This is puncture vine, so named because its spines can puncture a bicycle tire!


The white and lavender flowers are called Velvety Nerisyrenia and are in the mustard family. The yellow is probably threadleaf coreopsis and is definitely some type of aster.


A prickly pear:



Boquillas Canyon, March 8th:


Mexicans cross the river by canoe and on horseback to bring painted walking sticks and beaded items to sell on the Boquillas Canyon Trail. They leave the items with a jar for money and a piece of cardboard with prices written on it. Unfortunately, there was an official sign stating that buying items from individuals illegally entering the country was illegal and any such items would be conviscated if found.


Torrey yucca just beginning to bloom, and one in full bloom:



We couldn't find the name of this pretty little flower. The orchid color was beautiful.


Desert marigold:


Chisos Basin and Mountains, where black bears and mountain lions live. Mountain lions were seen about 20 times from February 1st through March 8th. The basin is at the highest elevation in the park and tracking the change in vegetation was interesting. The desert plants started thinning and trees started appearing. First pines, then oaks. It got much cooler also. We would spend more time in this area if we were ever to come back.


Cholla, possibly whipple cholla, with a few blooms and a nest in the center:


Leaving the Chisos Basin:


We left Terlingua and Big Bend behind on the morning of March 9th. About 60 miles north of Terlingua on TX-118, the terrain had taken an obvious change, and we were stopped by the US Border Patrol to ask if we were US citizens and if we had any illegals hidden in our truck or trailer. There were three officers, and they were very polite. One did the talking and looked in the truck, while the other two went back and checked out the trailer.

Sonora

On March 3, as we headed west on I-10 from San Antonio, we noticed several changes in the terrain. We went from flat flat flat to scattered hills and then small mountains. At one point, we seemed to be in a bowl, with a low mountain ridge circling us. The land also became dryer and dryer, until we crossed the "Stark Creek," which was completely dry and had regular plants growing in its bed. Trees were shorter - we even saw small Live Oak trees with drooping branches like their larger counterparts back east - and then sparser.



While the trees shrank, the speed limit increased!



There were a few stretches with nothing but patchy grass with small herds of goats here and there. Then the land became arid and sandy, with small clumps of trees and cactus, and rocks strewn all about.





The Caverns of Sonora RV Park gave us our first experience of true quiet in our month on the road. When other folks weren't out and about, all we heard were birds and the wind rustling through the trees at our campsite. We arrived at the park about 30 minutes before five other RVs trickled in and were able to snag the only pull-through spot with a picnic table and shade!



Bill toured the caverns, but forgot to take the camera like a dummy. So to see the caverns go to their web site: Caverns of Sonora. The heavy, dank air (91% humidity) caused Karen's asthma to flare, and she went back to the trailer to sit in the sun with Bathing Beauty Barkley.



Several white-tailed deer (smaller and a bit darker than the ones back home in Pennsylvania), in twos and threes, made their way past our campsite, and then several herds went by.



The three of us took a nice long walk before sunset, and we were surprised to see mistletoe in some of the short trees just outside the RV park.



These two lovely residents of the park bid us farewell on the morning of March 4th.

San Antonio TX

We arrived in San Antonio on March 1 and stayed in the Traveler's World Carefree RV Resort on Roosevelt Ave. It was the first park where we were really packed in, but because everyone was so nice, we soon lost the feeling of being doomed sardines.



The RV park gave us a wonderful visitor's pack, including information on everything we could possibly want to see in the area, coupons, and a bus schedule. Riding the bus into town saved us (Bill) the trouble of dealing with traffic and parking and also gave us more of a complete picture of the area and the people who live there.

Being at the Alamo was a wonderful, yet somber experience. Serendipity placed us there on March 2 at just the right time to experience part of the Texas Independence Day observance with descendants of three survivors of the Battle of the Alamo, a minister (whose prayer was perfectly concise), a military honor guard, and members of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, which manages the Alamo. Neither of us knew that there was a Texas Independence Day that was still celebrated, but we were both glad we got to experience the touching remembrance. We soon learned that, although the Alamo was lost, Texas declared its independance from Mexico and became the Republic of Texas on March 2, 1836. Ten years later, it became the 28th state of the United States of America.



The grounds of the Alamo are tastefully landscaped. See the horse at the end of the arbor?



Two shots of an ornamental cherry:





Prickly pear cactus:



Rose:



Bill's mom, Sue, had told us the Riverwalk was beautiful, and she was right. The narrow San Antonio River winds through the city, and it is lined by curving walks, steps, water features, shops, cafes. We had lunch at Mad Dog's Pub, where Bill had bangers and mash (mild sausage links and creamed potatoes), Karen had a BLT made with avocado and Linda McCartney's vegetarian "bacon," and the waitstaff wore kilts!



After the bus ride back to the RV park, we took the short drive to the Mission San Jose, the largest of the four Spanish missions of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.







Two shots inside the mission's granary:





The mission's church:



Close-up of the church's front doors:



The church's Rose Window, which the National Park Service describes as "the premier example of Spanish Colonial ornamentation in the United States":



We always think of missions and their churches as being adobe-colored, or white-washed at best. This church had been painted with colorful designs. Were they all decorated like that?









Our Mexican dinner that night was delicious! We walked across Roosevelt Ave. from the RV park to the Taqueria Guadalajara Jalisco Style Mexican Restaurant. It was fantastic! Bill had beef nachos, and Karen had cheese enchiladas made with red corn tortillas. The yellow rice was heavenly and contained bits of carrot, peas, lima beans and string beans.

While we were in San Antonio, we had no idea how huge it was. On our way to our next destination on I-10 West, we passed a sign advising that we were leaving the San Antonio city limits. It was 29 miles from the RV park we had just left!

The San Antonio skyline from I-10 West: