Down by the River

The drive from Fort Davis to Alpine is short and scenic but shortly after leaving Alpine the landscape becomes more arid and desolate. Vast, remote and quiet are the overpowering words that come to mind.   It reminded Jack of some the areas around southwest Utah and northern Arizona.  There are very few trees or vegetation with wide open rock landscapes. The closer we came to Big Bend National Park the truer these words.   The park is named for the bend the Rio Grande makes as it heads towards the Gulf of Mexico and also forming part of our southern border with Mexico.  Crossing the river is leaving the country and a border violation.  But rock throwing is allowed.

Look I can see Mexico!

There is a small town just outside the entrance which is good place to fill up the tank, once inside the park the distances are not trivial.  This is not your typical hustling bustling NP.   We were told it was the middle of high season but compared to other NPs this one felt lonesome.  We opted to spend our first two nights in the even more remote Cottonwood Campground. Keep in mind this is dry camping no power, water or sewer. And we found out later absolutely no lights at all in the park.  So make sure you have a working flashlight is my piece of advice.

We arrived to a scenic area with large sights and only one other RV.  The sun was shining. The cottonwoods were gold and shimmering.  It felt like a warm autumn day.  I sat outside and enjoyed a glass of wine soaking up the sun and mild temperatures.    It was hard to believe that there were warnings of a cold front hitting. That Arctic Vortex thing again - winter is coming. Nah – how can that be on such a beautiful day?  We explored the nearby areas that first day, and found the Rio Grande and the beautiful Santa Elena Canyon.  We decided to come back the next day and hike the canyon trail. 

Hiking in Santa Elena Canyon

 That night there was no moon and clouds were moving in so no stars either.  It was pitch black dark.  Darker than any place I have ever been except maybe on a cave tour when they turned off the lights.  It was that kind of absolute dark outside.  We turned off all the lights in the Biff to experience the full effect.  It is a very strange experience for a modern day person.  Absolute quiet and darkness, total absents of all the modern day noise and ambient lights that surround us.  It was like having your eyes shut but they weren’t.   

We made an early start the next day and hiked the Santa Elena Canyon.  The weather got progressively colder and windier as the day progressed.  We had a late lunch at the lodge in Chisos Basin.  The view was phenomenal!  The next morning we moved over to the Rio Grande Village area of the park.  There are two campgrounds in this area  - one with hookups and one without.  We opted for no hookups as it is much prettier.  We decided to stay as long as our batteries held out.  This area is little more populated. We did see other campers and even fellow Excel owners.  We had nice visit comparing notes about our rigs.

There is a very nice nature trail that winds down to the Rio Grande.  Along the trail were some handcrafts left laying out from across the border artisans. No artisans in sight. Hmm , you are not suppose to buy anything as that would be illegal and against trade agreements.  However,  donations were accepted in the glass jar and this little roadrunner has a new home.   Sorry,  I didn't bring the camera thinking I would be back in the morning but the javelinas had other ideas.  On our morning walk, Wodi and I  saw a pack of the these hog- like animals in front of the trail head.  I think we'll leave Mr. Piggies alone and headed back to the homestead.  We were planning on  staying another day but the RV batteries had other ideas.  Due to the colder weather, the heater was running longer causing batteries to deplete sooner than expected.   So we hitched up and left Big Bend. We hope to be back some day.

Those black dots are javelinas!