Day 2 Big Bend

This day started dark and early, the Super Blue Blood Moon was here an hour before sunrise giving us quite a show.  It was full eclipse before the rising sun faded it out.  Several people around the RV park were up watching it.  Our neighbors had a scope on a tripod to watch it.

Then out to the local auto shop to schedule an oil change.  One of those mundane things you have to do on a road trip of this length.  Talk about timing.  This is a very small town with a very small auto shop.  Their one lift had been occupied for a week so they had plenty of oil changes lined up to do.  But I was there and the others were not, so they said "we'll just do yours now". 

That gave us a relatively late start to get into the park, especially considering that we got up early.  So a minor change of plans as to where we went hiking. 

First up was Sam Nail's ranch.  The site of an early ranch in the area, although they never really said what year Sam started.  Must have been the later 1800s.  Two windmills, one still working and providing water to the pecan trees Sam planted.

Up the road we saw a sign for Burro Mesa Pouroff trail and said "let's do that".  It was a fascinating almost 4 mile round trip down a wash.  That's a dry creekbed that has had some very large water flow at times.  Big rock erosion and stretches of nearly flat gravel.  Tall sheer rock walls and smooth rocky (dry) waterfalls.  We also had a great treat to see a couple of Barbary Sheep.  The park lists them as "rare", the descendants of animals introduced to local ranches as exotic game.

Some Prickly Pear is purple, called Opuntia

 Walking in the Burro Mesa Pouroff

A neat formation, kind of an arch

From the other side

Our sheep sighting

Closer view

End of the hike.  We decided not to go down this part.  Not so sure about getting back up!

Day 1 in Big Bend Park

Went hiking on the Lost Mine Trail, about a five mile hike up to some great views.  Are there any bad views in any National Park?  Saw some other hikers but not very many.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, they do it a lot better than I can.
On the way down we heard this bird singing to us beside the trail so we stopped to see what he wanted, really to get his ID.  Later we were at the Visitor Center and Carlene found a picture book of local birds and identified him as a Mexican Jay.  Too bad we didn't think to record his song.

One fancy culvert

The lower side of that culvert.  I think this may be CCC work

We think they did some blasting to build these steps

Mexican Jay

Big Bend RV Park, Terlingua, TX

Got up to a nice sunrise and hit the road in mid morning.  While walking Callahan at the park we ran into a guy who had seen my rescue plate on the truck.  As we talked it seemed we were pretty much alike.  He has been an EMT for 35 years last June, same as me.  He has been Fire Chief for 11 years, I was rescue chief for 9 years, he does some work for the Medical Examiner, ditto.  etc.  He is from Michigan.

Down the road a few miles we crossed the Pecos River, then came to Langtry, TX and stopped at Judge Roy Bean's place.  Roy Bean was a Justice of the Peace here in the late 1800s, "Law West of the Pecos".  His original building is still standing and is now an historical site run by the TDOT.  Nice place.

A former Shelburne Vermonter (still using VT plates) who now lives on the road was our next site neighbor at Seminole Canyon and we ran into her again two more times on the road over to Big Bend.

At a gas station in Marathon TX I met a couple at the gas pump.  They had just returned from Guatemala and had good things to say about how they had their act together compared to Mexico.  This is a 30 something couple who are out-of-work and traveling in an old pick-up truck & slide-in camper.

We had a beautiful ride through Big Bend Nat'l Park on our way to Terlingua.  Got to the RV camp about 4, set up, had some refreshments and are all settled for 7 nights here.  Planning some good stuff in the park for this week.

NOTE that I have added some photos to yesterday's post in Seminole Canyon!

The small dirt road beside the highway is used by Border Patrol.  They rake it occasionally, I presume so they can see footprints.  This is the first road north of the Rio Grande.

Sanderson TX  Just a small Texas town

I am still wondering about this half dome hill outside Sanderson

You ask if Callahan rides well... you tell me!

Entering Terlingua, TX