Go West old man!: Big Bend 4, Lost Mine Trail

A beautiful sunny day for a hike on the Lost Mine Trail in the Chisos Basin. That’s in the middle of the high mountain area in the heart of the park. About 4.8 mile round trip and a 1000’ rise to 6800’. There must still be a lost mine up there, nobody seems to know where it is. It does have some spectacular views! Down into the basin and out the north and south into huge valleys surrounded by the mountains. As you’ll see below! We were very lucky to find the last parking spot at the trailhead. There were a lot of people on the trail but it didn’t seem crowded. We talked with a couple from Salt Lake City who have traveled through VT. They bought some maple syrup from a monastery at the top of one of southern VT’s tallest mountains. Danged if I know where that could be!

Back to camp for Skye’s walk.

This was our night to eat out. Tivo’s Place is a half mile away, owned by a local Mexican family who lives on site. We ate there last year and planned to return as we left the place. We ordered different things and they were all excellent. Delicioso! I had Picadillo, diced beef with jalapeño, onion and tomato. Carlene had a Mexican Plate with a taco, Chile relleno and enchilada. The enchilada was a bit picante for her tastes but I enjoyed it!

It’s Skye day tomorrow, we’ll drive out behind camp to a back gate into the park where there are some pictographs. Since there aren’t any park people out there she’ll come along and be off leash much of the time too. Not many people go out there. It’s not advertised in park brochures.

This morning at camp

This rig is parked across the road from us. It’s a heavily modified F550, set up for back country. Custom built camper on the bed. This couple has been full time in this rig for a year! They run around making video for their website jimvaltravels.com