Chilly morning again. It was warming up a bit by late morning so we packed for a couple hikes. West out of town towards the BBR State Park where we went the last couple days. We have done these hikes before because they are the few that allow dogs in the state park. Callahan was with us back then. First up was the Hoodoos. Hoodoos are rocks balanced on smaller rock. There is a short loop trail among the rocks and along the Rio Grande. Nice views and a cool place to have lunch. We met a couple from South Texas who have been full time campers for about six months. They have 3 kids in So.Texas and one in NC. They made a big loop through the Northeast and ended in NC before returning to TX for the holidays.
Then on the Closed Canyon. It is a very high walled and very narrow slot canyon. It is an erosion by water carrying sand and gravel for millions of years, like a lot of places out here. The hike is less than a mile long until you reach a place where the pour off is too steep without climbing gear. You might be able to down but there would be no way back up. The rock is worn very smooth, so smooth that in VT you would not be able to walk on it. Here it is dry enough that boots get a good grip anyway. That takes some getting used to. It occasionally took a little effort to get back up. Skye thought it was easy. Low center of gravity and four paw drive.
Once back home we wanted to go back to Tivo’s Place for dinner. Oops, closed, but supposed to be open. No sign to explain it. OK. On to Chili’s around the corner. No, not the big chain restaurant. The closest thing to a chain store is the Dollar General, and that just opened this fall. Also closed! Someone stopped to tell us that there was a water leak and all restaurants in that corner of town were closed. OK. Off to The Starlight Theatre Restaurant in Terlingua Ghost Town. Ah, yes, they’re 8 miles away so no water problems. Great chili, Carlene had a good brisket sandwich, we both enjoyed Margaritas and homemade guacamole. Being an old theatre it has a unique atmosphere. They have live music on occasion and probably some shows on the stage.
It now looks like we’ll go to Van Horn on Tuesday. As of 9PM there were still road closures approaching Van Horn due to ice and snow. Let’s give it another day to melt, it’s supposed to be 50º tomorrow there. Once piece of this puzzle is that we are at 2500’ while Van Horn is 4000’.
So we are not exactly missing the storm you are getting in VT. It’s the same storm all the way down here. And we could have drive 200 miles to be in the snow belt. In a place that has no snow equipment! And it did drop our temperature by 30º this week. So while Fern is sticking her tongue out at you in VT she is wagging her tail at us down here.
Closed Canyon
Those are some really nest looking rocks and trails. I would much rather have your weather than ours right now. As I type this at 234 am (dogs had to go out 😁) we have around 12 inches of snow. Ooh the temptations to go snow blow, but I the plow hasn’t come through yet and he loves leaving that giant snow bank at the end of my driveway. So I’ll wait a bit. Lots of places around us closed early last night and closed today.
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