This is the useless trinket I bought that I am sure will save the Mexican economy!
Thursday, May 6, 2021
May 5, 2021 Lost Mine to Santa Elena (or Santella...)
May 5, 2021
My humans are acting like they are going to leave me again
today. I can feel it. I let them know that this does not make me
happy.
Another early morning as we are off to hike The Lost Mine trail is in the Chisos Basin area. The lost mine was supposedly a mine where the Spaniards operated with Indian slave labor. The Indians were blindfolded so they could not divulge the location. They soon rose up and killed every Spaniard and destroyed the mine so it could never be found. Truth or legend? Don’t know for sure.
There is limited parking so we want to be there early. We also want to beat the heat. While the hike to the Window was downhill through desert flora and dry creekbeds, the Lost Mine trail climbs up the side of a mountain. Not only is there desert cactus and other flora, but there are a variety of pine trees and oak trees. We are at about 7000 feet, and it is 58 degrees when we start, at 7:25 am. There are a couple of hikers about 5 minutes ahead of us. Let the mountain lions and bears eat them and leave the trail to us!
There is a bit of a breeze which makes it a bit chilly but
we are climbing so that will not be a bother for long. It is about a 5 mile round trip and it takes
us up. So we climbed. About a mile up, the views started coming
into sight. With the morning sun and
shadows, there was a copper cast on some of the rock formations. It was really breathtaking. And we climbed. Then the switchbacks started and we
climbed. Lots of views along the
way. We finally crested the mountain to
a rocky peak with 360 degree views of mesas, buttes, the Rio Grande Valley and
Disneyland… well not quite but I think you get the idea! We rested, had our apple and cheese and
talked to the other hikers. We then made
are descent. We prefer when hikes start
out going uphill, then finish downhill.
This way, your energy is used when it is fresh. It is not that downhill hiking doesn’t have
its challenges. It is easy to slip on
lose rocks, bash your toes and it can be hard on your knees. But we just don’t feel as tired.
Back at the truck, it is only 78 degrees. We had lunch at a campground where the breeze
made it so cool, I actually had to put on sleeves. It was 71 degrees but the breeze was cool. Once again… since we are this far into the
park, let’s head over to Santa Elena Canyon.
Something about Spouse, when he gets something in his head, it sticks. He still can’t say COVID. It’s covey to him. He was trying to find Santella on the map. He couldn’t. I looked and I could not find it either. I tried and tried. He asked someone at the visitor center and they pointed out Santa Elena. I now know where it was, but he still calls it Santella. Makes me want to pull my hair out! Anyhow, we headed through the park – and more desert to Santella… The canyon has the Rio Grande in the middle. On the Mexico side (which is also a national park) is a wall of rock hundreds of feet high. On the US side, there is some sandy beach before our rock fortress begins. IT is a beautiful narrow canyon. There is a small hike there, but it was warm and we were hiked out so we opted out.
Then we started heading home. Hmmm, there is a dirt road we can take but we
would have to let some air out of the tires.
Naw… too tired. But wouldn’t it be fun. The truck turned around all by itself and
head to the dirt road. It was either 43
miles on the same boring road we had been on, or 13 miles on a dirt road. It took Spouse about 10 minutes to deflate
the tires and off we went.
At this point, we are seeing the desert up close and personal. Not a lot of traffic and views not seen from the highway. Sure it was bumpy but it was fun! Lots of ocotillos. They are my favorite desert plant with their green spiny tendrils reaching for the sky and their bright red flowers. There are gazillions of them, but most of them are done with their bloom. An old historic house is on the road. Hard to believe someone actually lived in it. Tons of fun bumping down the road.
As we headed home, we thought we would fuel up and Spouse could reinflate the tires. The price of fuel was so expensive that Spouse could only bear to put about 11 gallons in the tank and it shocked him so much, he totally forgot about the air for the tires. They probably would have charged an arm and a leg per tire. I went inside to buy a lemon. For a small lemon it was $2. And I have a tree at home heavy with lemons… Argh!
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
May 4, 2021 FOOOORRRRE! Or maybe five or six…
MEOOOOWWWT! I like
where we are and want to go outside!
MEOOOOOOWWWWT!
In the middle of the night, the wind kicked up big
time. Hannah was shaking and I could
hear things flying outside. In the
morning, it was calm and I took a short walk around. It kind of looked like when I used to go to
Lake Powell after a wind episode and found things all over the lake! But it was
calm now and golf was on our agenda.
Black Jack’s Crossing golf course is a high end course designed by Lanny Wadkins. We were paired up with another couple (Greg who is really good, and Sara who is a beginner). Tee time was 9 am. We started at the driving range where I couldn’t hit a ball right to save my life. Which version of me would be on the course today…
The course is a desert course in that there are arroyos surrounding the lush green of the fairways. I was not allowed to walk. The course is long and has some very steep inclines that would be impossible to navigate with a push cart. There were also a few places where we had to cross water which would have made walking difficult. So, in the cart I went. The first hole, both Spouse and I were a bit erratic but not terrible. Then my golf brains started to kick in.
The course had some extremely challenging holes. But the two most difficult – I NAILED! One was a par four dog leg around a deep chasm
where the entire hole slanted to the chasm.
From our tee, you could not see the fairway. You had to take your chances and swing. For the big kids, if they were on the left
side of the fairway, it was about a 200 yard shot to the green over the
chasm. But for us mere mortals, we have
to go around the chasm. To do that, you
had to position yourself so you could use a club with the right loft or roll
otherwise your ball would roll into the chasm, as Spouse found out. It was a good shot that looked like it was
placed perfectly but it was too bad! I
had a 133 yard shot where I could not see the hole. All I knew was to hit it left of the palm
tree up ahead and hope for the best. I
did! When I got to the top of the hill,
I saw my ball had hit the hill just right and had rolled onto the green about 4
feet from the hole! Who would have
thought… I missed the putt but I didn’t
care!
The other beyond challenging hole… It was a par 3 and you were perched high on the tee box. Way high! WAY WAY HIGH! Greg had a 150 yard shot that looked like a 500 yard shot and sure enough, it was really only 150 yards. Our shot was 130 yards. Did I mention that we were really high up? The hole is surrounded by bunkers, and it is a solid arroyo up until the bunkers. Very intimidating if I do say so. My drive landed on the green. Did you hear me scream? I am sure you did… Spouse ended in the bunker but he so frequently chokes on these shots so we were happy he cleared the arroyo. I parred the hole and it made my day! I ended with a 101 which I was quite proud of since I haven’t played much lately and had cobwebs and rust on me. Spouse… well, his score was higher and let’s leave it at that.
After, we went to a restaurant and ate and drank. We split a
sandwich with French fries and were in heaven.
Real food! When we got back to
Hannah, I sank into my favorite chair and napped. This is heaven!
The town of Lajitas is just a blip in the highway. But it was a strategic location when we stole the land from Mexico. There is the Calvary Hotel that is built on the land where the military resided. There are also confederate monuments dedicated to the soldiers that fought. At the golf course, there is a monument of Robert E. Lee that was relocated there in 2019 so that it wouldn’t get defaced, no doubt. It is a masterful piece that commemorates the past while pledging to do better in the future.
There also is a tiny cemetary that is unique in that the graves are marked with piles of stones. Some actually have markers, but many are just mounds of stones. But one… had an unopened Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and another bottle of some liquor as a tribute. Gotta love them!
Beautiful weather today!
Wasn’t even hot!
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Just so you know...
The software that I use for this blog is extremely tempermental. So I often don't get the right pictures in the right places, or anything else correct for that matter. Google ought to be ashamed! It didn't used to be this bad so when I get some time, maybe I can find some settings that can be tweaked or something. In the meantime, you get what you get!
May 3, 2021 The Window
When we are in the little house that moves, I have a little
bed. I fit on it but sometimes I like to
hang over on a human. They let me do it
too.
It is still dark when my cheery Spouse gets up to start the
coffee. On the one day I can sleep, we
want to get an early start on a hike before the heat sets in. ARGH!
We get ready and are out the door by about 6:30. It is still dark as we make our way to Big
Bend. We intend to hike the Chisos Basin
area. Wait! I think that is a javelina that just ran
across the road! Wow! Anyway, This area is mountainous, created by
volcanoes that are long since extinct.
As we turn up the road, we see a sign that the road will be closed from
8 am till 11 am all week. It isn’t even
7:30 so we beat the closure. It is a
windy road with some hair pin curves. We
plan to hike to the Window. This is a 5
mile moderate hike (total, in and out).
Since we left without eating breakfast, we pack an apple and
some string cheese and chomped some cashews before we headed out. Spouse packed a backpack with every piece of
survival gear on the planet and we headed out.
It is a cool 58 degrees. It starts out going downhill… which means we will be coming uphill in the heat when we are tired. Oh well. From the top, it looks like a desert terrain surrounded by tall rocky crags. We follow the trail down and surprisingly, there seems to be lots of shade. The desert scrub is tall, and even has a few oaks and other tall trees. It is a gentle decline and as we get about 2/3 of the way down, the trail runs alongside a dry creekbed. WE are now enveloped in a canopy of shade from the riparian vegetation. The canyon narrows as we turn onto a series of finely polished stone pools carved from rushing water. Stairs have been carved so that we can navigate around the pools to the next set of pools, then another set of pools that exit between two enormous cliffs – the Window. I am thinking when it rains, this is a rushing river that exits out the Window into a massive waterfall. It is absolutely beautiful.
As much as I want to get a better look out the window, there is something about smooth polished slippery stone that keeps me at a healthy distance from the end! That, and Spouse having a caniption fit with every step I take keeps me honest! We stopped to enjoy our snack before we started the trek back up. It is much longer going back up, and the sun is higher so there is a less shade. But amazingly enough, it was not too hot. The last mile went on forever, which is usually the case with all long hikes! We got back to the truck around noon and it was 77 degrees.
At one point on the return, Spouse wanted me to carry the
backpack. So we switched, and I gave him
the binoculars I was carrying. About 5
minutes later, I hear him calling me asking me where the binoculars were. He is nearly deaf now, and I shouted that I
gave them to him and he was frantic because he couldn’t find them. I had a big decision to make at this
point… Do I tell him that they are
hanging across his chest a la Pancho Villa, or do I let him go back and try to
find them… I decide to tell him which
meant yelling. YELLING. YELLING!
Poor guy!
After lunch at a nearby campground, where my
spouse tried to run over a boulder – again – we decided that since we were so
far into the park, we would check out the Rio Grande Village area. There is a tourist thing at Boquillas Canyon
where you can ferry into Mexico for a meal and come back. It would be too late for today but we could
check it out and figure out when to do it.
The ride over there changes from high desert to ugly desert. Might as well be in the Mojave desert. We stop at a Rio Grande overlook and that was laughable as the river can’t even be
seen. All you can see is the green of
trees along the river. We went into the
village and the river crossing is closed, probably due to Covid. I am so glad we checked this out while we
were so far into the park as I would have hated to make a special trip out that
way only to be disappointed. We did go
to the Boquillas Canyon overlook. There,
a local makes artistic trinkets, and if you want some, you are on your honor to
pay. I feel so bad that the tourism has
dried up for these poor people that I bought a cute trinket that I did not
need. People probably thought that I was
a thief as I had to go into the money jar to make change, but I was honest!
One more stop before we head back for the day. The fossil exhibit called us. Did you know Big Bend National Park is one of
the most prolific provider of dinosaur fossils?
They have a gryposaurus… I think that is an old person that gets cranky…
Monday, May 3, 2021
May 2, 2021 Has anybody seen my keys?
Last night, there was a nice zephyr blowing through my
window with the heavenly scent of the desert sage. It reminded me of all the camping I have done
at Lake Mohave and Lake Powell. It was
still dark when we got up and we had the beautiful twinkling of the city below
with the starry sky above. What a
picture!
With the location of this RV park, there really isn’t much
of a walking area. But the property is
quite large and the views are spectacular.
I figured I would walk around here then finish my walking later in the
day. One problem, I couldn’t find my
keys. Let’s think… I used them when I
put my sunglasses in the truck, then I came right back into Hannah. They have to be here somewhere… Now Spouse is involved… Maybe I should retrace my steps from
yesterday. I rewalked the property but
did not see my keys. They HAVE to be in
Hannah… Spouse is a grumbly mess. I know
they are here. I even check the
refrigerator! Spouse goes to retrace my
steps. Maybe another set of eyes will
help. Think… we were outside watching the sunset and Rudy
got tangled in a pile of straw and I had to bend over and contort myself to
free him. And there were my keys… Now I will forever have to listen to Spouse
and his ‘I told you to zip your waist pouch up’ for the rest of my married
life.
Now that the ‘keytastrophe’ is over, time to move on. Made a quick stop to top off the fuel (no gas buddy!!!) and another quick stop for a few things at the store (did you know that you cannot buy alcohol before noon on Sundays in Texas?), we headed onto 167. The highway runs through the Big Bend Ranch State Park. Every sign for the park heads up a dirt road. Hmmm, maybe later in the week. We pass grazing grounds and high desert scrub and begin to climb. It is a two lane road and we are the only ones on it. It turns, it goes up and down and the terrain is quite rugged. At times, we glimpse the Rio Grande River. We climb, we descend. At one point there is a 15% grade! We stopped and took a wee walk down to the river. I am so surprised it is this mountainous here. There was road construction in one spot with a bridge so narrow, I held my breath as we passed over it. I was glad Spouse was driving.
We descend the mountain into the town of Lajitas, and the
Maverick Ranch RV park, which will be our home for the next 5 days. We finally get to unhook Hannah and we almost
did a great job… After we set her up, we
realized that the steps to get in and out hover over a break in the
concrete. I predict one of us will break
something tripping over this. And just
our luck, the power in the RV park is broken and t will be out a couple of
hours. While other RVrs whined, Spouse
started our generator and our air conditioner.
Ha!
Then we left to explore Big Bend National Park. It is 17 miles to the West Gate, through
desert and more desert. Once inside the
park, there is even more desert (although so much of it was in bloom), and dirt
roads. We did some scouting of what we
want to do. Checked out the Panther Junction
visitor center then headed back. On the
way, we saw a restaurant that was open so the truck automatically pulled
in. Mediocre Mexican food seemed better
than cooking!
Back home, the power is on.
A nice shower and tonite we will watch the stars as this is a dark night
site.
Sunday, May 2, 2021
May 1, 2021 Surprise Surprise Surprise!
May 1, 2021
My humans went away for a while and when they came back, I
ran outside! I got to roll in the
dirt! I could tell my maternal human was
so proud of me because she picked me up and petted me. I liked being petted but she kept moving the
dirt off me. I don’t get it.
The nights have been quite cool and pleasant. This morning, my walk took Spouse and me to
his favorite place… Walmart. It is not
my favorite place but it worked. We got
back, ate and readied Hannah for departure.
We left the ‘beautiful’ town of Deming on I10 east.
Coming into Las Cruces, the mountains towered above and it
was pretty. We had the gas buddy
argument once again, but we fueled and continued east through El Paso.
El Paso is a huge sprawling city, not so much tall but definitely wide. The freeway structures are decorated quite nicely. It was busy but we buzzed through. After a quick bite and a change of drivers, we continued east. To my surprise, the plains turned into something resembling mountains! We are not talking Sierras or Rockies, but mountains nonetheless. At hwy 90, we headed south through the plains to the town of Marfa. Spouse could not contain his pre diabetic self and got a blizzard at Dairy Queen. I did the honorable thing to save him from himself and I had a few bites… Then… Believe it or not, Spouse bought gas without looking at his gas buddy! PROGRESS!
By now, I wanted to stop, but Spouse wanted to drive
on. We already lost an hour to time zone
changes and it was getting late, but on we went.
We turned on to hwy 67 south. It is grazing country and surprise! More mountains! And it is pretty! I expected flat, straw plains and saw green,
grazing grounds! It was still desert
like but with much more character. We
actually climbed in elevation up, then down some into the town of
Presidio. As we were coming into town, I
noticed RVs perched on a hilltop and a dilapidated RV park sign. We decided to check it out. The Dasp RV park is not pretty. It is gravel and weeds and huge spaces with
killer views. We are really quite happy
with this find even though it lacks the fine things. We walked around to check things out and saw
lots of centipedes. I guess that beats
snakes…
We set up, and finally let poor Rudy in. For him, food first, litter box second. I don’t know how he does it!
Tomorrow, we are at the doorstep of Big Bend State
Park. We intend to spend at least 5 days
between here and the National Park next door.
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