Into the Wild

The first night in Big Bend National Park, a spectacular electrical storm struck the Chisos Mountains as we watched from our porch at the lodge.

On Saturday I met up with my Dad in El Paso. He had been at a conference in Denver and he drove down so we could head to Big Bend. After a night in El Paso, we hit the road. As quickly as possible we got off the interstate and headed into real remote Texas on country roads. On some of these roads you could look around for 360 degrees and not see a single other car or building, not another living thing. It was on one of these stretches when we came across this:

This is the Prada store of Marfa, Texas. Not actually a functioning store but built as a sculpture. Apparently the art is in the contrast between something normally only found in the most urban environments and the wide open spaces of this setting. A short distance down the road we came across the town of Marfa, which was anything but just another small desert town. It had undergone a renewal as a center of modern art. All kinds of artists have moved in and opened galleries, and it was actually pretty cool. When in Texas, expect the unexpected.

Inside Big Bend National Park.

In the park we did a couple of hikes, attended some talks by the national park service rangers, saw deer, lizards, and a scorpian - no snakes yet but not for lack of trying. Also experienced a spectacular storm which lasted a good couple of hours and knocked out power to our lodge for 12 hours. Tonight as I write this we are in Fort Davis, TX and going to see the McDonald Observatory as soon as it gets dark for some astronomy. Tomorrow's plan is to go to Guadalupe Mountains National Park for a hike, and then White Sands, New Mexico the next day. Still having a great time... Here's some more pics.

This is the Santa Elena Canyon, taken from the Big Bend National Park the left side of the canyon is in Mexico and the right is in Texas. Through the middle flows the Rio Grande. The canyon is the height of three Washington Monuments.

This is the Rio Grande just outside the park. The horses just across the river are grazing on Mexican land. At some points the river is so shallow you can easily walk across to Mexico. While technically illegal to come back into the US, there is literally no one around.

Dad across the river.

You've gotta be careful around the river bank. I discovered quicksand the hard way (not the hardest possible way luckily I hit bedrock about a foot deep). One of my footprints is visible here. After getting myself out I had to dig my flipflops out.

The town of Lajitas, Texas. Complete with posts to tie your horse up on should you happen to arrive that way. We had to park our Jeep around the corner.

The remains of an adobe schoolhouse in Terlingua, Texas. Yes that is the same Terlingua of the world famous chilli-cookoffs.

Hamburgers for dinner:

Don't let slip to anyone from Masterton, but there's a lot of Loose Livestock in West Texas!!

On a more serious note though, Dad's attention while driving was often diverted by looking left across the Mexican border this morning. This poor little calf nearly met with the Jeep's bonnet.

That's 42.7 deg celcius.

Contrabando Creek. An amusing name for a tributary that flows into the Rio Grande along the Mexican border in one of the most active drug smugling zones in the world.

And some old news, from before I left El Paso:

El Paso is in the foreground, Juarez in the background. In this photo the increased density of the lights in Juarez illustrates the international border. Buildings are much smaller and closer together on the Mexican side.