We were on our way to West Texas to camp remotely in the Big Bend Ranch State Park and also go to Big Bend National Park with Keith and Danette. On our second night out we stayed near Monahans, Texas at Monahans Sandhills State Park. We hooked up to the local water to shower and scrub before hitting the remote day camping with limited water usage. Priss took a shower and washed her hair. When she came out of the shower she said the water was the best she had ever showered with. I said, this is West Texas, they don’t have water, especially good water. Then I showered and had to agree with her. Something was wrong because the water was softer than using water run through a water softner. And it had a fantastic taste, not your typical West Texas sulphur and salt taste. The next morning we saw a park ranger and ask him about the water. He said it is probably the best water in Texas because it was well water and is sand filtered through the underground sand dunes. Whatever, it is great water. If you’re camping and in the area, stay there overnight and fill your fresh water tank with that wonderful water.
From Monahans we drove to Big Bend Ranch State Park and camped at the Upper Madera Canyon Campground, remote camping on a high point overlooking the Rio Grande River and Mexico across the river. No worries about the cartels because the area is so remote and the geography is so rugged with mountains and very little water only nuts like us venture here.
We unwound from the trip and didn’t do much on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day except enjoy the company, good meals and the solitude.
On the 26th we drove to Lajitas, called Mike to wish him a Happy Birthday then continued on to Big Bend National Park while Keith and Danette did their remote bike riding.
Our destination for the day was to hike Boquillas Canyon, a one and a half mile hike into the canyon along the Rio Grande River. The hike was a little bit of a surprise because we had to climb a steep, rocky hill then decend before getting to the Rio Grande and into the canyon. It was 93 and a hot day for a hike so we carried lots of water. The most interesting part of the hike was meeting all the Mexican nationals who had ridden their horses across the Rio Grande and set up their wares all along the trail to sell to the hiking tourists. They had come from the nearby, very remote town of Boquillas, Mexico, less than a mile from the canyon and with no interference from our Border Patrol. All the ones we met were clean, nice, spoke good english and were happy to push the sale of their goodies, all cheap items with high starting prices, mostly hand made. Bargaining was the rule. True international businessmen. And we were happy to see there was no interference for them from our Border Patrol. After the “mountain” we had to climb and decend we enjoyed the hike along the river into the canyon. At the end of the canyon several families with their kids waded and swam in the very cool water of the Rio Grande. On our return trip, after climbing the “mountain” I was hot, red faced and sweating. On of the International businessmen, with his nearby horse said, for fifteen dollars I’ll give you a ride to the parking lot. Quite tempting and if I had not misunderstood him I would have probably taken him up on his offer, I thought he had said fifty dollars.
We next drove to the Rio Grande Village area and checked out the RV parks, stopped at the visitor center but it was closed for the lunch hour so we started our return route home. On the way we stopped at the natural hot springs and took the half mile hike. This trail was much easier than the Boquillas Canyon trail and shorter too. We got to the end of the trail where the hot spinrg flows into the Rio Grande and was surprised to see how small it is. But that didn’t deter about a dozen people from enjoying the mineral water in varying forms of dress. We inspected the old bath house buildings along the path and also more desert plants including palm trees (native I’m sure) then walked back to the parking lot. On the return drive we again enjoyed the scenery and how remote this place really is. There are also several abandoned ranches in what is now the park and you have to stop and wonder why anyone would try their hand at ranching in such a remote, sparse, waterless landscape.
The next day Keith and Danette wanted to see the Santa Elena Canyon so we car pooled and rode together. We took the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive to the canyon and again enjoyed the desert scenery. We were surprised at the elevation gain along the scenic drive, several of the scenic turn-outs, and the plant life before beginning the decent toward the canyon. At one high elevation turn out you can easily see the canyon from over ten miles away.
We parked at the parking lot and again noticed the park had more people than the day before. From the parking lot an easy walk of a little over a quarter mile took us to the Rio Grande River. We had to wade an almost ancle deep channel to reach a small island, still on the U.S. side of the river that leads to the canyon entrance. At the end of the little island we had to wade a somewhat deeper than ancle deep channel to get to the canyon trail. This part was a bit harry because so many people had already taken the trail they created a muddy, slick, steep bank we had to climb to get to dry land. Ol Priss had thought ahead and brought shower shoes for us to wear when we waded this part of the Rio Grande. Only trouble was I hadn’t worn the shower shoes in probably fifty years and mine looked like they might fit a ten year old. I pushed and pushed and finally got my shower shoes partially on. They were ok when wading the ancle deep channel with a rocky bottom but the last channel was muddy clay. My last step took me more than ancle deep in the mud and when I made my last lunge for the bank, my feet came out of the mud but the shower shoes did not. Guess that will be my donation to a future historic dig.
We were greeted with about an 80’ climb at the beginning of the trail, up and up, back and forth on concrete steps. Then after stopping a dozen or so times to catch our breath we officially entered the canyon trail. The trail is about a mile and a half round trip and unimproved after passing the concrete steps. It is rocky, steep and narrow in some places and was quite crowded this day. But the hike was worth the effort. The trail leads into the beginning (or ending) of the Santa Elena Canyon with sheer cliff walls on each side of the Rio Grande starting out several hundred feet high and they eventually rise to over fifteen hundred feet above the Rio Grande. Mexico on one side and the U.S. on the other. There were several places we could step off the trail and get to river level to look into the canyon for great views.
At the end of the trail the water going into the canyon was only knee deep and quite a few people were wading into the canyon. Don’t know how far they could wade but it would have been a beautiful trip. We weren’t that adventurous so we turned around and headed back.
There was a huge bottleneck of people trying to exit the canyon hike meeting the people trying to enter the canyon hike at the one lane point where I lost my shower shoes. Most people were considerate and patient, waiting their turn to enter or exit but in every crowd there is that one guy that thinks wherever he is, the line begins behind him and makes a bad situation worse. And of course he was right in the middle of this bottleneck. And one woman who must have thought she was “Mountain Woman” was breaking off dead brush and piling it on the steep bank people had to either climb or descend. Am sure the thought she was helping but it only made the bank more slippery and the lines to enter or exit the canyon were increasing on both sides of the channel. But we made it back to civilization, a little more muddy than when we began but still in one piece, happy for the experience and glad we made the effort. To put a cherry on top of the day we had dinner at the Starlite Restaurant in Terlingua Ghost Town, had to wait two hours but the tourists were fun to watch and the food was good and the time passed quickly. While waiting for a table everyone was drinking margaritas and beer, it’s no wonder the wait is so long.
On our final day in the area Keith and Danette were riding their bikes again so Priss and I were heading to the Chisos Basin area of the park. The first indication the park was becoming more crowded was the line at the entrance, it was backed up for more than half a mile and moved slow but steady. When we got to the junction that goes to Chisos Basin the Park Rangers had the road blocked and were directing traffic into a rest area. They said the basin was already overcrowded with no more parking or room to drive. They said we would have to wait at least 20-30 minutes for enough people to come out before they would let anyone else go in. So we waited. We were fifth in line and during the 30 or 40 minutes we waited we watched several dozen more vehicles get in line to go into the basin. We had an early lunch we had packed to pass the time. After 30-40 minutes and after many vehicles exited the basin the ranger said we could work by the honor system. When one more car exited the basin road one car could enter. Our wait was short and we began our trek to the basin. Was surprised how far up we had to drive before beginning our decent into the basin. All in all this is probably the prettiest drive in the park. Chisos Basin is small with steep, narrow, winding roads but the scenery with the rocks and plant life are great. The signs kept indicating it is bear and mountain lion country but they were absent, bears probably hibernating and the mountain lions smart enough to stay away from this crowded mess. When we got to the basin is was still packed, no parking places and a lot of cars circling the parking lots looking for a lucky find. The lodge we had come to see wasn’t anything that special so we departed the crowd, drove to the RV campground and inspected it, then left to let someone else in to try their luck at finding a parking place. Enjoyed the day but was happy to make it a short one since we had a long drive the next day. Back at camp we surprised Danette with an early happy birthday, producing cupcakes with a birthday candle. Tomorrow we go separate ways.
Later.
-Tom