Big Bend National Park, TX

What a difference a day makes, weather wise, at least.…Two days ago, we drove 45 miles, across the park, to hike for a couple of miles in the desert, and then go to some hot springs. By the time we got to Boquillos Canyon to hike, it was in the mid 80s and the sun was beating down on us, with not a cloud in the sky. As we walked into the canyon, there were walking sticks and small pieces of artwork, set up on some rocks. There was a list of prices for each item, and a bucket to put money in. We came across several of these “piles” as we walked to the canyon. Looking across the Rio Grande, we could see the Mexicans hanging out on the other side. They cross the river when no one is looking and leave their goods for people to buy. As we got closer to our goal, we heard someone singing! A Mexican man was serenading us as we walked. Again, we came across a bucket with a note asking for donations for the singing.


Long before we got back to the truck, we knew it was not the day for hot springs. We were way too hot to contemplate getting into hot water.

We headed back home for the day.

I guess its always a good idea to make plans set in jello….the next day we had planned on hiking to Emery Peak, the highest point in Big Bend National Park, but when we got the trailhead, it was only 35 degrees out! There was no way we were dressed for that kind of cold, so we drove instead to the hot springs that we had skipped yesterday. It was actually pretty awesome. The water from the spring comes out at about 105 degrees, and the “pool” is big enough for a dozen people. It actually pipes into the ruins of a building that used to be there, that butts right up to the Rio Grande river. If it was warm out, you could go from the hot springs right into the river to cool off. Since it was cool out, we just hung out in the hot springs, and chatted with a couple from Maine who come down here every year for 5 months. We stayed for about two hours, ate lunch, and then decided we were waterlogged enough for one day.

On the way home we hiked The Grapevine Hill Trail, which was at the end of a 6 mile dirt road in the desert. There were unusual rock formations at the end of this trail, which made it a worthwhile way to spend an hour or so.

After dinner we called it a day, because we wanted to get up at 1 am to see if we could see the meteor shower. I hate to say that it was a waste of time getting up in the middle of the night, but it kind of was….we each saw one meteor in the hour we sat outside. Visibility certainly wasn’t the issue, since there is hardly any light pollution here and there were a gazillion stars. The meteors just weren’t there to see! Sadly disappointed we went back and got a few more hours sleep.

So, today was a day that I was really proud of myself. We drove to headquarters to catch the Pinnacles Trail, which leads to Emery Peak, the highest elevation in the park at about 7800 ft. After sleeping in a little too late due to our midnight excursion, we got to the trailhead at 11:30, a little late to start that kind of hike, but we figured we’d go as far as we could. We hiked up 4.5 miles, with an elevation gain of 2700 ft. and made it all the way to the top of Emery Peak. We had lunch along the way, and kept a sharp eye out for wildlife (we did see several deer along the way- no mountain lions though). We knew if we weren’t far enough along at 2:30, we wouldn’t make it to the peak, since we lose daylight at 6 pm. Pushing hard, we did it, for a total hike of 9 miles/ 6 hours.

On the way home we fueled up, in preparation for leaving tomorrow for El Paso.

At the store/gas station, there was a pile of clothes on a bench. Paul asked the cashier what the clothes were there for and she said that its just one of the ways that the townspeople help each other out. Anyone who has clothes they don’t want bring them to the bench and leave them there, and anyone who needs them just takes them. Really neat. There are definitely some differences between this type of small town and the places we are used to. The other day we stopped at a store that sells plants and stones, and there was a sign posted out front that said “be back at 1:30- if you want a plant, leave the money in the bucket.” The day before that we went to the liquor store and there was a sign on the door that said “see cashier at general store”, so the woman at the store next door told us to just wait two seconds while she called the guy and told him he had a customer. Sure enough, a few minutes later he showed up.