A Big Bend Thanksgiving (11-28-14)

Spending 10 days in Terlingua, near Big Bend National Park, always requires some careful meal planning.  The nearest full fledged grocery store is 90 miles away.  When you add Thanksgiving into the mix,  lots of meal planning and shopping is required.

Along with Mike and Julie, we made several trips to Costco and grocery stores on the way to Terlingua. 

The day we arrived it was Taco Tuesday (although we think they might have this deal every day).  From 5-6 pm, the Starlight Theater Restaurant has $1 tacos and $2 Margaritas.  It’s hard to justify cooking with a deal like that so we didn’t even try- we just headed over to the restaurant to eat.

Thanksgiving Day dawned with perfect weather- we had a short time for relaxing before the preparations began.

The guys had set up a table and tent between the two trailers, making an awesome spot for socializing and outdoor meals.

Both of our rigs have two ovens and they were all in use that day!

We were checking regularly with our friends Dave and Nancy, who were driving feverishly to get here in time for dinner.  It took several long days of driving, but they made it for dinner with about an hour to spare!

Both the food and the company were awesome….

Afterwards, some of us were plumb tuckered out, and took an afternoon nap.











With our energy level back up on Friday, we all hiked the 1.5 mile trail to Cattail Falls.  Paul and I have been here before and wanted our friends to see it. It isn’t on any of the park maps, which helps keep visitation down.

The first part of the trail wanders through the desert before approaching the mountains…

and the last section of the trail involves some minor rock scrambling….

The reward is a small but pretty waterfall in the shadow of the mountain, making it a perfect spot to stop for lunch. Waterfalls are rare in this area and the ecosystem here is very fragile, which is why it is not on the maps.