Sunday 30 April 2017

Two Drives we want to forget: Big Bend to Pecos; Pecos to Roswell

 

When we decided to go north west to Roswell, we were not aware that we would be driving through the butt-hole of Texas and New Mexico.  After we exited Big Bend Park, we saw a handful of sights before all interesting geology and humanity vanished.  The landscape was flat and inhabited by the oil business.  Any signs of life were in the oil pumps, rigs, trucks trains and cranes that supported the extracting and fracking of oil.  The only colour was in the flames and the painted cabs of the huge transport trucks that hauled the oil.  The highway surface was rutted and patched, greasy and dusty.  Most towns were derelict and any occupied homes were tiny, run-down and in the middle of nowhere.

P1120554

P1120509

P1120516

P1120505

P1120518

P1120521

P1120542

P1120578

P1120581

P1120603

P1120595

P1120525

King of the Hill

P1120639

P1120638

P1120689

P1120690

P1120636

We stayed at the wretched Traveller’s RV Park, supposedly Passport America approved!?  It was 88% sand and gravel and 98% occupied by oil workers and their families.  It was actually quiet and had one beautiful cactus blooming beside the doggie park, which featured green grass, much to Dixie’s approval.

P1120605

In the morning we headed further towards Roswell, experiencing similar conditions as the day before only we were held up for over ninety minutes following slow moving oil trucks and a house that was being moved and had nowhere to pull over and let traffic by. 

P1120615

P1120609

P1120640

P1120622

P1120671

P1120654

P1120675

P1120716

Now in New Mexico

P1120727

P1120729

P1120745

P1120700

P1120698

P1120697

P1120740

P1120743

P1120728

What? A beautiful blooming Yucca?

P1140784

What happened in Roswell… the blog is on the horizon.

P1120750

Saturday 29 April 2017

BIG BIG Big Bend National Park, Texas

 

Big Bend National Park spans 1,252 miles of the Chihuahuan Desert, the Chios Mountains and the Rio Grande and Riparian Zone.  It takes over an hour to drive from one end to the other.  The park is named after the notable curve in the Rio Grande that divides the Texas and Mexico.  The mountains reach heights of 7,832 feet whereas the lowest areas are at 1,800 feet.  The most amazing feature of the park is its diversity.

P1110755

P1110759

P1110763

P1110765

P1110775

P1110779

P1110833

P1110782

P1110793

P1110803

P1110805

P1110806

P1110814

We stayed in the Rio Grande Village at the east end of the park and drove out to visit different areas each day.  We downloaded the free audio app that explained the various geology, history, flora and fauna as we toured Big Bend.  As well as many driving tours, there are trails offering different challenge levels and miles of paved roads for cyclists to tackle. The RV park was edged by grass and trees and a fabulous 360 degree view of the mountains.  Watching the skies, clouds, sunsets and one crazy wind and rainstorm provided constant inspiration.  Our Mexican neighbours were very friendly and we watched them practice roping the bull.  A five minute bike ride lead to a picnic area and boat launch.  An old Pueblo Farmhouse stood beside a shady row of Paolo Verde.

P1120110

P1120232

Chris set up his Ham Radio one afternoon.

P1110876

P1110883

P1120263

P1110886

P1110892

P1110887

P1110893

P1120229

Pueblo farmhouse

P1120292

 P1120293

We had daily visitations from a pair of Roadrunners who nonchalantly walked through our campsite, pruned their feathers and caught and devoured insects.  In the past, we have viewed Roadrunners only at a distance, usually on the move away from us or crossing the road just like their portrayal in the Coyote/Roadrunner cartoons.  It was a real thrill to watch them up close beside our motorhome!  We regularly watched a Raven and a group of Vultures, many small songbirds and a pair of Gila Woodpeckers who lived in a tree hole beside the RV.  A couple of days, it was so hot and dry that the birds were “panting”.  A troupe of Javelinas could be seen dining on the grass and searching for scrap food that humans had carelessly left around.

P1120218

P1120228

P1120249

P1120256

P1120259

P1120266

P1120452

P1120272

 P1120244

P1120234

P1120238

P1120295

P1120483

P1120298

P1120296

P1120456

P1120282

P1120278

P1120286

Our first hot hike lead us through a rocky, sandy path down into a valley dotted with Mesquite and Paolo Verde Trees.  We watched the Rio Grande travel slowly along and cool a few Mexicans who were swimming from the opposite bank.  An entrepreneurial Mexican fellow played his wooden flute when he saw hikers approaching and offered some crafts for sale.  Once past him, we enjoyed some shade and stillness beside the river in the shadows of the mountains.

P1110816

P1110814

P1110830

P1110826

P1110825

P1110832

P1110836

P1110866

P1110860

P1110839

P1110856

P1110867

P1110838

P1110873

Another day, we rode our bikes over to the Rio Grande Village Nature Trail.  The trail begins by crossing a wooden platform over a pond surrounded by twenty foot high grasses.  The trail climbs a hillside that affords amazing views of the river and mountains.  The rock formations in the park would be a geologist’s dream.  We saw a huge fault-line crossing the rock face.  From the hilltop one can observe the U-shaped curve of Rio Grande to which the park owes its name.  The stony paths are skirted with cactus, wild flowers, succulents and many little lizards and four inch centipedes.

P1120112

P1120111

This poor beauty sadly met a car.

P1120113

P1120117

P1120120

P1120128

P1120174

P1120131

P1120132

P1120143

P1120146

P1120147

P1120154

 

P1120160

P1120155

P1120166

shell fossils

P1120170

Candelilla used by early settlers to produce wax in the early 20th century

P1120169

P1120175

natural marks on the rocks looked like pictographs

P1120172

P1120180

Great Earless Lizard

P1120181

P1120194

P1120196

P1120198

P1120203

Pitaya Cactus

P1120205

P1120206

P1120209

P1120212

On another day trip we spent over an hour crossing the park to the western side then drove the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.  We stopped at the visitor centre at Panther Junction that displayed maps, models and artefacts of the park and its cultural history.  It also had and amazing bookstore and garden where all the native plants were represented and labelled.  A Century Plant blossom stalk was beginning its journey to the sky to unfurl.

P1110918

P1110915

One half hour hike took us to the remains of Sam Nail Ranch where a small oasis of trees and cacti surrounded Sam’s home and farm.

P1110994

P1110929

P1110962

Prickly Pear Cactus

P1110927

P1110935

Adobe wall remains.

P1110938

P1110949

P1110946

P1110958

P1110954

original windmill

P1110940

“new” windmill

P1110965

P1110974

The drive though the valley highlights many of the park’s geologic splendors with many lookout points like Mule Ears, Tuff Canyon and Cerro Castellan, formerly an active volcano with its solid lava rock forms.

P1120005

P1120070

P1120011

Cerro Castellan

P1120014

We grabbed some lunch at the Castolon Historic Compound and vintage camp store.  The most southern part of the drive leads to the Santa Elena Canyon where breathtaking limestone cliffs rise 1,500 feet above the Rio Grande.  The river carves its path between the Mexican cliffs on the east side and the bluffs of the US on the right.

P1120019

P1120023

P1120026

P1120031

P1120025

P1120038

P1120040

P1120043

P1120050

P1120046

P1120053

Rio Grande, master rock carver.

P1120056

P1120060

P1120066

P1120062

P1120076

P1120078

P1120084

P1120102

We had no time to fit in a visit to the Hot Springs where folks came for the healing waters in the early 1900’s and continue to soak in today.  The park also features a Fossil and Dinosaur ExhibitBalancing Rock is another favourite site that we can visit next time.  We did take a day trip to the remarkable Chios Basin.  The winding drive begins along the arid desert and rises over 2,000 feet into the Chios Mountain peaks.  As well as  many hiking trails there is a visitor centre, a campground, lodge and dining room.  A huge Ocotillo Cactus, in full bloom, set the foreground for the mountain view.  We hiked the Basin Trail that connects the Laguana Meadow and Pinnacles Trail.  We viewed some amazing cacti and huge beetles, cacti blossoms crammed with thirsty bees, pinion pine and juniper and a view of The Window, a space in the mountain range which is the chief water runoff point for the Chios Valley.  The space also frames the sunset and was considered a spiritual location by indigenous peoples. If you ever have the chance, do visit Big Bend National Park!

P1120299

P1120303

P1120304

P1120312

P1120315

P1120322

P1120323

P1120326

P1120327

P1120328

P1120431

P1120347

Cactus with birdsnest

P1120348

P1120396

P1120353

Pancake Cactus

P1120396

P1120351

Opuntia Cactus

P1120354

P1120356

P1120358

P1120359

P1120375

Yucca

P1120377

P1120379

P1120380

P1120381

P1120390

P1120410

Pinion Pine

P1120392

Hooded Oriole

P1120422

P1120403

P1120395

P1120355

The Window

P1120448

Yucca Pods

P1120451

P1120425

Slices of local rock top the walls around the lookout site at The Window.

P1120426

P1120427

P1120430

We had been told that Tarantula Spiders were “all over the Big Bend” but we had seen none.  As we drove out of the park Chris spotted one crossing the road.  I whipped out with my camera and ran back to catch a few shots.  He/she was easily as big as my palm and quite colourful up close.

P1120489

You leavin?  See ya next time!

P1120492

P1120494

P1120497

So camouflaged!

P1120499