February 8th 2016 - Chilly day

This was our last full day at our beautiful Pine Canyon campsite. I loved this site but was looking forward to having phone signal at Camp de Leon to make keeping up with work easier for Francis. The wind was very strong and the temperature was much cooler than any other day since we had arrived. Our privacy shelter blew away but Francis found it nearby with just a few rips but still usable. It was so cold we ate peanut butter and jelly in the car and decided to go for a drive. We drove to Rice Tank which was supposed to be our next campsite before we made the change. It was a very nice campsite with beautiful views of the mountains and good protection from the wind. We continued on Glenn Spring Road where we ran into Guy and he told us more about the history of Big Bend and about the bear he had seen on the Pine Canyon trail. On our previous drive on Old Ore Road, we had seen the grave of Juan de Leon on the side of the road. Guy told us the story he had heard which was different than the one the ranger told us. An internet search revealed that this is an unsolved mystery with many stories. We finished our drive on Glenn Spring Road and connected to River Road. It was a beautiful drive and the perfect way to spend a cool, windy day.

View from Rice Tank

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Pics from Glenn Spring Rd

Grave of Juan de Leon

February 7th 2016 - Hike up the ridge

We liked Guy's idea of hiking to the top of the nearby ridge especially now that we knew there was no park restriction against it. We picked a route we thought could easily get us to the top. We quickly found ourselves at the top with an incredible view of the Pine Canyon area including our campsite. We also had full signal so we sent some emails and texts and made some calls. When we were ready to head back, we realized the way down was a lot tougher than the way up. We tried a couple different routes before we finally ended up doing a crab walk down the steepest areas. It took us about 3 times as long to get down as it did to climb up. We could see Guy's campsite on our way down and hoped he was not watching our less than dignified descent. We made it to the bottom safely with only a few cactus thorns in our pants and a small tear in one of my back pockets.

Our campsite

Guy's campsite

Our campsite

February 6th 2016 - Dugout Wells

Yesterday we briefly got signal while driving near our campsite so we took an early morning walk to see if we could find it again. Francis wanted to check on the security measures he had put in place without making the long drive back to Old Ore Road (at least a 45 minute drive). We had no luck but on our way back we met a Texan by the name of Guy. He told us he had taken a picture of our campsite from the ridge nearby. He was staying in Pine Canyon 4 which is also a lovely spot. We exchanged emails so he could send us the picture. Guy also mentioned he had been able to get signal up there which we were happy to hear.

After breakfast we headed back to Rio Grande Village for more water and to use the wifi. Being in the desert has us going through water like crazy. While on the road, we ran into the same ranger who helped us when we first arrived at the park. He gave us some more suggestions for places we could drive and told us we could hike anywhere in the park not just on established trails. While sitting outdoors at a picnic table in Rio Grande Village, we noticed a very brave roadrunner hop right up on the table next to us clearly hoping for a bite of the man's lunch.

On the way back to camp we decided to check out Dugout Wells. We were intrigued when we saw the taller and greener than average trees there. That always means water nearby.We liked the area  immediately because it had the nicest, cleanest outhouse we have ever encountered. We took a walk through the shady picnic area and then took the short nature walk which had lots of information about plant life in the desert.

Early morning walk

Brave roadrunner

Dugout Wells

sunset at our campsite

February 5th 2016 - Chasing phone signal

We headed back to Rio Grand Village mainly to use the wifi so Francis could check on his server. I took advantage of the opportunity to get a shower. This time I made sure to have $3 in quarters so I would have plenty of time. Unfortunately, the server was down again and he was beginning to believe it was a hack attempt. He needed to install some security measures but the free wifi would not allow him to log in as needed. So we went looking for phone signal so we could tether via his cell phone. We found a spot right at the beginning of Old Ore Road that had full signal and spent several hours there. It was a beautiful sunny spot and gave me time to catch up on emails, text family and friends and read a book on my kindle. Francis figures out it is in fact a severe hack attempt that is having negative consequences for his clients. It is frustrating for him to be dealing with this while on our trip but at least we are doing it in a beautiful place.

After working, we drove further down Old Ore Road to check out the campsites there. We found several that we could receive a phone signal unlike our current site in Pine Canyon. So we went to the ranger station and changed our second campsite from Rice Tank to Camp De Leon. Francis needed the signal to keep checking on his server and we didn't want to spend all our time driving around looking for it.

Our office for the day

Old Ore Road

February 4th 2016 - Quiet day at camp

We were determined to stay at camp today to just relax and enjoy a quiet day at our beautiful campsite. Francis spent time on his writing and I did some reading and worked on the car organization. We keep trying to find just the right system to store everything but the truth is we just have too much stuff in too little space.

Before we knew it, it was time to make dinner. We decided to grill a couple of steaks. We left our small grill at home because we did not have room for it but we came up with a simple solution using a metal rack from a filing cabinet. We came up with this idea on one of our earlier backpacking trips. We wanted to eat well but we needed minimal equipment. We modified the method to use charcoal instead of a wood fire and it works perfectly with very little fuel. In no time, we had a great meal of steak and grilled vegetables.

Since we arrived at this campsite, the night skies have been incredible. Francis was disappointed last year when we visited because the skies had not quite lived up to his expectations but not this year. He was determined to get photos of the breathtaking sight using his cell phone. Unfortunately, no matter what he tried, the camera on his phone could not capture the stars.

Our campsite

February 3rd 2016 - Rio Grande Village

We woke up to a beautiful cool sunny morning and headed to Rio Grand Village which is close to an hours drive from our campsite. They have a store with gas, basic groceries and supplies, wifi, laundry facilities, and coin operated showers. The showers are $1.50 for 5 minutes. I got coffee and quarters for my much needed shower at the store. I left Francis working on his server after he got a message from a friend that it was once again unresponsive. As I was enjoying the hot shower, I misjudged the time and was still covered in soap when the water stopped. Luckily another woman heard my cry of dismay and passed me extra quarters to restart the shower. I was able to help her out a few minutes later when she realized she was out of shampoo.

Feeling wonderfully refreshed, I rejoined Francis so we could work on our blog. We had been keeping notes about our travels but had not posted anything yet. We got caught up looking at all our pictures and before we knew it several hours had gone by.

We headed back to camp to make lunch and enjoy the beautiful sunny day. We brought a portable toilet and privacy shelter with us for this trip but had not used it yet. As always, Francis did his research to choose just the right one, Cleanwaste portable toilet. I was not sure how I felt about the idea but using the bathroom outdoors is not as simple for women as for men and the desert has no tree cover for privacy. We got it set up and weighted down with rocks. Turns out it was a great purchase. It stayed nice and warm inside and I did not have to go into the scratchy desert in the dark to find a bush.

Pine Canyon 3

Sunrise from the campsite

Our portable toilet

February 2nd 2016 - Big Bend here we come

We headed into Walmart at 6 am to clean up and get supplies. I went straight to the ladies room. A Walmart employee came in while I was brushing my teeth and gave me a a very odd look. I am not sure if it was because I was brushing my teeth in Walmart at 6 in the morning, because I was wearing socks with sandals or perhaps it was a combination of the two. It felt so good to have clean teeth I really did not care. We stocked up on two weeks worth of food because Big Bend is very remote and there are no grocery stores nearby. We hopped back into the truck excited to be close to our destination.

When we made it to the small town of Marathon, we knew we were almost to Big Bend. About another hour of driving brought us to the entrance to the park. From there it was still quite a ways to the Visitor Center at Panther's Junction. The drive brought back great memories of our trip here last spring. As we were driving we noticed a lot of smoke a distance away. We made it to the ranger station at about 1 o'clock. We talked to the ranger on duty about our back country permit. She gave us a binder full of pictures and descriptions of all the primitive drive in sites in the park. She also let us know that there was a wildfire and although it was almost contained, a few sites were temporarily off limits due to the fire. I had a few ideas from my internet research. We wanted privacy, good views, and roads that would not be too hard on our vehicle. While we were choosing, another ranger, an older gentleman, offered us his help. He knew a great deal about the park and gave us some good suggestions as well as some places to explore that were off the beaten path. With our choices made, we returned to the desk and got our pass for the next 14 days for only $12 for the entire visit. We selected two campsites for one week each, Pine Canyon # 3, and Rice Tank. We were told if at any point we wanted to change sites we could just go to any ranger station to revise our permit.

With the paperwork taken care of, we headed to check out our first campsite. Big Bend is a huge park so getting pretty much anywhere takes awhile especially on the back roads to the campsites. Finally we arrived at our site and it was everything we had hoped for. We got the tent set up quickly happy to be settled somewhere for a week after our long road trip. There are no fires allowed here because of the dry conditions and it cools down quickly once the sun sets so we headed to the tent shortly after sundown.

Smoke as we drove into Big Bend

Our campsite Pine Canyon 3