February 14th 2016 - Valentine's Day

We celebrated Valentine's Day by having a quiet day at our campsite. Even in a place as remote as Big Bend, the popular places get busy on the weekends. It was another wonderfully warm, sunny day. Francis helped a friend with some work and I kept myself entertained reading and playing on my kindle. A day in Big Bend beats flowers and candy hands down.

Pics from the campsite

Attempt at capturing the night sky

February 13th 2016 - Hiking Boquillas Canyon

We headed out early for Rio Grande Village for showers and a few supplies. From there we planned to check out a couple of the hikes recommended to us the day before. We chatted for awhile with a couple from New Hampshire who had seen us at the hot springs a few days before. They are doing a similar trip to ours to celebrate their youngest son finishing college. As usual, we traded recommendations for beautiful places to go.

Our first hike of the day started at the end of the campground. The first part of the hike was paved and very easy walking. As we walked further, it got rockier and steeper and we could see horses across the river into Mexico. At the top we met an older gentleman named Skipper. He was very friendly and even offered to share his lunch with us. I am constantly amazed and touched by how kind and generous so many of the people we have met on this trip have been.

We returned to the truck to head to Boquillas Canyon for our second hike. The day had turned quite warm by this point so we made sure to carry plenty of water with us. The hike took us upward at first, then down into a canyon with a beautiful view of the river. We were serenaded by a Mexican man on the opposite shore. He had a tip jar on the US side of the river and a canoe to row across to pick it up. We hiked to a lovely shaded spot and watched the animals across the river and listened to the echoes of the voices of people nearby.

As we headed back out, we saw a perfect spot for swimming on the bank of the river. A couple and their young son were there enjoying the water. As warm as it was, I was sorry I did not have my suit. As we once again passed the singing man, we ran into Skipper again.  He had requested a song from the man across the river. We stopped to chat and he told us about the reopening of the border of US and Boquillas and the improvements it was bringing for the little town. He gave us some recommendations for places to go including a historic mining town in Arizona called Bisbee.

First hike of the day

Boquillas Canyon hike

Sunset at our campsite

  

February 12th 2016 - Ernst Tinaja Trail

After a quick breakfast of peanut butter and jelly, we headed to the nearby Ernst Tinaja trail for a hike. The trailhead was just down the road from us. We headed in and within minutes we had left the sun behind and were in a cool, shady canyon. We quickly came to the first tinaja which is a steep sided hole in a rock filled with water. If animals fall into them, they have a hard time getting back out and die there. The actual trail is quite short but you can go well beyond it. We climbed up and down over many boulders and saw several more of the watering holes. The rock formations were beautiful. You could clearly see that many of them had once been lava. We went as far as the terrain would allow then made our way back to the trailhead.

On our way back, we decided to do some exploring further down the road. We checked out the campsites and walked around the remains of some sort of ranch or settlement. While we were exploring, we ran into a husband and wife pair of park volunteers. We chatted with them a bit and they gave us some tips for some nice hikes to take in the park.

Tired and hungry by this point, we headed back to camp for lunch. Tacos never tasted so good.

Hike to Ernst Tinaja

Tinaja

Hike beyond

February 11th 2016 - Solar shower

We decided to have an “at home” day and just relax and enjoy our secluded campsite. The weather had really heated up so we were sure to drink plenty of water. The rule of thumb is a gallon of water a day when camping in the desert. It seemed like the perfect day to try our solar shower for the first time. According to the packaging, 3 hours in the sun on a 70 degree day heats the water to 115 degrees. The picture shows the bag hanging on a tree but there are no trees in the desert so Francis held it up for me to shower first and then I held it for him. The water was the perfect temperature. It can be hard to find places to shower as often as I like so I was excited to have another alternative. It is a very simple design but it really works well.

With the weather warming up, we can sit outside much later in the evening. This gives us the chance to really enjoy the incredible night skies here. The lack of light pollution allows you to see so many more stars. Francis and I even saw our very first shooting star. He is still determined to get some good photos so he is experimenting with using his Gopro cam. It turns out it does a good job and I know Francis will keep working on it until he gets it just right.

Solar shower on the right(on top of storage box)

Campsite

Attempt at night sky

February 10th 2016 - Hot Springs

 After a quick breakfast, we headed to the nearby Hot Springs. This is a lovely area of the park with trails, historical buildings, access to the Rio Grande, and of course the hot spring. On the way to the spring, we noticed some crafts for sale along the trail. I had read that the crafts were being sold by Mexican natives from across the border. They use an honor system with a jar for payment and come across the river in the evening to pick up the money. A short hike brought us to the spring. It is a small area enclosed by concrete blocks. The water is 105 degrees at its source. While soaking our feet, we chatted with some fellow visitors. They gave us some tips of other nice places to visit nearby including the Fort Davis Observatory.

As Francis was immersing himself fully in the water, another group of visitors came up. A very friendly gentleman by the name of Frank knew a lot about the history of the spring and was anxious to experience the warm water. His aunt in law Rosie was a bit more hesitant but eventually took off one sock and shoe and put a foot in. No amount of persuading convinced her to go any further. Frank shared his amazing story of surviving a 13 foot fall that broke his neck, and leg as well as many other injuries.

After they left, I took advantage of the fact that we were the only ones there and went into the spring in my bathing suit. The water was fantastic, warm but not too hot and so relaxing. I could have stayed much longer but I knew we would not be alone for long and that shyness thing always gets me. Sure enough, a large group with a guide arrived moments after I dried off and got dressed. Apparently they did not suffer from shyness because they quickly stripped to their suits and jumped in. On our way out we chatted with a gentleman who has worked at several national parks. He encouraged us to check out Wind Cave and the park in Alaska. As much as neither of us likes the cold, I must say he made both places sound very appealing.

We headed back toward the car, stopping along the way to take a short hike.The loop trail was an easy 1 and a half miles with some beautiful views. We recommend the Hot Springs if you visit Big Bend National Park.

Crafts on the trail

Shack on the Mexican side

Hot Spring

Francis and Frank chatting

Views from the hike

The drive back

February 9th 2016 - Camp de Leon

We woke to a warmer much less windy day. We packed up quickly and headed to our new site, Camp de Leon. It is always exciting getting to a new place and deciding where to set everything up. The weather forecast promised sunny days with temperatures increasing into the low 80s over the next few days. It seemed like the perfect time to try out the canopy we had picked up at REI. REI makes great products but often the instructions are a bit lacking so we were prepared for setup to take awhile. Happily, this time the directions were clear and we had it set up in no time. It was the perfect place for our chairs.

As much as we enjoyed Pine Canyon, this campsite was warmer and we were excited to spend less time chasing phone signal and more time enjoying the park.

Our campsite