Hot Springs Trail Overlook - Rio Grande River
...lions, and tigers, and bears....
The "Window" at Chisos Basin
A tough spot for trees
You don't want to sit down on one of these by accident
I am still at Big Bend – I can’t seem to leave. For the past five days I have filled out the yellow park envelope and enclosed my payment of $14.00 and indicated that I was going to leave the next day and then I get up the next morning and see the beautiful blue sky and think I can’t leave this place. And Gaila’s fresh baked muffins and coffee confirm that I have made the right decision.
Yesterday we hiked part way along the Hot Springs trail which
winds up the side of a limestone cliff. From there we had a great view of the
Rio Grande, the Chisos and Dead Horse Mountains. After sitting in the hot sun
for a while, we decided that was enough hiking and we went back from the edge
to find the trail. We couldn’t find it at first and I realized how easy it
would be to go off course when the desert cactus and bushes all look so
similar, a seemingly endless vista of grey and brown foliage and gravelly dirt
and rocks.
As the day wore on I was dying for a burger and fries or
something equally tasty and so using a hike as an excuse we headed out late
in the afternoon for the lodge at Chisos Basin, a drive of approximately 45 minutes. Once parked, we started hiking the Window
Trail which basically is all downhill until it gets to the “Window”, and then
you return by the opposite and more difficult method, of slogging uphill, one
step at a time. The one good thing I thought while hiking was that it would
help wear off the calories of the proposed meal that was next on the schedule.
I kept busy on the hike, watching my footing on the scree-covered slope, which is rolling rough cut small rocks that can really turn your ankle if you are not careful, and as well, checking every bush for a crouching mountain lion or bruin. There were warning signs to watch out for these animals, but we saw nothing, only a couple of birds. Because it would be dark soon
after 6 we were only able to go about ½ way. Oh, such regret!
Dinner at the lodge was wonderful. The staff is incredibly
friendly, the view to the rock window formed by the mountains was highlighted
by the setting sun, and the tacos I ordered really hit the spot. Because we had fit in two hikes today I felt completely
justified in ordering dessert, 2 brownies topped with ice cream for us to
share. Some days are just full of good
things.
It felt like we were in the Arctic when we went back outside, and it was incredibly dark out. Now that I had satisfied my urge for fat food, I wasn’t so eager to tackle the drive back to the campsite. There are switchback curves with only a few token rocks seemingly accidentally spaced that seemed not up to the task of stopping anything from going over the cliff edge, let alone my truck. As I drove slowly up the switchbacks, we saw on one curve, a set of eyes glowing back at us and then the whole head and front paws as it peered around a low highway sign directly into our lights. Then it took off along the side of the road, and we could see its long ringed tail that looked just like a racoon’s. Gaila knew what it was right away, a ring-tailed cat.
Gaila had talked to a park ranger earlier in the day, and he had told her that at night he often stopped to escort rattlesnakes and tarantulas off the park road so that they wouldn’t get run over. We saw only one more creature along the road, a jack rabbit. I was glad about that because I knew I wasn’t
going to get out of the truck in the dark to encourage any creature to move out
of the way, let alone a snake or a tarantula. I would have chosen to outwait
them.
When I got back to my trailer, the fan was still running to
keep Baloo cool, and I thought that I had done a good job of recharging the
trailer battery. I used my headlamp to read but it was to no avail, within the hour, the light failed and the fridge had
stopped because although it runs on propane, it needs an electrical charge too
– greedy pig that it is.
Tonight the coyotes howled, so loudly that Baloo woke up and decided to join in. He barked so enthusiastically that Dick and Gaila heard him, and they are ¼ mile away.
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