Big Bend or Bust!

We left early, met up with Karen and Jimmy in Stockdale, before heading out to Big Bend National Park for a five day stay.  It was a long drive with a lunch stop in Del Rio at the Blue Oasis Cafe.  We arrived at Far Flung Outdoor Adventures just before 5 pm and checked into our cute Casita #4.  Hot dogs were on the menu that night for supper.  The next morning Karen and Jimmy headed to Big Bend State Park and a drive along the famous River Road....we headed into the National Park for the day to explore.  We drove the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, making lots of stops to explore and take photos.  After a stop in Castolon we drove to Santa Elena Canyon, and a walk down to the river, which was very low.  The canyon is magnificent and makes you feel pretty small.  It was at this stop we met a charming couple.....Roland, 91 and Elsie, 92 who were getting married in two weeks.

We talked with them a while and wished them many years of happiness.  Their spirit was amazing and I told them they were my heroes!  We had a picnic by the river and took a brief nap on a picnic table before heading into the Basin. The drive into the basin has lots of switch backs, but it is beautiful.  We parked and hiked The Window trail to get some photos.  At one of the spots we rested on a bench with The Window in front of us.....very picturesque!  It had been a great day hiking, exploring, and viewing the beauty of this area.  We joined Karen and Jimmy for dinner.....ribs, potato salad, corn on the cob and dessert at the Casitas.

The next day we all headed to the Hot Springs.....it was another beautiful drive.  The road into the Springs was very narrow, but we made it safely and after a brief hike Karen and I were soaking in the 105* degree water....the guys sat in the shade and took pictures as we acted crazy! We had a picnic together under some big Cottonwood trees and then split up to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Dinner that night was back at our casitas.  The next day Dale and I were scheduled to do a half day river trip.....so we were off early!  The weather was perfect, nice and cool as we put the canoes in the water and began to paddle.  We made our way into a small canyon and had a few small rapids to run....nothing to hard!  A stop half way for snacks on the Mexican side of the river was nice.

We enjoyed the trip and soon were back at the Casita for lunch.  Karen and Jimmy went into the National Park that day.  Later we explored Terlingua's Ghost Town and the movie set called Contrabando.  For our last night we had dinner at the Starlight Theater in Terlingua.....a nice way to end our trip and the food was pretty darn good!  Up early we headed home!  Big Bend was awesome, beautiful, unique.......and HOT! Except the morning we left it was 59*!