Big Bend National Park - Truly Awesome

Friday 5/21 Decided to blow off Carlsbad (we have both been there before) and head directly to Big Bend National Park. After the Garmin got confused with some new freeeways around El Paso that were not in the map database, we finally started making progress. Not too far past Las Cruces (maybe near El Paso) we encountered a massive dairy farm and/or feed lot, from which emanated a cloying stench so acrid as to irritate every mucus membrane in my nose, throat and mouth. Honest to God, it was terrible. I do not know how local folks tolerate it. We spent the night in a very friendly rural RV park in the little town of Alpine TX.

Saturday 5/22 The ride from Alpine to Big Bend was a little stressful for us, since we got separted and basically spent the day chasing each other. In the morning Jay and i were getting geared up and I told Jay I was going up to the Shell station to get some ice and gas. I assumed Jay would follow shortly since he was putting his helmet on as I pulled out. After I had been at the station for awhile and Jay did not appear, I assumed that he had misheard me and had headed for Marfa for gas, which was on the route to Big Bend. So I started in that direction but did not encounter him in Marfa either. Well, he may have gone on I'm thinking, so I headed on down the road towards Presidio. Arriving in Presidio, I decided to call Joy Lindholm who looked at Jay's SPOT page and said he was in Shafter heading south toward Presidio. Relieved to know his location, but confused as to how I got ahead of him, I pulled into the first gas station and waited for him to arrive. After 55 minutes and no Jay, I called again and this time was informed that he was now PAST Presidio, almost to Big Bend! Jay had not taken the same road into Presidio as I , and had slipped by me. We finally caught up with each other just inside the park. We spent the night in Chisos Basin Campground at around 5000 feet elevation ( what, you didn't know Texas has Mountains?) in a strikingly beautiful craggy amphitheater, with peaks and towers jutting up another 2000 feet around us.

Sunday 5/23 - We were so impressed with the experience in Big Bend Park we decided to extend our stay in the park another day. Jay was having a near-religious experience with his binoculars doing his birding. The variety of the bird population here is world re-known. We packed up and moved the camp to the Rio Grande Village, since we were desirous of a shower, and we needed to do some laundry. After dropping off the trailers in the Rio Grand campground, we re-mounted and spent the better part of the day on a ride back through the park and up the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive to the Elena Canyon overlook. We now know that we can survive 106 degrees, with enough water. The drive, the canyons, the mountains.... all truly awesome.

Monday 5/24 - OK then... we have given Big Bend a fair bit of attention. Time to move on towards San Antonio for a pit-stop with my old friend Richard Wells. However the distance at 425 miles is a bit much so we are currently overnighting in Del Rio in a nice RV park (with great WI-FI). As I type this I am sitting inside the Kwiw-Kamp while a typical Texas thunderstorm rages upon and around us. This is the real deal complete with wind gusts, cracking thunder, blazing lightning and downpours of biblical proportions. Jay is in his tent as well, probably typing emails while we wait out the storm. Oh yeah, I must mention Jay's "issue" with his trailer today. While cruising along about 60 MPH, the rear strap that holds the storage tube under his unit broke and the tube dragged the ground. We removed the tube completely and bungeed it to the top of my trailer until we can get to Richard's and fix it.

>>>>Next morning update<<<<<>

The storm turned into a tempest, raging on until about 3 AM. Blasted the tents with fire-hose rain and severe wind gusts. The thunder and lightning defy description - you had to be there. We stayed mostly dry, but both Jay and I had to stand up in the Kwik-Kamps and brace against the wind. We are mopping up, drying out, and doing laundry.