Monday, February 29, 2016 Through Thursday, March 3, 2016 Maverick Ranch RV Resort and Big
Bend National Park, Lajitas, Texas
On the way to Big Bend we saw a strange looking bird of prey eating something on the edge of the road. We looked it up later and discovered it was a Crested Caracara, This is the northern edge of its range so you don't get to see them often. We also saw one in flight.
We arrived here at the Maverick RV Resort in Lajitas,
Texas. This is a very nice campground
with a lot of amenities. Of course there
is the usual pool and clubhouse. But
besides that there is a saloon, restaurant, gift shops, gas station and even a
golf course. All this is surrounded by
desert and the backdrop there is the mountain. There is also a longhorn museum with 457 horns
on display and on the property there is over 1500 horns throughout the whole
resort. Someone really must have liked
longhorns. The sites are a good size with a cement patio in most. At night all outside lights are out at 9 pm. Why? The
skies light up with tons of stars and constellations. Here is a list of some of the ones that we
saw: Orion, Leo, Sagittarius, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Ursa Major and Minor
and the planet Jupiter.
Happy Birthday to my sister, Dawn. (Her birthday was the 28th)
Thursday, March 3, 2016 Big Bend National Park
We have spent the last 3 days driving and hiking around Big
Bend National Park. This park has a lot
to offer. You are able to see desert
terrain, the river (Rio Grande River) and the mountains all in one place. We visited all corners of the park and saw where the Rio Grande disappears to the east into the Boquillas Canyon whose walls are hundreds of feet tall. While here we saw walking sticks and figures made from copper wire and beads on a rock. Next to them was a bottle that you are to place money into. The prices where reasonable but it is illegal to purchase these items (this was listed in the info paper we got from the Park Ranger). You see they were brought over the river from Mexico by, that's right, Mexicans. They come back later to get the unsold items and the money. We also saw where the Rio Grande enters the park through the Santa Elena Canyon to the west. This canyon's walls go up 1500 feet. The river is not wide anywhere through the park. We hiked into both of these canyons. We took a short cut to Santa Elena Canyon down a 13 mile dirt and gravel road but we came back on a regular road which was twice as long.
On the way out of the park on our second day we went up to the Chisos Mountain Basin. Here we could see the desert below through what they call the Window.
We visited the campground in the park where we originally had our reservations and it is just as everyone said, a parking lot with hookups. The lots were very small. We are glad we stayed at The Maverick Ranch RV Park at the Lajitas Golf and Spa Resort. The rates were very reasonable.
Each one of the 16 National Parks that we have
visited so far on this trip have all been different and we have enjoyed each
one and all that it offers.
We are heading out tomorrow for New Mexico.
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| Picture of a Crested Caracara |
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| Some of the longhorns in the Museum |
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Our site at Maverick Ranch
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| Our sunset at Big Bend National Park |
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| The mountains |
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| Rio Grande River |
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| Another shot of the Rio Grande |
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| Wild donkey on the Mexican side of river |
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| Pat looking at the Mexican handy work |
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| Mexicans across the river watching their stuff |
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| Mike at the mouth of Boquillas Canyon |
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| A cactus Wren |
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| The Window View |
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| Our 13 mile dirt road |
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| Torrey Yucca |
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| Mike standing beside a Jacal- a home made with rock, earth and plant fiber |
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| The bridge we had to cross to get into Santa Elena Canyon |
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| The stairway into the canyon |
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| The entrance of the Canyon |
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| Inside Santa Elena Canyon |
