Golden Eagles - The Highlight!!

Today was a normal day on patrol - checking for trash under the Tornillo Creek bridge, stop in at a campsite to see if the current occupants had "rearranged" the barriers, north to Persimmon Gap and back again. But I came around a curve in the road and saw the most humongous bird take flight! I watched it fly way far away, playing in the thermals.

So imagine my delight when I came around a different turn in the road and ANOTHER(!) huge bird flew up from the roadside with something in its talons! I knew right away that it was a golden eagle. As a matter of fact there were two. After I shot a few photos from more than 200 yards they, too, flew up over the mountains and played in the thermals.

I love his pantaloons! (It is fuzzy because I was a long ways away.)

A raven enjoying a roadkill snack. . .

A lame Javelina by headquarters. I'll tell our park biologist and see what he says.

Devil's Den, Dog Canyon and On Patrol

It has been another busy week, but nothing stupendous is happening. Today Jep came with me to do a shuttle of the river rangers and Steve & Daisy to Talley for a float trip of the Mariscal Canyon. This was another one of those areas that no one can go by themselves because of its proximity to the border. Besides I could not drive both vehicles by myself.

Friday was a doctor appointment in El Paso and, true to form, the weather was horrible. 15 days ago when I made the last trip it was foggy, rainy, sleety and miserable. This time it was rainy, foggy, and dangerous because the car wanted to hydroplane most of the way. Oh, well. I'll see what kind of weather my next appointment on January 7 brings!

The last couple of days Terry and I hiked Pine Canyon and had dinner with a friend of hers who was backcountry camping and earlier in the week Joan and I hiked Devil's Den and Dog Canyon as I was on patrol that day. First Devil's Den: (I have to go back as friends said I missed exploring the caves of Dog Canyon where they found Javelina bones - and other evidence of mountain lion!)

 A day patrolling Daniel's Ranch, checking out campsites and tagging along on Ranger Mary's talk about the Hot Springs:

Ross's "coo-bird"

The first jackrabbit I've seen that did not run like the devil possessed him!

The day I went with the park's safety officer to check concerns at Buttrill Ranch, the best part of the day was the hawk I photographed here and below.

The hawk finally got tired of me gawking at him and took flight!

The hike of Pine Canyon with Terry started with another hawk sighting. No photos, but Terry spotted two of the biggest white tail deer I've ever seen! Deer any mountain lion would be proud to chomp into for dinner!

I call this photo "Find Terry" Do you see her dwarfed by the canyon?

Sunset from Terry's friend's Rice Tank campsite. Hot dogs and nice conversation after a day on the trail - nothing better!

Routine day of patrol today - more hawks though!

Banta Shut-In/Estufa Canyon Hike

It is now Saturday morning, my third day off. Yesterday I hiked the Banta Shut-In also referred to as the Estufa Canyon hike. It was about 15 miles round trip and I am pleased that I was able to go about 13 miles pain-free. The hike is also MUCH easier than the Marufo Vega - made up of sand and gravel with very little cobble, much less the horrendous cobble of the Marufo.

The Falcon Hiking Guide lists the hike as "strenuous" but I think only so because of the distance and possibly because of the extremely hot conditions possible on this trail. It was sunny and in the low 60's when I hiked. The Spanish term "estufa" means furnace. Perhaps the early people here noticed the deep red, fiery color that develops as the setting sun plays off the rock formations. Perhaps the stove pipe appearance of the rocks lent to the name. Either way, it can be quite beautiful.

To me the best part of the hike was the wildlife I saw. No photos of them because they were so fast moving! A couple of times little lizards skittered across the path. The best was when I scared up a hawk that was in the middle of a hunt. After he knew I was in the area I patiently waited while he resumed the quail hunt he was on. He dove into some brush and 6 quail burst into the air and flew to safety. The hawk gave up and went on his way down canyon. Twice more I saw coveys of quail that day. I love how they run helter skelter through the brush with their little crests held high!

The guide book says that the Banta Shut-In is the narrowest part of the huge Tornillo Creek drainage. After entering Tornillo Creek the hiker goes left for about 1/2 mile to a large, dark igneous rock formation. I always have to look up these terms! Igneous rock is the result of the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. I did not hike up through the entire narrows, but saw enough to be impressed and was glad I made the hike.

At first I was thinking that this was a pretty boring hike, but the scenery was nice. It was also a very gentle downstream hike the whole way to the shut-in. Imagine my surprise when I had to hike up the whole way back! What a dunce I am sometimes!

I love this cairn - it is the last one on the flats before you drop steeply off into the canyon! When I say "steep" I mean really steep!

"Life and death" in Big Bend. Not sure whose bone this is, but it is right in the middle of the trail.

Lonesome Boot

Cool rocks and curly grass

I cannot remember if I made this cairn or someone else did. The guide book said to carefully mark the washes with your own cairn so that you could find your way back - a caution I took very seriously. I was glad I had done as I picked my way home through the maze of washes that entered Tornillo Creek.

The beginning of the rock formations that give Estufa Canyon its name.

The pools of the Banta Shut-in.

The jagged, sharp igneous rock of the shut-in.

That's it for today! I'm going to rest and read books for the rest of the day. I've got a lemon cress pie baked for the Christmas party tonight and Zuni is lazing in the sun, getting up once in a while to see if she can catch bees on the outside of the screen door. Good kitty.

Quiet Week

It has been a relatively quiet week out here. I worked Monday through Wednesday and now have 3 days off. My friend Joan is going to ride along with me Sunday and Terry and I hiked a little bit yesterday. Today I should be baking a pie for tomorrow night's potluck Christmas gathering at Jeff and Binky's house. Jeff is our maintenance supervisor on this side of the park and Binky is his wife. The Christmas gathering is a real tradition here and they are having a gift exchange which I understand can include white elephant gifts! Good - because I think that is all I have in the house! Everyone is looking forward to this event.

I also did some hiking this week. My foot felt well enough to hike the Marufo Vega and the first 10 miles went by pain-free. Not so much the lat 4 miles, but I took it easy, iced it after the hike, took lots of Ibuprofen and all is well!

Karen (left, instructor) and Julie (from Elgin!) practicing AED skills.

Marufo Vega wild burros spying on me! Actually the black one was snorting! Was he warning me, telling the others to watch out for me, or as Daisy suggested he was reading my mind? I was hoping the burros would come over and give me a ride home the last 4 miles! She thinks he had read my mind and was telling me "No Way!!!!"

Merry Christmas from neighbors Robert, Glenda and their doggie, Buddy. They found this Christmas blow-up dachshund at a Walmart and since it was the only one in stock the store sold Robert their display model. Most of us do not haul around lots of extras like holiday decorations. Robert and Glenda live in Del Rio, only 4 hours away, so they have lots of cool stuff!

RGV Nature pond birdie. Looks like a duck but definitely not a duckie bill, huh.

I've never heard of Williams Crossing but found this sign on the Nature Overlook trail. More history to learn!

Oh! Oh! Trespass horse seeking asylum in US. He refused all efforts to chase him peacefully back to Mexico.

One of the beautiful wash areas up on Old Ore Road.

Terry and I were doing some bushwhacking with her GPS and found this horse shoe and a great campfire ring which we imagined was from the era of caballeros and early settlers.

Dinosaur vertebra.

Lastly, I want to share a greeting made by former camphosts, Royce and Royann. They said "the hard part was getting the bird to sit still enough by the ornament to get a good picture" So clever!!