To Ojinaga with Friends

Traveled to Ojinaga, Mexico with Raymond Skiles, Claudia Arnberger & Joan Spalding today. Had a wonderful time due to good friends, engaging conversation, Raymond's Spanish language skills and knowledge of the area, good food, shopping, etc., etc.!

Murals on the wall in the building on the town square told the story of Mexican farmers, the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, conversion of the people to Catholocism, etc.

The plaza roof.

Raymond's new herbalist reading his palm, diagnosing and prescribing herbs to calm him down! Not sure whether we would make it back across the border with the bag of herbs, leaves, bark & twigs prescribed. Thank heaven, no drug sniffing dogs at the checkpoint!

The "must see" panaderia. Everyone stocked up on breads, donuts, cookies and muffins with the aroma filling the car, tantalizing us for the rest of the trip. 

Shopping for a prom dress for the upcoming Big Bend Prom.

A hotel known to be of ill-repute with "Ladies Bar" entrance that we laughed about.

La Tienda - we did not fare too well in the haggling department, but did purchase some cute souvenirs.

Enjoying a little step back into history at a local cemetery.

Here we are within steps of the Rio Grande river in Big Bend Ranch State Park taking a stretch break as we wended our way home.

We could not resist stopping to take moonrise pictures between Lajitas and Terlingua.

Ah, the end of a perfect day together.

West River Road & Day of Rest

Last Wednesday (January 13, 2016) the campground was relatively quiet and my friend Terry Brackeen and I did a all-day patrol of the West River Road. It was so much fun to see this part of the park after being gone for the last year and a half. Some campsites have been closed, Sierra Chino, Woodsons & Jewel Camp and this part of the park is usually lightly used. There has been some larceny at Talley and Dominguez due to the bad guys from the other side of the river, but unless one has valuable equipment at their campsite visitors are safe. (As are us volunteers!)

Today, co-camphosts Susan and Lew, are going back out to the Black Dike area to check on a couple who insisted on driving their Prius on the West River Road that requires high-clearance vehicles. If they don't make it they would be the 4th car this month to crack their oil pan and have to be towed out. Minimum tow charges run about $700 & most insurance does not cover rugged roads like this one.

Threshing Circle - where Mexican women would gather and prepare grains. (There are horse tracks across the circle.)

Remains of houses at Sierra Chino

Terry spotted this cairn as we passed by - amazing how easy it is to recognize things that "don't fit" the landscape!

Here is the "artwork" that the cairn marked. We dismantled it. Not sorry, kids!

Terry climbing up to the cairn.

Rock nettle - always amazing to me to see the first ones of the season blooming way up high.

Looking upriver from the Gauging Station on West River Road.

The view of the Rio Grande and Chisos from Jewel Camp.

Suspected drug houses on the Mexican side. 

Good hunting day!

A dead tree at Jewel Camp 2 which was closed after floods of 2008

A visitor-made compass which will be dismantled later this week. 

This is our supervisor, Blake, with his wife Yvette in 2013. They were with a paleontologist as the 70 million year old Alamosaurus' thigh bone fossil was being excavated and protected. Really cool, huh!

A photo by Ted and Heather, Thursday, January 14, Burro Mesa. Heather is driving the car that left the pretty trail.

Another awesome photo by Ted and Heather the same night. This is Goat Mountain which is one of my favorite places, especially when the setting sun illuminates the greens, reds, & oranges of the scene. 

Tighe snoozing today. 

Zuni dreaming of our travel adventures with my National Park Passport book (from Gwen!!) under her.

Red Ass Spring Hike

Don't ask me how it got it's name - we spent a little time today making up stories! With my boss' permission I was able to leave our very quiet Cottonwood Campground to its own devices and hike with my friends today. Yippee! An 8.5 mile round tripper.

We went to a place northeast of the Chimneys in Big Bend where an old ranch was nestled in amongst several springs. There wasn't much left of the house on the hill, but the stone corral was very pretty and contained a miniature cliff dwelling (or Mesa Verde). Very intriguing!

We also ran across many cacti that we did not know the name of and also two mystery tubers. Not sure what plant they came from, but they had clearly been dug out of the ground by some animal who had taken big bites out of one of them.

When I came back to the campground I found a Western Spotted Skunk. He must have been killed by a predator this morning because I smelled him at 7:00 a.m. Some person probably found him and put him on the campground fence. Poor little critter. :-(

Joan, me Steve & Tina, Lew & Susan

Looking down on the stone corral

Susan & Joan taking measurements

Mystery tubers

So funny! The fascination with me on the campground tricycle continues! Thank you Susan for sneaking this photo. :-)