Adventure 347: Big Bend National Park/Post E

Chisos Mountains ahead.

We did a twofer today. First, we drove to the Chisos Mountain Basin to walk the 3.6 mile round trip trail to what they call the window. We were in bear and mountain lion country, but all we saw were bunnies that were almost tame enough to eat out of our hands. True rule followers, we didn't feed them, but we were surprised they weren't more skittish. The window trail, which meandered its way some five hundred feet down a draw, lived up to its reputation. Sorry we were that our timing was morning. From the slickness of the rock, it was clear that many a person had enjoyed the sunset from this lofty perch. Because we'd already driven thirty miles, we decided to drive down to Saint Elena Canyon, which was carved (Only in some millions of years ago) by the Rio Grand River. The canyon trial, while only 1.5 miles long, skirted the edge of the river from on high. The sheer cliff of the canyon, some fifteen hundred feet high protected us from the sun. The coolness of the air made the hike easy. Once again, I've witnessed with my own eyes the truly ludicrous notion of wall building that President Trump proposes. In this one area, the park is bordered by two hundred miles of protected wilderness along the Rio Grand River (I'm sure he didn't get the bird vote). The destruction of this beautiful landscape alone should negate any talk of wall building. My one hope is my experience with anything government can be examined through the lens of  the promised north/south freeway in Spokane. I first heard of the plan in 1965, when I was a freshman in high school. I've always claimed that I'd never see the completion of the freeway. They have earmarked the money, so I may be wrong, but as of now, I can only see the normal political infighting, nefarious boondoggles, and outright incompetence. I still hold to my claim that I'll be dead before the road is finished. I would say that if you have any desire to visit Big Bend, please do. We drove nearly 130 miles today, and we never left a paved road. If a person were truly adventurous, he/she could pitch a tent under more than a billion stars, and see not a few galaxies far, far away. We're here for one more night. Judy promised me we'd get on the bike one more time. I was hoping we could ride over to Mexico. We'll see. In the meantime, life is good, especially today.

 Down the canyon we traipse toward the window.

 Despite what Satchel Paige says, I always look back.

No bears or lions, just "bugs".

 The window.

 The window in shadows.

 Thumbs up to the immigrants who can scale this precipice.

 The window in full sun.

 The mud flats of the Rio Grand near Saint Elena Canyon.

 The canyon.

 They turned us around here. I wanted a float inner tube to ease my way out of the canyon, but poor planning prevented such an adventure.

 We had to walk out.

Selfie of the day: Saint Elena Canyon goodbye.

Miles and miles of Texas. Just awesome.