Big Bend Nat'l Park

So the day arrived that we had been planning. I admit I was more than a little anxious about this hike. The trail is labeled "challenging" and I can now say that is and understatement . During the previous night I had been figuring time and distance compared to the hike to The Window. Let's see, the peak is 7825 feet and the Basin is 5300 feet. That makes 2500 feet UP, UP, UP! Hmmmm. Over a five mile trail that's roughly 500 feet rise per mile. And it took us three hours and 40 minutes to do the five-mile roundtrip to The Window, which is considered an easy trail. Yep, we should leave at 8 and not at 9 like we had originally planned so I can take it slow. Hopefully, I can make the peak by 1 PM and be back before dark. Definitely before dark. My mind would not rest. Be sure to pack the camera, enough water, and food! Sandwiches, snacks, salty things like chips and boiled eggs with salt. Butch says to take a spare pair of socks. Check! Pack the headlamp which I hope and...

If you are familiar with Big Bend National Park, one of the signature hikes is to a place called The Window. It's a five-mile round trip that is considered a relatively easy hike with a change in elevation of only about 800 feet. The catch is it's all uphill on the return, which is when my knees and legs were already spent. (I am not a hiker! I'm a walker.) We had planned to be back by lunch, so we didn't take any food, only water. And the water was definitely a good thing to have, but I could have used some extra fuel too as we walked back up. I was kicking myself for not even stashing a breakfast bar in my pocket. Not smart! This was a learning experience that helped make our big hike the next day somewhat less demanding. I didn't take my camera on this short hike either and I missed some great shots! We saw two white-tail deer on our way down. They were so used to people they did not move or bolt as we came by. I could have stuck out my hand and touched one buck...

Wednesday we had not planned much because we thought we would be groggy from a late night of star gazing. (I'll refer you to my previous entry to catch up on that story.) After a breakfast of cold cereal, we finished unpacking and we watched the sights from our balcony. We had a clear view of the whole Chisos Basin, The Window, and Emory Peak, the highest point at 7825 feet.   Chisos Basin as seen from Emory Peak. Our room was on the second floor corner of complex B. When the road opened at 11 we were in line waiting to go down with the first wave of cars. In a 30 mile drive, we traveled from 5300 feet in Chisos Basin, descending to 1844 feet at Rio Grande Village. Lunch was simple sandwiches and chips with root beer after which we explored the surprisingly clear water of the Rio Grande. What a difference from the water of the Rio Grande than I had seen in Albuquerque in my childhood. Wow! Beautiful! From there we drove to Boquillas Canyon and hiked in to sit by the water and ...

If you are a Weckerly you always leave for your trip at Oh Dark Thirty!!! And we did. "We will get to Chisos Mountain Lodge at Big Bend and hopefully check in by 2 PM, and then head to the McDonald Observatory," we reasoned. We had 7 PM reservations to the "Star Party" on our first night there. Previously, I had not been able to secure tickets, but put our names on the waiting list. And I felt so excited when we received the email saying we could actually get tickets. You don't know how long I have wanted to go to the observatory and see the stars! So off we went! We were on the road by 5 AM. (That's Oh Dark Thirty for you Weckerlys!) You'll need to be aware of the distance we planned to cover. Google maps said that San Marcos to Chisos Mountain Lodge was seven and a half hours. Then it is another two and a half or three hours from there to the McDonald Observatory near Ft. Davis, Texas, making the one-way total 621 miles by 7 PM. Tick-tock, tick-tock. I...