Ten Bits Ranch Terlingua

... of drinking. <br><br>Finishing our drinks it was now on to<br>the $8 pitcher's of beers. It was a fab evening, with a live music<br>starting at 8pm, which was effectively a Bald man who had more hair<br>on his face than head, a tilt like skirt and Jesus sandals. Hmmmm.<br>The booze filled evening, music and chat was topped of by dancing, on<br>what must have been the tiniest dance floor and cocktails.<br><br>It was then back to our camp-site ...

... so we opted for a short hike and a scenic drive. During our hike we had to cross a small river and then hike along the river upstream. While it was awe-inspiring to be shut in by two mammoth walls of stone, it was also very hot despite being near the river. We retired to our camp by late afternoon, ate dinner, and prepared for the next stint of our travels to the Guadalupe Mountains.<br><br>Love,<br><br>Tom and Christine

... for a spectacular panoramic view of the dessert below. I had a little trouble at the higher altitudes: my legs felt like lead, my movement was labored, and I got cranky (as John can attest to), but we carried plenty of water with us, and by the time our descent was underway, my energy surged again. The view from the top and sense of accomplishment was worth the discomfort. A drive clear across Big Bend to the southeastern edge of the park, took us to the banks of the Rio ...

... of the trip, we were floating over trees which normally line the bank of a narrow river--instead, it was almost a mile wide in parts. It all felt very eerie and bizarre--it rained for most of our trip, and even though we finished the day feeling wet and cold, we both felt it was worth it to have seen what a massive impact water can have. Really makes you understand why you need to respect the river...

... based rain protection system since our tent isn't particularly great in rain, and we had a great time meeting the local wildlife, including a few scorpions the size of salad plates and a few roadrunners (which looked nothing like the Warner Brothers cartoon). The next day, we decided to explore the park a bit, and since there weren't really any wheelchair accessible trails, we had to do it by car. No problem, we thought, let's try an unpaved bit of ...

... a very strange man who stands in the river canyon and sings to everyone. Homeland security, in its ongoing infinite wisdom, has seen fit to close this crossing to all activity based on its notion that terrorists or illegals would use the crossing to destroy our nation with a bomb or economically. It is so bad that we would be arrested if we cross over to buy lunch and all souvenirs would be confiscated. All BB needs now is to build a wall to assure our safety ...

... them my card. They were interested in my travel blog and then they can contact me when they get to Calgary. Every time I pass out a business card with my blog address and then talk about the people I've met I worry that I won't relate the story the right way. I asked for their names, but my brain has a hard time remembering names, and in this case, I wouldn't know how to spell their Indian names. I climb down the stairs for the last time and make my way to ...

... few kilometres of the trail are extremely rough. If there were no loose bolts on the truck before, there definitely are some now. The going was a little smoother for the remainder of the trip...but not by much. I took over 150 pictures this evening then drove back in the dark. My off-road driving lights came in handy. I won't write much as I'm heading back there in the morning to get some sunrise pictures. So I have to be gone by 6h30 am to ...

... springs after the hike. The are naturally heated to 105 degrees F, and certainly soothe aching leg muscles!! It was Neil's groups turn to cook tonight, so we had a lovely stir-fry under the stars. Sat drinking outside of the tents for a while and then layered up for another night camping.

... pictures but then my camera dies-DANG IT! I'm all up close to one of them right now but I can't take any freaking pictures. They are cute, though-all furry and only about a foot or two feet high and long. They've got big heads, too. Whoa! Okay, definitely bigger than I thought. I got a little too close I guess and one of them saw me and grunted and bolted. Then this other one looked straight at me and I thought it was going to charge. So I started moving away and got further ...