El Dorado Hotel Terlingua

... and carried on, flacking<br>a bit in the heat and covered in sweat, it was the best sight to see<br>these 3 sweaty bodies making their way up the hill. We did it in good<br>time and were back up at the coach for 1:15. Dean went and relaxed<br>under the tree, Michelle went in search of water to cool down with,<br>and then off to find some shade to carry on with the blog.<br><br>It was then time to change the ice<br>water over in the bus, which was ...

... of Marks and we walked down to a dueling piano bar. We stayed there enjoying the music and revelry until the bar closed. Kate suggested we eat at a late night eatery, which is known for its lively 2:00 am crowds. Kate and Tom both got the specialty wheat pancakes with oats, bananas, and pecans while Mark and Christine ate more traditional fare. The next morning we drove about 30 minutes to Rockford, Texas for their ...

... hot springs, and view of Boquillas (a small Mexican village). Unfortunately, the daytime temperatures were way too hot to enjoy the 104 degree springs, but we dipped our legs into the cooler river water and talked to some European hikers who'd earlier seen a man carefully crossing the swift Rio Grande from Boquillas, to check on his handicrafts and money jar, which he'd set out for potential patrons on the U.S. side. The close proximity to the heavily watched ...

... 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...

With the hurricane still ravaging east Texas, we decided to stick to our original plan (in spite of expected bad weather) and head to Big Bend National Park, in the southwestern corner of Texas. This 'original plan' called for a pleasant canoe trip on the Rio Grande, which forms the border between Texas and Mexico. But after some record rainfall, a scheduled water release from a Mexican river to supply water to Texas, and a broken dam somewhere ...

... means you can see 3 or 4 kinds of tropical flycatchers mixed with 2 or 3 different northern warblers. Throw in a painted bunting and it is a wonderful experience. BB has undergone some not so nice changes since 9/11. It is on the border with Mexico and there has always been a quiet tolerance of the folks who live across the river for their ability to cross the border to sell souvenirs and buy groceries. We used to cross to this village to buy lunch and there ...

... The trail followed the river into the canyon along the plateau for less than a kilometre when it came to an abrupt stop. The canyon wall and the river ended the trail. It would be a splendid place to go canoeing or kayaking with the canyon walls soaring to the sky on each side of you. Duh! Am I an idiot? As I'm writing this I'm looking at a map of the park to see where the canyon heads and realized that the river I've been taking pictures of is the Rio Grande ...

... The truck is running awesome. The elevation change was over 1000 metres. I asked for a change in scenery and did I get it. The whole drive was breath-taking. Each twist and turn in the road revealed something new to see. The rock formations changed constantly. The strata in the rock revealed something new in each hill that was carved out to let the highway pass. It was difficult to keep my eyes on the road. After setting up the trailer ...

... stupid me. 45 minutes into a very steep, downhill walk, we arrived at the trailhead only to learn that a mountain lion had been spotted on that trail a bit earlier, and they advised hikers not to hike in late evening. We stayed long enough for Kelly to buy a New Year's beer and then turned around to hike back up the very steep, now uphill trail. It was getting dark and cold, Kelly was worried about the cat, and we were both hungry. We ...

... been to one of these before so I thought I'd check it out. Once I got there I climbed the highest peak in the Chisos mountains in hope of seeing the sea in one direction or another. It ended up taking me 5 hours to hike to the top and I had to camp out on top of the mountain.