Big Bend Motor Inn and RV Campground Terlingua

... in another, tents, sleeping<br>bags and cushions. The bus was swept out, windows cleaned. It was<br>then putting everything back in the bus. First some of the packs were<br>put away, followed by the tents put on the bunks, then all the<br>cushions had to be beat to get rid of the dusk...'Anger management<br>therapy'. These were then put on the bus and finally us back on the<br>bus. Then we were off, we made a few stops along the way one of them<br ...

... street while tourists and locals mingle drunkenly in the roadways. And there is no shortage of bars by any means. For maybe a quarter mile every doorway on this busy street is an entrance to some sort of drinking establishment from shot bars to upscale lounges to dive bars. The 4 of us went first to a bar that had a balcony, so that we could watch the events on the street. A short while after, we met up with a ...

... for the next few days at the local Wal-mart (yes, I said Wal-mart), we moved on. Big Bend National Park, located along the Mexican border in southwestern Texas, is massive, spanning 800,000 acres of Chihuahuan Desert, Chisos Mountains, and Rio Grande River. We spent two nights in this amazing landscape, and explored only a tiny fraction of it. Setting up camp in Chisos Basin Campground the first evening was a bit challenging due to cold, windy weather and a surprising ...

... waves on the ocean. It was bizarre to see water the color of chocolate milk cresting like that. Throughout the trip, we also got to see the extent of the devastation. At the put in, a local resort town called Lajitas was so inundated with water that we floated over the 18th green of the golf course, and on the other side of the river we saw Mexican villages that had been partially wiped out. For ...

... that the ranger recommended. After about 15 miles of adventurous, rocky, muddy terrain, our luck ran out and we reached a flooded section that we couldn't cross without risking being the idiots that the rangers have to come and rescue. So we looked at our map and found a different stretch of road to try and take us back to the main road--again, we reached a section of the road that we thought we couldn't cross. A wash had come through and ...

... 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 ...

... Did the ½ Baja 500 X 10 &#8315; ¹ (That's 25 kms for you non-mathematicians). Also for you non race fans the Baja 500 is a 500 km cross desert race that starts and ends in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. My ET is getting better. I feel the bumps less if I go faster. I'm glad Fords are built tough. I also miss-judged when I should be at Santa Elena Canyon to get (all) the sunrise pictures. Oh, I was there shortly after 7 am and the sunrise wasn't until 7h25 ...

... 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 ...

... our own breakfast of grits, scrambled eggs, prosciutto, and cheese, we set off on a dayhike. Thank the good Lord, we did not have to carry our packs that day since we had chosen to spend two nights in Laguna Meadow. We hiked up to the Southwest Rim to amazing views of the Sierra del Carmens in Mexico. We could barely see the Rio Grande snaking its way through the canyons below, and the blue, blue sky and warm sun made this a wonderful ...

... or time it is? I just spent the last four hours hiking/hauling not only my sub par body up the mountain but a pack that weighed a gazillion pounds and a rock just in case I ran into any mountain lions. Right now, I just want to throw the rock at Ranger Bob. Who does he think I am? An athlete or something? Not only was I scared out of my mind about the mountain lions (AND BEARS) but I felt like a pack horse ripe for the kill. About now, sheer exhaustion has replaced abject fear ...