Terlingua Ranch Resort

... br>decided that we couldn't be bothered with the tent so sleeping under<br>the stars on a mat would be the next best option except when we got<br>back to the bus eventually the tarp was full, so the bus it would<br>have to be. No toilets, so the bush would have to make do. After been<br>screamed at in Italian by the woman at the back of the bus to shut<br>up, which we found hilarious, we went to sleep. People were very<br>drunk....getting stuck in ...

Greetings and Salutations, <br><br> After returning to Houston with Kate from San Antonio, we left to visit Tom's friend Mark in Austin. We arrived the day after Memorial Day and waited for Marks flight to arrive by having a quick meal at Darwin&#8217;s Pub on 6th street. During our dinner, a local artist sat down at a nearby table and quickly did a charcoal drawing of us, which he then offered to us for no cost (Tom ...

... 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 ...

So, as we mentioned in the last entry, Big Bend has been experiencing the worst flooding in memory, with water over 20 feet higher than normal. Of course, with flows like this, we had to get on the water to see it for ourselves. So we signed up for a rafting trip to get an up close experience of the water. Our trip ended up being through Santa Elena canyon, a beautiful section of the river with ...

... 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 ...

... isolation. Our campground has been visited by a mountain lion in the past week, a bear a couple days ago and we have had a great time watching local Javelinas and deer graze through the place making Sophie a bit crazy. We got in a it of hiking and will now get ready to go north to The MacDonald Observatory in NW Texas. We have passed this place a number of times but never stopped. Now is our chance. So...back to 55 mph and hoping for more interesting scenery.

... parking lot. I check the park map for my next destination. There is a scenic drive that meanders through the west side of the park and ends right where I am. And do you know what? It's paved. No more Baja 500. I guess I could have skipped the Baja 500 last night and this morning but the drive would have taken at least twice as long and would not have been as much fun. If you own a 4X4 you have to use it as such once in a while. As I drive out of the parking lot I ...

... the sunrise. As I was writing this I remembered that the moon was rising low in the sky. I tried getting a few night shots. I have to figure out how to get the shutter to stay open longer than 30 seconds to take pictures of the stars. Then another night I'll head out of town into the deep dark night. Enjoy the pictures. A lot of them are quite similar. I couldn't decide which were the better ones. The Baja 500 X 10&#8315;¹ X 2 or 3 tomorrow.

... of water on top of all our other gear. Kelly claimed it as one of the harder hikes he's ever done, although maybe he said that just to make me feel better. I did not fare so well on that hike. PHOTO_ID_R=ready-to-quit.jpg We left the trailhead at 2:00 and arrived at our campsite at 5:15--just over 3 hours to go less than 4 miles. YEOOW. 3 miles into that hike, I was halfway between tossing my pack over the side of the canyon or simply ...

... of them and then two came out to get a drink-so I could have gotten a great picture but, darn you, camera! I swear those pigs took it personal that I got so close, because one kept coming towards me. So I crossed the stream and ran away. Yes, ran. I guess I learned my lesson about getting too close to the wildlife. I don't think they had tusks or anything but they are still wild, and capable of anything. No matter how cute they are or how many times you tell yourself ...