I’m not gonna lie, I have to scroll back through the pictures on my phone to remember the sequence of events at this point. While I wanted to stay up on my blogging a bit more, I’m mostly just so excited that we have completed so many adventures that I can’t even keep them in order in my head anymore. Goal accomplished!
Alrighty. Week five.
We remained on Padre Island (see previous post) until Tuesday, December 7th, when we had to bring Chloe back to the Houston airport. We were all sad to leave Padre and I’m pretty sure we each secretly promised to be back someday. I know I did. From Houston, Ike and I began our drive to Big Bend National Park. We split the distance up
into two days, staying just outside Houston at Stephen F Austin State Park on Tuesday night, driving all day on Wednesday, and setting up camp in Schreiner Park in Junction Texas that evening. Schreiner Park is a lovely little city park with free camping. Not only was this spot delightfully in-budget, but it had a Christmas light display, which made the normally dull night light of our camper festive and cheery. Simply delightful! On Thursday, December 9th, we hit the road to tackle the final stretch into Big Bend. Since we’d given ourselves plenty of time to make it to our campground before dark, I took a detour along the way to see
Fort Lancaster (perk of driving while the navigator sleeps: I can take impulsive detours at my own discretion).
This state historic site was established to protect the ruins of Historic Fort Lancaster, which was officially named as a US fort in 1856 and used to protect pioneers as they traveled west. It was abandoned in the late 1870s and now exists only as rock piles and dirt paths. We enjoyed walking through the ruins, especially because the park ranger who welcomed us was a Minnesotan. It’s a small world! Isaac made PB&J as I drove up out of the river valley and we set our sights on Big Bend! Well, actually Walmart. But Big Bend after Walmart.
It turns out we didn’t have quite as much daylight as I’d calculated, and we ended driving through the entrance gate just before sunset. Although camp-set up in the dark is a bit more challenging, it was absolutely worth it this time. My first glimpses of Big Bend National Park were bathed in one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever witnessed. The colors blazed out of perfect cloud formations and ignited the mountain slopes and cliff faces. I could hardly stay in my seat. It’s a good thing Ike took over driving after our grocery shopping. The sight was almost unbelievable. (I say “almost” because I’m friends with the guy who paints the sunsets, and that sort of work is pretty typical for Him.) What a magnificent hello from this magical wilderness. Set-up went smoothly, and after a yummy dinner, we tucked in for the night to rest up for tomorrow’s adventures. Friday morning saw me up and at ‘em bright and early because I just couldn’t wait to introduce myself to Big Bend. I knew we were gonna be besties! With some eggs, bacon, and coffee in our bellies, the Daring Dawdlers headed up from Cottonwood Campground to the Chisos Basin where the visitor’s center promised some info, maps, and guidance for our explorations. At the suggestion of the park ranger, we grabbed some snacks, strapped on our backpacks, and hit the Window Trail. This 5-mile out-and-back trail took us down into the Chisos Basin, along a canyon that got continually narrower until it ended in a pour-off with a width of about eight feet. The drop of this pour-off, very appropriately named “The Window,” is no less than 40 feet, and the view through The Window is the seemingly never-ending hills, dikes, and mountains of the park. I was already blown away by the beauty of this place, and we were only halfway through our first hike! After a tasty trail lunch and the return trek, we headed southwest, back toward our campground with a couple of stops in mind.
First, Grapevine Hills Road and Balanced Rock. What we thought would be a manageable seven-mile drive on a dirt road turned out to be a five-mile bounce on a horribly rutted gravel path, followed by an attempt to fill a hole with rocks to make it passable, followed by deeming it too risky, turning around, and slowly bumping our way back to the main road. But ya know what? Even though the adventure didn’t turn out quite as planned, we still had a grand time and I learned that I might really love tactical driving. (tucking that thought away for later) And I’m not even worried about the gorse bush scratches on my car. It’s called adventure, okay? Next stop: Sotol Vista – the #1 sunset destination in Big Bend National Park. I’m not sure that it’s really called that, but it should be! Wowza. The colors, the clouds, the panoramic view, the fellow sunset-admirers. Perfection. Just, yep. Have I mentioned that this place is beautiful? After this wildly satisfactory sunset experience, we returned to camp to plan and prep for Saturday.
Since my visit with the park ranger, I’d been cooking up a plan. The gentleman had mentioned the hefty but beauty-filled South Rim Trail. This hike takes in some of the best views that the area has to offer in a nearly-13-mile loop. It’s a challenge for the daring. Well, I like to think of myself as daring. And capable. And strong. And I guess I should add crazy to that list because I somehow talked Isaac into it and by noon on Saturday, we were five miles up the trail from our car. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so free, whole, and alive in my life. It was magic. Pure magic. The six nearly-continuous miles of uphill climbing didn’t bother me. The absolute isolation didn’t bother me. The daunting task of finishing didn’t bother me. I was exactly where I was meant to be at that moment and the praise bubbled up from my heart without checking in with me first. Have you ever had an experience like that? I hope you do. I hope you find your wilderness, trust God to accompany and lead you through it, and find that place of wholeness in which you are powerless to contain your giddy praise. Oh man, what a day!
Wanna hear something funny? I’m still trying to make plans. Like, how ridiculous is that? You’d think I’d have learned by now that it’s obviously not my job! In fact, the theme of this entire year has been “Abigail doesn’t get to be in charge.” I’m only in month twelve of this being pounded into my head about a dozen times per week so cut me a break, okay? I thought it would be a great idea to break down the hike into two halves with a lunch break at mile 6.5. That way we would get a little rest, refuel, and be fantastically set to finish the second half. Nope. Right around mile four, we both started getting very hungry and at mile five we got to the top of the mountain we’d been climbing and stepped up to the most incredible view. Like, ever. Check out the photos below and the South Rim Hike in my photo albums. I mean, wow. Miles and miles and miles of incredible rock formations layered perfectly and gradated by a light fog and sunlight. It was that perfect landscape painting that you saw in the museum. It was that National Geographic photo that you doubt is real. It was right in front of me while I ate my PB&J. It was mesmerizing. With so many miles left to cover, we couldn’t stay and stare for too long. Somehow we managed to focus our eyes back on the trail and resume the trek. The next couple miles were very slow going because every 20 yards, the views got better, so we had to stop. Again, and again, and again. Who could pass without admiring? Certainly not us! Ike threw some rocks, of course, and I took more pictures. For the record, it took seven to nine seconds for the rocks to hit the rock field below us. I think we were literally in Heaven. The second part of the hike was equally beautiful, equally challenging, but maybe a little more subdued. We were tired, the sun was hot, and lunch was sitting heavy in our bellies. (I was still practically bouncing down the trail because I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy!) We triumphantly arrived back at the trailhead five hours, twenty-four minutes, and forty seconds (plus our lunch break) after beginning the 12.85-mile adventure. And I felt GREAT! I could have done another few miles. I was so proud of what we’d accomplished and so blown away by what we’d seen! Best day EVER!!! After burgers at the Chisos Basin Lodge and the hour-long drive back to camp, we called it a day. I’d say we earned our early bedtime.
Although Sunday was supposed to be a rest day, it somehow turned out to be quite busy. (real shocker, huh?) We did enjoy a slow start and take advantage of the Wi-Fi at the general store near camp to reassure our people that we were alive. There is almost no cell reception anywhere inside Big Bend, so communication was limited to the two Wi-Fi locations at the visitor centers. (Sorry, mom.) In the early afternoon, we treated our tired muscles to a soak in the Historic Hot Springs. Oh. My. Goodness. Yes. The natural mineral hot spring located near the Rio Grande Village bubbles up into the Rio Grande at 104 degrees and is just delightfully soothing. Switching between the hot pool, formed by the walls of the once-standing bathhouse, and the cool river water felt so perfect. Wowza. Isaac had to practically drag me out of the pool because I really could have stayed there all evening. I’m very glad he did because on our drive back to camp, we took a road toward Boquillas Canyon to see what views it had to offer and were treated to quite a treasure. It was supposed to be just a mile hike, but in classic Ike and Ab fashion, we turned it into a full-blown workout by climbing some rocks. We missed the sunset that evening but seeing the canyon wall light up in a glowing amber was almost as stunning.
So, there’s week five. A slow start and a wild ending.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a place I love more than Big Bend. As I write this on December 28th, almost three weeks later, I can still feel the depth of emotion I experienced in that park. I’m getting choked up recalling these moments of splendor and wholeness and adventure. I hope you have the opportunity to experience the same. It’s incomparable.
Until next time!
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