Day 11-Big Bend

What a nigh!?  The room was the perfect temperature, not too warm but I never sensed the heater actually working?  The fan never ran and the device was actually cool to the touch when I thought it must be supplying our heat!  We were on the 2nd floor so maybe the downstairs room was warming ours as well.  With no fan it was so quiet! Lovely! There were no street lamps so it was sheer darkness.  Our balcony faced the mountains so no light there for sure.  I love sleeping in dark rooms and Andrew can sleep through any light so it was perfect. The only odd things was that it was a room that had a “connecting” room to the one next door.  It was quiet next door until it wasn’t.  The tenants came in and I could hear their entire conversation.  They’d had a great day hiking, etc.  :)

We repacked out bags and headed out to breakfast. The forecast had been dire the entire night for Ice Storm Warnings.  Our cell service was hit and miss; even with 3-4 bars I think everyone was using it as there wasn’t WiFi in the rooms, just the main lodge.  It “looked” like we were going to miss the ice but even the staff was concerned about it as many of them live in staff housing further down the mountain so wouldn’t be able to get to work; they were trying to figure out where to put everyone!

It turned out to be a rainy rainy day and a misty day but no ice on the roads that were on our schedule of the day.  The plants had a lovely icy touch and the rain was cold but not too heavy for the times we were out in it.  We had a nice breakfast at the lodge before we took off. 

Our first hike was called Balanced Rock which required 6.5 mile drive down a dirt road (high clearance vehicles only!).  The parkas that we got from Aurora were labeled “child” and I sort of remembered she said that when she gave them to me ;), but I tried it anyway and it fit, sort of.  It fit and the length was fine but armholes were too short so anything past my biceps would get wet.  I opted for my jacket which is not really waterproof but okay enough.  The first part was flat and sandy. The Trail was 1 mile in and 1 mile back. The last .25 was listed as “difficult” as you have to climb up and over rocks.  That sign was definitely correct!!  We literally had to climb up and over rocks to get to the one balanced at the top!  Since some of the rocks were covered in ice, it didn’t work well to grab onto those, a lesson learned quickly as it was a fairly good coating of ice.  Thanks again to Jenny for all those squats as they were necessary to climb up and over and up and over.  The icicles hanging from the rocks made them look like teeth, coming alive this special day to have a delectable dinner.  We walked right past the rock of our destination and laughed when we turned around and realized what we had done.  The trail was marked but sometimes it didn’t look like it was right so we had walked right past it.  I had to leave my walking sticks ½ down the trek as they weren’t helping but hindering as I had to hold on to them and still use my hands to grab onto rocks and roots.  It was a wonderful hike!

This is one BIG park and we drove and stopped at some viewpoints only to see the fog and mist.  It was so thick you couldn’t see a thing, but that is beautiful and majestic as well.  We aimed for another visitor’s center and to hike the Santa Elena Canyon Trail, the newsletter designates it as easy as it is only 1.6 miles round trip. The only drawback is there is a creek you have to cross to get to the actual trail head but it is usually dry or at most ankle height.  But not today!!  It rained all night before and has been off and on so the parking area was MUDDY and the creek itself was UP!  The ranger at the prior visitor’s center said it could be elevated and some people were taking another route to get to the trail but we shouldn’t really do that.  We found that alternate route but it was probably a 45 degree angle and very muddy and then once on the top of the ridge you had to hike a not-trail and go back down a muddy trail and meander through some short trees and then the trail started.  We know this as we watched a few people do it; Andrew did try the first slope of mud but came sliding back down.  We opted to listen to the ranger and not go off the trail and we’ll just visit it again.  The canyon itself was magnificent just what we could see!  I’m sure once a person wandered further in it was remarkable too.  It bordered the Rio Grande River so Mexico was right there!  Our boots were covered with wet mud so we slid those into garbage bags to keep everything from getting that muddy.  

We wanted to get to the Rio Grande Village Campground before too late so we decided to head there.  Did I mention this is a BIG park and the speed limit is 45 at the most to keep animals safe so it takes awhile to get anywhere. We stopped at Tuff Canyon to walk to the observation decks and ooh and ahh.  It is so pretty here.  Bushes were greening up, some cacti were “purpling” and “pinking” up, everything readying for their spring, under a coat of ice! 

We arrived at the campground and found our spot.  This was a no electric or water one but we knew that ahead of time.  Since it was still light we opted to take a walk/hike first.  We wandered around the campground, found the “amphitheater” which was closed for the evening! And aimed for the nature trail. We encountered Sam, the campground host on duty.  The campground has a reservation only policy and he was just seeing who was there and marking off names.  He was quite knowledgeable and a published author of specific theme parks' histories.  He was currently working on a book on the history of the National Park Service.  He was the host for 3 months and then he’d move on.  He told us to watch our for coyotes and javelinas (desert pig-like animals) as they can smell food and water and will get into any tent that has any scents of said food and water and to use the bear boxes. He told us not to worry if we see cows, horses, or burros as there are farms across the Rio Grande River in Mexico and sometimes the animals wander over to the campground! The nature trail was a lovely surprise!  Many nature trails are just loops around the campground or flower beds but this one had a boardwalk over a marsh (!), and then meandered toward the Rio Grande River. Along the trail there were perfect circles and they are where the natives used to grind their seeds and corn! We meandered around and then hiked up to a rock “outcropping” (I am not sure what it is properly called but it was an “up” hike!!) where we could watch the sun set.  Oh, joy! We didn’t see the entire sun as it was still cloudy from the day but there were streaks of light!  

We headed back to our sight, set it up and had supper.  Tomorrow is a big day!! :)