I stop to wish a fond farewell to the goat mayor of Lajitas before I hit the road that will eventually take me back home. It’s just after 6am on the first day of 2018. I stop in the middle of the road and thank the Great Spirit for watching over me.Big Bend has renewed…
Tag: Big Bend
The final sunset of 2017 in Lajitas
My time in Big Bend is coming to a close. I swing my leg over Rusty’s saddle and get ready to embark into the Lajitas mountains for the final sunset of 2017.I strike up a friendly conversation with the girl that is leading us along the trail. She is much younger than I am, yet…
carrying onward to Oak Springs
I leave the view from the Window, judge the water remaining in my canteen, and decide to continue along the trail to Oak Springs. I remember hearing that a waterfall may be the reward at the end of the trail, depending upon the weather and recent rainfall. I start trekking up the mountainside as the…
The clarity of Window Rock
I pull my beanie down over my ears and smile at the frosty air that comes out of my mouth. It’s a quiet morning at the Window Rock trailhead, just how I prefer. I get my blood pumping as I start the five-mile journey to the Window. The stillness of the forest makes it easier…
The Chisos Mountains
It is the only mountain range contained entirely within a single National Park. The crags of the Chisos Mountains called out to me every day that I passed by them whilst exploring the different areas of Big Bend. On the second to last day of 2017 as the afternoon wanes into pre-evening, I make the…
Terlingua
“The topography of Big Bend is so barren and jagged that America’s astronauts in the 1960s took field trips to the park to prepare them for landing on the moon.” It didn’t really surprise the man to find a ghost town out here, as the whole goddamn place felt abandoned. He knocks back another beer to…
The Boquillas border crossing
It seems like a lifetime ago, but only a couple of days earlier as I was rafting along the Rio Grande river, story after story was told to me about the Boquillas border crossing. I was wide-eyed and open-mouthed with wonder about this place, and like a tick embedded in one’s skin, I was bound…
The singing Mexican in Boquillas canyon
I was told to be on the lookout for the Singing Mexican if I headed out to Boquillas Canyon. I really didn’t know what that meant, but on a glorious December morning I make the trek out to the eastern edge of Big Bend to check out this area. The hike would be short due to the…
Big Bend Hot Springs
Getting the insider’s tip of a natural hot springs in Big Bend National park.
Santa Elena Canyon
The first place everyone seemingly recommended for me to see in Big Bend was Santa Elena canyon, so that is exactly what I did….
Horseback riding to a Lajitas sunrise
Rising before the sun in West Texas to a horse back ride through the mountains around Lajitas.
Rafting the Rio Grande
I wake up to my first full day in the Big Bend area. The stars go to sleep as the sunrise makes it’s way across the landscape. I sip my coffee and wait for the Far Flung Outfitters van to come pick me up, as today I’m river rafting the Rio Grande. Seven a.m. and…