 |
| Dottie Jean with Uncle Randy & Aunt Joyce |
We had decided to meet Connie & Dottie Jean (who was driving in from Arizona) at Monahans Sandhills State Park. Amazing to go along Texas flatland and then to find these huge sand dunes. We were only able to get one night for the 2 campers, as it was a popular place for kids to take disks or sleds and slide down the dunes like it was snow. So it was decided we'd head down to Big Bend National Park so Randy could get another stamp for his parks book.
 |
Our campsites.
Connie was smart and avoided our rv as Randy valiantly got the 5th wheel backed in. The road & campsite was narrow and if you dropped off... 4-wheel drive came in handy! |
 |
| As we were driving out you could see the height of the sand dunes and these weren't the tallest ones. |
 |
| Wait, is that Dottie Jean driving back there!?! |
 |
| Amazing how far you can see down the road! |
 |
We got a late start as we'd driven to pick up our mail that we had forwarded to Midland, Texas. By the time got close to Maverick Ranch RV Park in Lajitas, we were tired and hoping daylight held till we got there. It didn't, but luckily one of the campground hosts guided us to our sites and was helpful getting us set up.
The next morning we loaded up and started our driving tour of the park. The temps climbed to 96 degrees down by the Rio in the afternoon. Yet as we climbed in altitude at the Chisos Basin around 5000 feet, the temperature would be 20 degrees cooler.
|
 |
| The siblings had fun together! Joyce claimed her ears hurt being around the two of them!🙉 |
 |
| As we drove thru the Rio Grande Village campground inside the park, we kept noticig these steel boxes. It was for campers to store their foodstuffs in, as to keep it from the bears and javelinas. |
 |
The town of Boquillas Del Carmen, Mexico.
We drove down one road that showed Port of Entry. The road dead-ended and did not go across the Rio Grande into Mexico. There was a building so Joyce hopped out and went in and asked border guard how it worked. He said "show me your passport & ID, then you walk thru those doors and you can take a ferry, or wade across to Boquillas. The entry building here closes at 5pm so you either are back before then or you spend the night there." When I asked "ferry?" he chuckled and said "it's a rowboat and it costs $5.00 for round trip". It was late afternoon and we didn't have passports with us, so decided we'd just take pictures of Mexico. |
 |
| As we drove to the Boquillas Canyon overlook, we noticed horses and people on the Mexico side seeming to have a picnic. Hmm, we were amazed no border patrol or fence here? |
 |
We're always amazed at Randy's wildlife spotting but this jackrabbit was unbelievable! He was down in a wash, quite a distance from road, taking in the shade in the hot afternoon sun. As we were zipping down road Randy said "look a jackrabbit". Joyce didn't believe him and made him turn and go back.
Yep, there he sat! |
 |
| The sunset colors were gorgous from our campground! |
 |
| Panoramic from Sotol Vista on the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive |
 |
| Bright sun & wind with beautiful views |
 |
| This pic gives you an idea of the vastness of the 801,163 acres in the park. |
 |
| Dottie Jean's nose started twitchin' when we saw this bear sign. Uncle Randy said he was going to use her to track bear! LOL |
 |
| Of course Joyce had to stick her toes in the Rio Grande! |
 |
| Connie even stuck Dottie Jean's toes in the Rio Grande. The wall of rock at Santa Elena Canyon was so imposing! |
 |
| As we headed out for Ft. Davis, we drove along the Rio Grande on Highway 170 thru the Big Bend Ranch State Park. |
 |
| You can see the highway climbing up on left side of pic to the Fandango Dom Rock. That's the Rio Grande at bottom. |
 |
| The view going down the other side of Fandango. |
 |
As we drove towards Presidio it was amazing to see irrigated farm land along the Rio Grande.
We all enjoyed our days in the Big Bend National Park. No matter how much trouble Randy gives his sister, we were blessed to share it with family! The various rock formations were fascinating, along with the view of the river separating Mexico from the US.
|
