The 83 mile drive back down SR180 from Alpine, Texas to Terlingua was pleasant and uneventful. We had gotten an early start so we could spend the afternoon at the National Park and arrived at BB RV park sometime after 11:00am. I requested site 19, the same site we had when we were here last week, but as it was occupied we were given site 18 - right next door. With temps in the mid 90s I was kind of excited to see there was a big shade tree on the passenger (south-facing) side of the coach. The site was just long enough to accommodate us but I had to park the car across from our site in an area where employees park. After carefully positioning the coach I had to attach a wash brush to one of my extendable handles so I could break off a dead branch, about 10' up, that was in the way of the slide on that side.
What I hadn't thought about was the problem this lovely shade tree might create for my recently acquired satellite dish. And after leveling, deploying the slides, connecting to water, electric & sewer and completing all the other little tasks we perform upon arrival at a new location, I powered up the dish and it began it's search of the heavens. Soon thereafter a message appeared on my TV screen advising me that the dish was unable to locate a satellite. Our only option was to move to another site and neither of us felt like doing that. Big Bend RV Park doesn't offer cable service and there are no over-the-air antennas within at least a hundred mile radius of this very remote location. Luckilly we have a pretty good DVD/Blu-ray library and, over the next two days, contented ourselves with watching a few Sherlock Holmes episodes from our "Complete Basil Rathbone Collection" and a Bond movie. It's all good.
Anyway, after getting set up, we walked and fed the dogs, hopped in the car and headed for the Chisos basin area of Big Bend National Park. There are three main areas of the park we wanted to be sure to see: the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, which we had done before bugging out the previous week, Chisos Basin and the Rio Grande Village/Boquillas Canyon area. Thursday was our day to see Chisos Basin.
It was about a 30 minute drive to the visitors center at Chisos Basin. After checking out the visitors center/museum we headed outside to take a 2 mile loop hike. A couple hundred yards in the path became very rocky. Expecting a smoother walking surface, neither of us had worn hiking shoes. That and the memory of Suzanne's fall during our Borrego Springs Hellhole Canyon hike last month convinced us that it might be wise to turn back - so we did, and instead took the short 0.5 mile paved loop. Still, the scenery was spectacular. I didn't take many pictures but here's one I took with my phone.
On Friday we drove out to the Rio Grande Village/Boquillas Canyon section of the park. I think it may have been our favorite. This time we came prepared and, wearing our hiking shoes, hiked into the canyon and to the Rio Grande.
Pictures never capture the grandeur of places like this. In the second picture above there are people standing in the lower left corner of the frame. I included them in an effort to add perspective - but they're almost impossible to see. Suffice it to say - that's one big-ass rock wall!
Saturday morning we packed up and headed back into the park, this time in the coach with the car in tow. There would be no sight seeing this day other than what we could see through the windshield as our purpose for heading back into the park was to reach SR 385 North to Marathon.
I did see something very cool a few miles along SR 385 - a BIG tarantula crossing the road!
Not the tarantula, but a tarantula
He was scooting across the road at a pretty good clip, right in front of me! Luckily I managed to avoid squishing the fuzzy little critter.
*****
Our destination for Saturday was Seminole Canyon State Park & Historic Site. I had made reservations at their RV park for one night - water & electric for $20! What a bargain!
About 23 miles west of SCSP&HS on SR90 in the sleepy little town of Langtry is a uniquely American tourist attraction... the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center. It's just a hundred yards or so off the eastbound side of SR90 on the 1.5 mile Rt.25 loop.
We learned some interesting stuff about this eccentric dude. Thankfully, the dispensation of justice in west Texas has come a long way since the days of Judge Roy Bean.
This is the original "Jersey Lilly" (named for Lilly Langtry, a famous actress of the day for whom he also named the town) where he served liquor and held court.
We told the woman behind the counter at the visitor center that we were heading for SCSP&HS and she told us that there is a guided tour at 3:00pm. In fact, you can only tour the canyon with a guide and tours are conducted just twice daily - one at 8:30am and the other at 3:00pm. It was 1:45pm so we hurried back to the coach and out onto SR90 east. We arrived at the park about 20 minutes later and while Suzanne took Winnie for a walk I went inside and registered for our one night stay and purchased two tickets for the 3:00 canyon tour. We quickly unhooked from the car and Suzanne followed me as I drove the coach up the hill to site E-8 where I deployed the slides, plugged into the 30 amp service and turned on the AC so the dogs would be comfortable while we were away.
The canyon tour was fascinating.
4500 year old pictographs
300 year old mesquite tree
The RV park was top notch and a short walk to the top of a scrubby knoll afforded a vast 360 degree vista of the West Texas desert. The sunset was incredible and the lack of artificial light made for a stunning night sky on a moonless, cloudless night.
*****
So today is Sunday and we're in Uvalde, Texas at Quail Springs RV Park where we will remain until Thursday. Suzanne will put in her three days of work and then we'll head for South Padre Island. We're about 325 miles away and I planned to do it in a day... but we may break it up into two.
Thanks for checking out the blog!
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