Wilderness Wandering

2/8-2/11/2024

Mon 2/5

We left Lake Mills, WI and drove as far as The Shawnee National Forest in southern IL, near Carbondale. It is a very large park. It has 7 areas. We did two nice hikes in The Garden of the Gods part of the park. The Garden of the Gods Loop was extremely scenic even in winter.

We stayed in the Garden of the Gods Campgrounds. I think there were 3 of us in the campground.  We were parked on a very scenic ridge.  It was pretty chilly overnight, but we just cuddled and used an extra blanket vs the electric blanket, since the Jackery battery is acting up.

Tuesday 2/6

We had Cottage cheese pancakes for breakfast. Sunrise was beautiful!

We continued driving south and stopped in the town of Vienna for gas. We saw a huge bike with a sign that proclaimed Vienna as bike Capitol of IL. I needed some steps so we took a walk on a potty trail and talked to a photographer we met asking the way. He was driving a pretty red 2021 Miata.

As we drove across Missouri, I saw a sign that said the city my youngest sister lives in was only 8 miles away! So we  stopped to give  Heidi a hug!  We stayed in sort of a rundown local campground outside Joplin. We both slept great, though! 

Wednesday 2/7

We drove all day.  Our next stop was Amarillo to catch up with my friend Michelle, who used to live in Elgin.  We ate at a great authentic Mexican restaurant. Michelle gave us a real bed for the night and a shower!

Thursday 2/8

We drove through desolate parts of TX. Some were ugly and garbage strewn and others , just very dusty with tumbleweeds.  We arrived at Big Bend National Park about 4:30 PM and got our photo and passport stamp. 

Big Bend NP’s Southern border is the Rio Grande. This park is large and remote!! You need to make sure you arrive with a full tank of gas! The park has desert, mountains and water. Winter is the key time to visit. It is HOT in the summer!

We drove to the Chisos Basin campground and found our campsite. The campground is really wonderful! As the name implies, there are about 60 sites nestled in a basin of the mountains with beautiful views. We had super clean bathrooms with flush toilets, cold running water and an electrical outlet. We walked to the amphitheater for a Ranger talk about the origins of the area and called it a night.

Friday 2/9

We were at the VC waiting for the tour company to pick us up for our float trip on the Rio Grande.  A couple stopped and looked at me with big smiles and exclaimed “Gail! What are you doing here?” Apparently I am a doppelganger for their friend. 

The van and canoes from Big Bend River Rafting showed up. Our guide was Johnny and there were two young couples with us. Ravina and Sy from Chicago and Madison and Zach from Grand Rapids, MI.

We canoed the Rio Grande for about 4 hours and had a lunch break at the Hot Springs along the way. It was a tame float, but very enjoyable. Some places we had to scooch to get through, and there were a couple class 2 rapids. Johnny was a hoot!! Tim has developed a new interest in on line digital horse racing based on some of Johnny’s experiences.

After the float, we drove Calypso to the Chiso Basin Visitor Center and walked the Window View Trail – a short .8 paved trail. We checked out the Chiso Basin Lodge and tried their Cactus Margarita. Delicious!! The Lodge is closing at the end of this summer to be torn down and replaced with a sturdier, greener lodge. This entire area might be closed for 2 years.

Saturday 2/10

There is so much wonderful hiking here! Too many trails to choose from. I can already tell that we will need to come back again someday. We don’t have time to do the 12 mile South Rim Trail that is supposed to me wonderful.  We got up early to hit The Lost Mine Trail for sunrise. We did a mile out and back to catch the best views. Then we went to The Window Trail, which was 4.3 miles round trip. Both trails had some gorgeous views!

Next, we drove to the southeast part of the park to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico and have lunch! There are several ways to cross the river. You can roll up your pants and wear shoes you can get wet and walk across. You can also pay $5 and a man with a boat will push you across the river.

There are also several ways to get into the tiny town of Boquillos. You can walk 3/4 mile on a sandy , dusty road, or you can pay $15 and ride a cute burro.  We walked…you know I needed steps! When you reach town, you have to stop in a trailer and pay $4 per person for a wristband. The fees go for preservation of the park on the Mexico side of the river. 

 It was the warmest day we have had so far, about 80 with bright sunshine. Perfect  for sampling some margaritas. We shared a burrito and a margarita at Jose Falcon, which had a lovely deck with even lovelier views of the mountains. After that we strolled down the Main Street fending off the young children trying to sell us their bracelets. On the return we had an enchilada and margarita at  the Boquillas restaurant and headed back to the river. We needed to be back through US immigration before 4 PM when the US border customs officer closes. 

We returned to the campground and relaxed for a while. 

Sunday 2/11

Tim woke me at 1:11 AM to come outside and see the stars. They were spectacular! It is said that Big Bend has the darkest skies in the lower 48 and we believe it! If it had been a little warmer, we would have set up our camp chairs and stayed up a bit longer.

We got up before sunrise again and drove to the far southwest part of the park. We drove 30 miles of The Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. We were the only car on it for sunrise! Quite a treat! At the end of the drive we wanted to do the much acclaimed Santa Elena Canyon hike , 2 miles round trip. We had difficulty finding the trail head and I rolled up my pants legs and took off my sandals and walked across the river to look for it, because the notes had said that at times you may have to cross some water to reach the trail. I still couldn’t find the trail marker. Another couple showed up and asked me if I was an illegal, as I had crossed into Mexico!

They pointed out that we had to turn to the right to find the trail head, then we saw it. The hike was worth the struggle. It was breathtaking! It reminded us of the canyon for The Narrows river hike in Zion.

The last thing we did at Big Bend was stop at The Dinosaur exhibit. It was very well done. It is an outdoor exhibit that is under roof. It stands where there actually was a huge discovery of dinosaur bones. The diversity of ancient life in this park was incredible as was the size of many of the creatures!

We are very happy to be back on the road in Calypso and Big Bend was a fabulous first destination!