South Texas travels, Mid December 2019 - Mid January 2019

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Santa Elena Canyon

After our last road trip we promised ourselves to limit our daily travel to 300ish miles.  400+ miles a day is not fun when you pull into a campground, set up, then prepare dinner.  Long travel days do not leave much time to enjoy the afternoon or relax in front of a roaring fire cooking S’Mores.

Our itinerary includes visiting friends and family.  Destinations are: South Padre Island; Houston; Georgetown, Texas; San Antonio; Big Bend National Park and Albuquerque.  I’m pretty certain I will like the Houston weather more than when we were there this past August.

South Padre Island

Both of us cooked multiple dinners: green chile stew, salmon, seasoned chicken breasts, soups, arepas, oatmeal and bacon; don’t forget the bacon.  Many changes of clothing are necessary because this is the holiday season and we will be staying in the big city.  Dress clothes are packed into the truck; we will be visiting Nicida’s family and many of our friends.

300 miles comes around quite early in the day, as we hoped.  We enjoy our afternoon walks through the RV park; our main form of exercise for most of the trip.  We stopped in Lubbock and Kerrville on our way to South Padre Island.  At each park we are astounded at the size and number of Class A motorhomes.  Several have equally large enclosed trailers with matching paint schemes attached behind.  We are always amazed at what we see looking in and around these behemoths of the road.  It is funny camping beside a 30 – 40’ motorhome in our 8’ popup truck camper.  

Continuing south of San Antonio towards South Padre Island the land flattens out.  Seeing this I understand how hurricanes can devastate such a large area, an additional foot of wind driven water goes a long way.

South Padre Island is actually a long, narrow barrier island which extends south to within 10 miles of the border with Mexico.  South Padre Island is also the tourist town existing on the southern end of the island.  Many hotels, tourist shops, condos/apartments, restaurants and other tourism related shops line the streets.  Other attractions include: Sea Turtle Inc. a turtle rescue facility which works with injured sea turtles releasing them back into the wild if possible.  Volunteers monitor and protect the hatching baby sea turtles assisting them to the Gulf.  South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center provides an environment where birds can be observed in a natural environment.  Both places are worth visiting.   The other nice thing I noticed is the number of public beach access points in town; several per mile.

Heron

Egret

Spoonbill

Green Jay

North and west of South Padre Island is Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge - a series of beaches, mudflats, wetlands, coastal prairies and thorn forest providing refuge for many different types of wintering waterfowl as well as many land mammals.  Road construction and poor signage led us to drive out of our way forcing us to stop and ask directions.  Even then we were not certain until we came upon more construction at the entrance to the refuge; one of the things we were told to watch for.  There are many short trails crisscrossing the refuge starting at the visitor center.  Because there are no mountains in this part of Texas there is always the chance of me getting lost.  While hiking we noticed several vultures circling above our heads, an ominous sign especially given the missing mountain statement made earlier.  The last trail we hiked took us to a photo blind over a small manmade pool with several feeding stations filled with half grapefruits.  Green jays, timid at first, having seen us approaching the area, calmed down once we settled in, quietly waiting for them to return.

In another part of the refuge a rest stop, several miles away, provides a high view over one of the wetlands.  Thousands of coots congregate in ever moving patterns as they swim back and forth in the bay.  While studying the coots with our binoculars we notice two logs slowly moving towards the congregation; alligators.  They seem to be taking their time never really getting close enough to cause any fear in the birds.

Returning to town we decide to hike the beach as our exercise for the day.  The beach is mostly empty with a few people fishing.  One of them had a great heron as his companion.  We didn’t see any fish being caught by the fisherman or the heron.  After a mile touring the beach we turn around, almost instantly the clouds light up in pinks and golds.  Our quick walk up the beach has come to a dead stop while shooting the changing cloud colors and pool reflections.

Leaving for Houston the terrain remains flat, increasing elevation over the several hundred mile drive is a few hundred feet at most.  Power poles lining the road are populated by several species of hawks.  We learned to look for abnormal bumps on the poles; most of the time a hawk was there scouting the surrounding area for a meal.

We spend the next couple weeks visiting family and friends for the holidays.  This is different for me; I come from a small family, one sister and our parents.  Nicida has two sisters and three children in Houston for the holidays.  This does not include the nieces, nephews, families and a a 104 lb grand-dog.  There is constant activity every time we get together.

We got to enjoy a 3” inch rainstorm one night during our time in Houston.  Each time I heard the storm warning announcement for 3” of rain I shook my head – we don’t get three inches of rain over a month in NM.  In addition we have not experienced a heavy rainstorm in the camper.  Along with the rain we had strong gusty winds.  I could feel the camper rock back and forth a bit but promptly fell back to sleep.  Nicida did not fare so well, she had visions of our camper ending up in the large pond we are parked near in the RV park.  The next morning I was surprised to see one of the doors to the bathrooms blown off its hinges.  A drive into town revealed multiple fences lying flat on the ground.  Our camper had small leaks in the stitching where the windows are sewn into the soft walls, otherwise no problems.  A phone call to Hallmark provided a solution.

Chisos Basin area

Post-holiday we continue our trip visiting friends in Georgetown and San Antonio before heading on to Big Bend NP.  During our visit the federal government shut down closing the National Parks including Big Bend; one of the national parks on our to-do list.  We decide to go anyhow not knowing what to expect; hoping that maybe the impasse will be resolved and the park will open.

Rio Grande in Big Bend NP

Sticking with the 300 mile limit we stop in Del Rio, Texas for our first night.  The road is mostly flat with occasional hills appearing but the overall elevation quietly climbs to several thousand feet during the drive.  The next morning we start for Big Bend not knowing what to expect.  I am not expecting much; more flat terrain with a small trickle of water called the Rio Grande separating Mexico from the United States.  Islands of mountains pop up in the middle of the flat landscape approaching Big Bend.  While not high by Rocky Mountain standards they tower over the scrub covered hills surrounding them.

There are very few cars on the road to Big Bend.  The gates are open at the park entrance.  The building where fees are collected is dark with a sign posted stating that the park is closed; no camping; bathrooms will remain open as long as they are safe to use.  So far so good; we continue on.  Before the government fiasco I made reservations to camp within the park.  The shutdown put an end to that so we found an RV park near Terlingua west of Big Bend enabling us to visit the park.

View from Lost Mine trail

Our first stop is near Rio Grande Village campground.  As advertised the campground is closed but the tourist shop is open selling the usual stuff to the few of us that took the chance of driving the long distance to the park.  The woman working there says the border crossing is closed.  This is the only border crossing that is operated by the national park system so there is no way to visit Bouquillas, Mexico for Mexican fare.  The town is pretty much dependent on tourists coming across the border for an afternoon before returning to our side of the river.  The area is beautiful; the river is wide and clear.  I don’t know your views on a wall but it would destroy any existing natural beauty of this valley.  From the east end of the park we drive 30+ miles before exiting the park and another 10 to the RV park for the night.

View from Lost Mine trail

The next day we return to the park to hike parts of the Chisos Mountains and see the campground where we were supposed to be staying.  As we approach the mountains early morning clouds wrap themselves around a few of the peaks.  The Lost Mine trail heads up one of the lower peaks in the Chisos Basin providing almost 360° views in the basin.  The Chisos Basin lodge and tourist shop is open for business but nothing else.  We drive to the entrance of the campground but are not able to go any further.

View along Ross Maxwell
Scenic Drive

The Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive astounds us with a different landscape than we have witnessed the past two days.  We are able to drive to the Cottonwood campground but no further.  The Santa Elena canyon is eight miles on the other side of the Road Closed sign.  Returning to the RV park we detour to visit the town of Terlingua.  A large tourist shop with many locally made items for sale fill the store.  The woman running the store fills us in on all the things going on in town along with its history.  We pick up a brochure telling the history and follow the map to see the sites.  In one of the shops we hear a rumor that the road to Santa Elena Canyon may be open tomorrow - our plans for tomorrow are set.

View of Big Bend NP
from Terlingua, TX

Santa Elena Canyon

The day starts with low hanging clouds.  We pack up hoping the rumor is true, if not we are on to plan ‘B’, I don’t know what plan ‘B’ is at this point.  Just past the park entrance is Old Maverick Road, a two track gravel, mud, rock road leading to dispersed campsites and ultimately Santa Elena Canyon.  Eight miles of washboard, fish tailing and general bouncing around brings us to Santa Elena Canyon in our mud adorned truck.  The clouds remain, but they are spectacular, they blow in and around the tops of the canyon making the walls disappear then reappear at a moments notice.  I know this is special, I’m certain cloudy days in this part of the country are not commonplace.  We hike down river before the shore is covered with shrubs.  Heading upstream we follow a trail which takes us into the canyon for the first half mile or so.  The walls are shear; rising 1,000 – 1,500’ above the river.  The water is clear, we can see river bottom several feet below the river surface.  
Kayakers slowly paddle upstream and easy job with the slow flowing current.  We can hear other hikers talking from the echoes reverberating off the canyon walls.  We linger taking in all the sensations – this is magical.

Leaving the canyon we decide not to push our luck returning on Old Maverick Road.  Instead we take the paved road to the Cottonwood campground returning the same way we drove yesterday.

Closed Canyon trail

The next day we visit Big Bend Ranch State Park.  FM170 parallels the Rio Grande between Big Bend National Park and Presidio, TX is very scenic.  It climbs and dips providing spectacular views of the valley.  Our first stop is Closed Canyon trail, a short narrow canyon which contributes to the Rio Grande when there is water.  We follow along the wider than slot canyon as it narrows.  A large, deep looking pool with no other way to get to the opposite end than to swim stops us.  By the way, please contact me if you find a Google Pixel 2 XL, it decided to stay behind in Big Bend Ranch State Park somewhere.

The turnoff to Big Bend Ranch is a gravel road.  The actual park entrance is 6 miles down this road; the visitor center is another 17 miles of graded dirt beyond that.  We arrive at the Cinco Tinajas Trail an hour later.  Nicida had hiked this trail several years before and suggests we do it again. Cinco Tinajas translated from Spanish is five pools.  There are several pools of water in the rock lined stream bed.  It is worth the hike.

Closed Canyon

Another mile down the road brings us to the visitor center.  We inquire about camping for the night and a suggested hiking trail.  Out here all the campsites are dispersed.  A few are relatively close to each other but not like the RV parks we have been staying at in Houston.  We select a site and a trail.  The trail turns out to be too long for us to get to our destination and back before the sun sets.  All the roads this far into the park are single lane dirt with occasional pullouts for people to maneuver past each other.  After leaving the visitor center we see only one other person the rest of the day.  This is remote.  The campsite has a cover over a picnic table, needed during the summer; and a fire ring.  We brought firewood for a night like this.  S’Mores are on the menu.  The evening is pleasant; no cars, no noise, no nuthin’.  Just before going to bed we hear cows mooing off in the distance.

Cinco Tanajas

Packing up the next morning we see our first sign of people; a Jeep following the road to???  A 70 minute drive back through the park puts us back on pavement to Presidio,Texas.

The ride back to Albuquerque is uneventful.  A stop in Marfa, Texas was suggested.  We drove through town and got gas but otherwise we were unimpressed.  Because we were there during the day we didn’t see the Marfa Lights.

We could see El Paso from quite a distance; a brown cloud hovered over it prompting us to continue to the other side hoping we would be upwind from all the haze.

Arriving in Albuquerque is becoming somewhat foreign; we are spending more and more time away as we have planned.  But we are glad to be back.  We will get to recharge our personal batteries and start planning our next trip.

Thank you for stopping by,

Mark