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Big Bend, Day Three!

No longer Novatas y Novatos (Rookies) in the Park, our last full day down here was sprinkled with relatively short jaunts from our site.

          The first excursion of the day was to Boquillos Canyon, the second most popular canyon to hike to and just look at, because there was really no way to go down the canyon (except by canoe) like we did in the Santa Elena the day before. One of the reasons that this hike was a good one was its proximity to us. It was only about 5 miles away, not the 56 of yesterday.

          This enabled us to sleep in (Not!) and get a later start.

          We actually left about the same time as yesterday because we had several destinations on our itinerary for this day and a few question marks that we may, or may not, be able to get to.

          One of the question marks was the little town of Boquillos that lay just on the other side of the Rio Grande. This town had its genesis back when there were mining operations in the area that spanned the Border. When the mines eventually shut down and the Park opened, they were able to stay in existence, in part, by the tourists that made the Crossing, aided by enterprising caballeros in small boats that would ferry you across the river….. for a fee.

Little town of Boquillos, see white buildings just up on that ridge

          This practice still exists today. The US Border Patrol, in cooperation with the National Park Service, maintains a small Port of Entry here. It’s tiny as you may imagine, passports required, and the little town has its share local artisans that make local souvenirs to sell. There is also a small restaurante or two that will give you an authentic small town Mexican food experience.

          The question mark quickly turned into a declaratory statement when we pulled into the road that led to the Port and read the sign,     “Cerrado por culpa de Covid”.

          One did not need my four years of high school Spanish to interpret this when all you need was to read Covid and it became obvious.

          Besides, it was printed in both Spanish and English, but its more fun to write the Spanish one!

          This explained the plethora of trailside venues that the locals maintained in order to capture some of the Tourist Trade that has eluded them since the shutdown. They come across the river and set up small “stores,” complete with very polite signs that ask you to “Pay Here” for whatever you may want to purchase. I only saw one depository that was anchored in any way. Apparently (thankfully) there does not seem to be a problem with folks (on either side) absconding with either the wares or the dineros. There must also be a cooperative agreement amongst the proprietors of these “Shops” because  the price fixing conspiracy was evident, everything was priced the same. This was actually good because you need not worry , thinking that you may be able to “Get it Cheaper” somewhere down the path. Unless of course you just stole it, but as I said, this does not seem to be an issue.

A local ‘”Souvenir Shop”
Roadrunners and Cacti
Overlooking Mexico, Left to right, Don, Paula, Rio Grande, Mexico

          On our way to the Canyon, after we descended a small ridge, we arrived at the river level and proceeded to the mouth of the canyon. Soon we heard a melodious voice singing en Espanol. Rounding a bend, we came upon the ‘Singing Amigo’. He was an amalgamation of the ‘Singing Bush’ and the ‘Three Amigos’ from the movie of the same name. He was very polite and offered not only to serenade us but also to ferry us across the river if we wanted.

          He did not offer to check our passport’s, nor did he look like he cared. He said something like,

           “We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!”

            Not really!

           But I couldn’t resist the perfect spot to place one of the best lines ever delivered in a movie! We bid him “Adios!” and went on our way knowing that we would have this chance meeting once again on our way back.

          The canyon is, of course, beautiful and in the evening western light would have been magnificent. This is the stuff you learn and put to later use with a later trip. I can see one of these trips being taken during the winter or spring with a few canoe trips into these canyons being somewhat of a certainty.

Paula and The Canyon
Left, USA Right, Mexico

          On our way back out we did encounter Ricky Martin again. We made a small monetary “Donation” to his cause, well… just because. He was very nice, and we exchanged pleasantries. He asked us if we had any granola bars. We did not, but we did supply him with a small package of Trail Mix for his enjoyment.

Me looking longingly at Mexico, wishing that I could visit and practice those four years of Spanish that Mr. Maldonato drilled into me.

          Our next destination was Hot Springs.

          Apparently there is a fissure of sorts that finds it way up from the bowels of the earth and supply’s this area with a small pool of 105-degree water. It’s been happening for a really long time now, way before we (the collective we, as in humans!) came along. But when we  did, we immediately made a Resort out of it! This Resort  flourished during the early part of the last century up ‘til the Park was formed. The remnants of the town and resort are still here, nicely stabilized for all to see.

Pictographs by the ‘Ones Who Came Before
The old general store
The old Motor Lodge
The old motor lodge when it was ‘new.’ That’s me standing outside our room.

          It is still a favorite place to go here, even in this heat. One side of the pool is hot, and the other side (the river) is cooler. This may be another reason to visit down here when the weather is a little milder!

Left, “Cool” Right, “Hot!!!”

          We had our lunch here, taken from our now amply supplied backpacks that could have gotten us to the summit of Everest if needed. Then it was back to Base Camp for more binge watching of 24 during the heat of the day. Our next foray would be after an early dinner because it lay about 30 miles out and was supposed to be the best sunset view in the Park.

          We shall see.

Man’s Handiwork
Mother Nature’s Handiwork. I Think she wins here, but in fairness, she has a lot more experience!
And then when you throw this kind of stuff in, she wins hands down!

          Our destination for that evening was a place called The Window. It was located in the Basin, which is snuggly nestled inside the surrounding rim of the Chisos Mountains.

Driving into the Basin

          Think volcanic crater, albeit one from way, way, way long ago. This basin is where the Chisos Lodge is. This is the only lodging in the Park and has a restaurant, store, campground, and an amphitheater where the Rangers give talks in the evening. Many of the trails that lead upwards toward the higher terrain start here also. We arrived in time to witness this daily event, and even though the Window only affords a sunset viewed from our vantage point (through the middle of it) twice a year, it was still really nice.

The Window

           Unless you venture down the Widow Trail to change your angle of viewing, but we were definitely not prepared for that! But this time it was on purpose! The ‘Trail’ that we were on is actually ‘Wheelchair Accessible’, so we were not worried about “Being Prepared!”

From our Vantage Point
A few minutes later
View in the other direction with the sunset light on the Chisos Mountains
Ditto

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