Trip To Big Bend

December 22 – We got the Jeep loaded, then I took the dogs to the kennel for their vacation. We had to wait on one package to be delivered so that it didn’t sit on the front porch for a week. And then we were off! We made it as far as Junction before stopping for the night.

December 23 – The Jeep barely made it from Junction into Ft. Stockton on one tank of gas – ok, the Jeep is not aerodynamic. We stopped in Marathon for lunch and to get some supplies, mainly a gas can just in case.

(Mark in Marathon)

We got to the park about 3:00. On the way south, we decided to check out Dagger Flats Auto Trail to see how the road conditions matched the descriptions in the guide book. We went in about half way then decided there wasn’t going to be much to see this time of year. And Dagger Flats was rougher than I thought it would be, but ended up being the only one that was worse than the descriptions. We then stopped at Panther Junction to check out road conditions for the rest of the unpaved roads. The ranger saw the Jeep and said the only one we might have trouble with is Black Gap Road. We then headed for Sotol Vista Overlook to see if we could catch the sunset. While up at the Overlook, the wind picked up and there were enough clouds that there wasn’t a decent sunset. A cold front was moving through. Brrrr.

(The view from Sotol Vista Overlook)

December 24 – I had this view right outside my door at the motel (Chisos Mining Company Motel). I just set up my tripod in the parking lot and started shooting.

(Sunrise as seen from the motel)

After starting the day at Kathy’s Kafe, we decided to start our day in the park on Old Maverick Road. We stopped at Luna’s Jacal,

and then on to Terlingua Abaja

Everywhere I saw Santa Elena Canyon, and I have really developed a fascination with this particular formation, so we headed there next.

After Santa Elena Canyon, we stopped at the Desert Mountain Overlook,

(There’s the canyon again!!!)

then on over to Castalon.

Lunch was a sandwich on the road. We headed up the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, stopping at almost all the major overlooks to see what we could see. First up was Tuff Canyon where we checked out the west overlooks.

My second favorite formation after Santa Elena had to be the Mule’s Ears.

At the Burro Mesa Pouroff (lower trail), I got out and hiked the trail up into the wash to check out the views.

And then another stop at Sotol Vista.

(Check it out – Santa Elena is in there yet again)

From there we headed up to the Basin. I was totally amazed at the difference from outside the Chisos to inside the Basin – how much the plant life changed.

We stopped at the Basin store so that I could get a hat and gloves – I had left mine at home and it was pretty cold in the mornings. Then I got Mark to join me on the Windows Overlook trail.

We saw a buck and doe near the weather station on the trail.

It was too early to check out possible sunset shots, so we headed on the road toward the Rio Grande Village. We took the Boquillos Canyon road all the way to the canyon. I hiked the trail down to the river but not all the way into the canyon – some dummy left her hiking pole in the Jeep and I didn’t want to be on the trail after sunset without it.

I did ok on the trail but would have been more comfortable on some of the steps down with my pole. (I hate bum knees!!!) I couldn’t believe how beautiful the Sierra del Carmens were with the late afternoon sun hitting them. We finished the day with Mexican Food at Chili Pepper’s

December 25 – Merry Christmas!!! We started with breakfast at the Gas Station Café. From there we took the Indian Head Road out and hiked out to find the petroglyphs.

There was another couple also checking the area out so we were helping each other find the carvings. We took FM 170 west through Lajitas and over to Presidio, again stopping all along the way to see what we could see.

(River pulloff at Lajitas)

(Contrabando Movie Set)

(HooDoo or Little Penguin)

(Lower Madera Canyon)

(River Rafters)

Unfortunately, Warnock was closed so we couldn’t stop there. We went back into the park to hit Sotol Vista to check out the sunset again. Mother Nature put on quite the show.

We shared the overlook with a professional photographer and his wife. It was interesting for me to talk to him while we were shooting side by side. We finished the day at High Sierra in Terlingua Ghostown.

December 26 – We decided that this was going to be off pavement today. We hit Paint Gap Road,

Grapevine Hills

and then headed north to Old Ore, taking it south towards Rio Grande Village.

I wanted to hike out to Ernst Tinaja, but it was about 5:00 when we passed it and I knew it would be getting dark soon. We stopped at the Rio Grande Village store for a pit stop before finally heading back out of the park.

December 27 – On the way to Glenn Springs Road we found these guys hanging out on the shoulder of the main park road.

We drove down Glenn Springs Road,

detouring onto Black Gap Road just far enough to check out Glenn Springs.

This was one area where we actually saw water in the park (other than a little in Terlingua Creek and the Rio Grande of course). We continued down Glenn Springs to where it met River Road.

We took the River Road west

stopping at Solis for lunch and to admire the river

then on to Mariscal Mine

before heading back east toward Rio Grande Village. We then headed west, touching base with Big Bend Chat’s own moderator, Richard. I wanted to do a little of Lost Mine or the Basin Loop, but by this time it was getting cloudy and colder because of the wind, and I didn’t know what Mark would do for that time, so I forgot that. Because it didn’t look like we were going to get a decent sunset due to it being cloudy, we decided to head back to the motel for a shower before meeting Richard at the Lodge for dinner. Of course, as we are driving back into the park, the sunset was fantastic!!!

The very last of the sunset was disappearing as we pulled into the parking lot – if we had gotten there 10-15 minutes earlier, I could have gotten some good shots from the Windows Overlook. And yes, Richard and I live 15 minutes apart, but we had to travel almost 700 miles to have dinner with him J

December 28 – We had to say goodbye to the Big Bend. After our last breakfast at Kathy’s, where she told us we were now locals after breakfast 4 out of 5 days there. We headed north up FM 118 to Alpine and then on up to I-10 where we headed east.

All told we hit all the paved road in the park, drove down at least partway Dagger Flats, Old Maverick, Croton Springs, Paint Gap, Grapevine Hills, Old Ore, Glenn Springs, Black Gap and River Roads. I also hiked on Burro Mesa Pouroff, Boquillos Canyon, Indian Head, the ranch at Paint Gap, Windows Overlook, and explored around Santa Elena Canyon and Glenn Spring.

Vacation Serendipity

Mt. Hood From The Airplane

I just got back from vacation to the Pacific Northwest. I went with my friends, Debbie and Beth, and Debbie's friend, Kathleen... four women sharing a room for a week, and four women packed for a week + vacation - it made for interesting times in the hotel rooms, especially since we stayed no more than 2 nights in any one hotel. It was hilarious!!!! Suitcases everywhere. And the electronic devices - all needing charging! It was wild trying to find enough plugs in the rooms for the cell phones, camera batteries, DVD players, laptops, etc. - not counting the blow driers and curling irons!

Wonder Woman Pushing the Luggage Cart

Four Women, Packing for One Week Equals No Room To Walk

We started out planning going to Seattle and Vancouver. Quickly, we realized we needed to go to Vancouver Island as well. Well, it was $400 cheaper to fly into Portland, OR rather than Seattle. As it turned out, I think Portland and the area around Portland was actually everyone's favorite. We spent 2 days in the area and saw the Portland Zoo, Columbia Gorge Byway/Mt. Hood and the International Rose Test Garden - everything was just WOW! And on the drive from Portland to Seattle, we went to Mt. St. Helens, it was so totally fascinating!

So for the savings of $400, we added an especially fantastic stop to our trip!!!!

The Weekend Before...

I flew to Atlanta on Friday, April 4. When I originally booked my flights, I thought Kathy was going to be in town so I would be able to spend time with her as well. She and Dag left the day before for a trip to Monaco, Shanghai and Mumbai - halfway around the world and back. But she let me use the house since David and Kristine don't have a guest room set up (5 bedrooms and no guest room -hmmmm).

I got to Atlanta Friday afternoon just about the time Audrey got out of school. So we had a good time visiting. Then Saturday, we went shopping to get Audrey some new things for the trip, including a new swimsuit. Kristine and I got manicures and pedicures, and we let Audrey get her toe nails painted - a really pretty pale pink that was barely noticeable. She is only 8 after all.

Sunday, Audrey and I flew back to "Texas" - she always says Texas instead of Houston. As we were on final approach, we flew past the San Jacinto Monument. I pointed the monument out to her, and her reply was "Oh, the Washington Monument!" Well, no, it has a star on top and is actually a little taller. So then I had to explain why the monument was there and what was the significance of the Battle at the San Jacinto River in Texas history. She really was interested and asked all kinds of questions.

We got to Grandy's house and Audrey immediately wanted to check out Grandy's back yard and see all the flowers. She began playing in the bird bath, building leaf and pecan shell boats to float in the bird bath - ahhhh the simple pleasures!

Vacation

I was gone for 13 days - on a driving vacation. We drove through 8 states during that time. I really enjoyed the NC mountains. It was cool in the mornings when we were in Blowing Rock. And it was great to spend time with family. Not only did we get to see most everyone at family reunion, but got to spend quality time with a lot of the aunts and uncles after the reunion.

And I got to meet one of my fellow CT members - Rachel, and her little girl, Madeline. It was great to spend time with someone who I've really come to admire as a scrapper and a person.

Finally, we held the dedication ceremony for the Mary Paulsen Playground. I was the family representative and had to speak at the ceremony. I also made a layout for the HOA and framed it and presented to them. Audrey got to cut the ribbon - she loved being a part of the ceremony. It was really a bittersweet moment. I was glad to see the kids playing on the playground and the enthusiasm of the HOA volunteers. But I kept thinking that Mary really should have been there. She would have really enjoyed the playground!!!

Vacation Part 7 - The Trip Home

We went as far as Farmington Friday night after leaving Durango. We were both so tired that I think that lights were out before 9:00 that night. So, we were able to get up early Saturday morning and get on the road at 6:20. The drive to Santa Fe was again filled with wonderful views - vies that we hadn't been able to see on the way north Tueday night because of the darkness. We hit Santa Fe about 9:30 and went to get the Jeep.

I had to fill up the rental car prior to returning it, so I pulled in on one side of the pump and Mark pulled in on the other side. As we were filling both cars, we were unloading the rental car and loading the Jeep and trailer - we got entirely too good at transferring luggage this trip!

Because of the headwinds on the way up, we had to stop about every 2 - 2.5 hours to get gas. So, I added an extra hour to the project time that it would take us to get to Hobbs. But we had a tail wind and were basically going downhill so our gas mileage went way up. We got to Hobbs about 4:00 Saturday afternoon. Mark and I organized the Jeep a little, cleaned up and then went to visit Sandie and John. Sandie was my Administrative Assistant for several years and we had gotten to be really good friends before they moved to Hobbs to take new jobs.

We took them to dinner and we talked and we talked and we talked - at least Sandie and I did. After dinner we went back to their house and Sandie and I showed each other pictures of the happenings in our respective families. Their son, Sean, plays baseball in the NY Mets organization, and of course, Sandie is a very proud Mom. It was really good to see her again. I've missed her.

Sunday was another long day spent on the road. But the Jeep behaved itself and got us home in one piece (stupid Jeep - just didn't want to go to Utah I guess!). And for fun, I watched the GPS software try to figure out the route that Mark was taking and guess how many ways it was going to try to force us back on the path it had chosen. Mark has to go to Hobbs about once a month and thinks he's figured out the best route - but the GPS didn't seem to think so!

We got home about 8:30 Sunday night - worn out. The trip wasn't what we originally planned and I know that Mark was disappointed that he didn't get to go explore the backcountry in Utah. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see the Grand Canyon. And I spent more money than planned due to the rental car. But I still think the trip was a good one overall! We'll have to do it again sometime. Mark is already talking about a trip in the Spring to Big Bend - maybe the Jeep will behave itself then!

Vacation Part 6 - Durango

We drove back from Moab to Durango Thursday afternoon. The only thing that we had completely nailed down for the whole trip other than the hotel reservations were tickets on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR on Friday.

Thursday night was spent at what must be the locals hangout - the Old Tymer's Cafe. There was a couple at a table next to us that must have known everyone in Durango, apparent by the number of people that stopped by to say Hi. The food was really good there as well. Durango is an interesting looking city, but it's obvious that tourism is high on its attractions. Moab was the same way.

The next morning we got up and got to the train station really early to pick up our tickets. I was thinking that on a weekday in December, we ought to have a pretty light crowd - WRONG!!! There were 3 different school groups, other families with pre-schoolers and a wedding party. Mark didn't enjoy the trip as much because of the crowds, and I admit that by the end of the day, the kids had gotten on my nerves. But it was really cool riding on the train, and again the scenery was WOW!!!! I got some good shots of the train as we made the curves - steam and smoke belching. And I tried to do justice to the moutains and the Animas River. At one point the river was 700' below the train tracks and the train was hugging the side of a cliff.

I was also surprised that in spite of the cooler weather, the open cars were crowded. Everyone wanted to see the views and get photos of the train as it made its way. And of course, with that many kids, there was some jostling to see.

The train only goes about halfway in the wintertime, then turns around at Cascade Canyon. It was strange being in the train while it backed into one leg of the wye that is used to turn the train. We also stayed at the turnaround point for almost an hour so that everyone could eat and the kids could play in the snow. There were lots of snowball fights!

I grabbed some lunch and staked out my spot on the open car for the return trip so that I could try to get some decent photos. It was a good thing that I did - the car filled up immediately after we started up again.

Vacation Part 5 - Moab, UT

After leaving Mesa Verde, we started driving towards Moab. I was hoping to get to Arches National Park in time to get some late afternoon shots. It seemed a long way from Cortez to Moab, but only around 3 hours. As we started getting closer to Moab, the clouds starting picking up - darn. But we ventured on to Arches. We quickly did the drive and a couple of pull-offs. I was able to get a couple of decent shots of the Balanced Rock and we were able to get some pretty decent shots of the Window - both North and South Windows. But I was totally disappointed with what I got of the Delicate Arch - the most famous of the arches in the park. I was too far away and the light was no good at all - the sun was disappearing behind the clouds and behind the peaks.

We had dinner at the Moab Brewery. It was really good food and a fun atmosphere. I had a really good dark ale that's their seasonal winter brew. Mark decided we needed a picture to show the guys back at the Cypress Off-Road group that meets at a sports bar on the northwest side of town.

So I told Mark I wanted to try again the next morning to get a shot of the Delicate Arch with the morning sun. As we were driving up the park road the next morning, a thin strip of clouds passed over the sun. I was yelling, "Noooooooooo!!!" in my mind. But we went ahead and parked at the pull-off and I hauled out the tripod and my 200-500 mm lens - the big gun! Just as I got everything set up, Mark told me it looked like the clouds were going to thin out and I should get a little more sun. Miraculously, the clouds totally disappeared - and I was pleased!!!

We drove further into the park, and I took a ton of pictures. I wasn't happy with all of them as there was just a little residual haze that washed out some of the glorious colors in the pictures. But I did get some decent shots - enough to evoke memories for a long time to come.

Now, Arches was one of the places that Mark wanted to go offroad. And there was a trail that took off right next to the Delicate Arch parking lot. I knew he was disappointed. But he was the one that came up with the idea to photograph the rental car. We're going to paste the photos in the Jeep and tell it - "See you could have been here, but no, you had to go and get stubborn and refuse to leave New Mexico!"

We decided on touring the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park since it was on the way back towards Durango. Canyonlands is so huge that there is no way that you can do justice to the park in one day. And I would recommend being in shape and being able to hike some of the trails. But I was still able to get some pretty good shots. And we saw a lot more deer traveling to and from the park. In fact, we had to wait for about a dozen doe to cross the road in front of us.

Another site that we visited on the way to Canyonlands was Newspaper Rock. It has a bunch of petroglyphs dating back up to 2000 years ago. It was pretty impressive and I wasn't able to do justice to the whole thing, although I did get some shots of individual groupings of drawings.