Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park

Last Thursday I left Katy to spend a long weekend in West Texas. It was a guys' trip to go camping. 1400 miles and 100 gallons of gas were some of the numbers behind what was a great time.

Just before we made our last pickup on Thursday in San Antonio, we made a stop in Flatonia to sample Joel's BBQ. We were impressed with the food. No, it was not angel food meat, but considering it was a random stop off the side of the interstate, the quality was great. Brisket was served in razor thin slices in a room made of cemented mesquite logs. Instead of cinder block, the walls were made by stacking logs with cement in between. That's how hole-in-the-wall BBQ should be.

Once all four of us were ready, the Suburban pointed west on I-10 until the speed limit reached 80 mph, oil wells, and wind farms dotted the road side, and the eighteen wheelers out numbered the sports car 20:1. We had made reservations at the Antelope Lodge in Alpine, Tx (college town of Sul Ross State University) I don't know if any of you watch the tv show LOST, but this "Lodge" looks like something out of the Dharma Initiative's archives...or perhaps from their cowboy counterparts. The rooms were in duplex buildings arranged in a circle around a campus. It served our purpose by being cheap and having running water.

Before we totally commited ourselves to sleep, we made a run at a local bar; Railroad Blues. This place is literally beside a railroad track. We have a flattened dime (still as much fun as when I was 12 years old) that someone in the group had placed on the tracks to prove trains still pass by. While it wasn't Waylon, Willie, and the Boys nor Luckenbach, they had had live music, and one of the largest beer selections I have ever seen.

After a few hours of beverages and live music, we decided that sober and alert was the best way to start the following day and called it a night. We rolled out of Alpine Thursday morning after a quick fill up at a local gas station. While the cheap gas was a good find, the breakfast tacos were outstanding. Gas station food can be terrible, but if it freshly made and made well...amazingly
good.

After a short two hours, we were in Big Bend National Park to reserve a campsite. Our first choice, Pine Canyon 4, was taken. We paid for Pine Canyon 3 and headed off to Big Bend Ranch State Park. BBRSP is just west of BBNP. While the state park has a lot of potential, our main goal was to hike Closed Canyon. This simple and short hike was chosen because it is unique to that part of the country. It has steep sides and is narrow.

We left BBRSP and headed back east with stops along the Rio Grande. While Rio Grande was applicable when first named, its usage and diversion have left it reminding me of another Texas landmark, the Alamo. Each's reputation is far more impressive than the actual landmark. Seriously, have you ever seen the Alamo? The new McDonald's in my neighborhood is only slight ly less impressive.

Just before heading to our camp and setting up for the evening, we made a detour to hike Cattail Falls. None of us had ever been to the falls. It is an impressive oasis in the middle of the desert. While the water wall, pools of water, ferns, and trees were neat; none compared to the black bear we ran into. We estimated he/she weighed between 400 and 500 lbs. It was headed in our direction along the same trail. At about 1/4 mile from us, it turned and went down a hill. As we kept going on the trail, it headed the same direction it had been going. We passed about 40-50 yards from it. That was very cool.

As we got back in the truck and headed to camp, dark fell upon us. After turning off the paved road, we had a 30 minute drive to our camp site. It wasn't fun to set up in the dark, but we made it. That night, a little scotch and a clear sky were perfect.



The next morning, we headed from our camp to hike the Pine Canyon trail. It was a simple two mile hike from the truck to the water fall with about a 1,000 foot elevation gain. The falls were dry, but the trees were changing colors.

From the end of the trail, we tried to use the topo map and blaze a trail to the top of Crown Mountain.
With no trail, we had a hard time knowing where we were, how far we had to go, what direction we should go, and if a dead end was around the next boulder. Other than that, everything was fine. It was a good trip through the woods.

Unfortunately, by sharing this image, I will probably cause the Walt Disney Company to sue the National Parks Service. However, I couldn't pass up this "hidden Mickey":

On the drive back to camp, we had nice view of the setting sun over a mountain ranch in Mexico.
That night, it was another good meal, more good night sky views, and perhaps just a taste more of scotch. Due to its remoteness, Big Bend National Park is considered one of the best places in the country to view the night sky. If you have never seen the Milky Way with your own eyes, you need to.

We were up before the sun on Sunday morning to begin our 12 hour drive back to Houston. We only spent $160 per person for the four days, and half of that was on gasoline. I am ready to go back.