Day 20: 30 Miles
Starting location: Chisos Basin Campground, Big Bend National Park – 42 degrees
Ending location: Rio Grande Campground, Big Bend National Park – 60 degrees
Major Stops: Propane Fill!!
Weather: SunnyDay 21: 56 Miles
Starting location: Rio Grande Campground, Big Bend National Park – 45 degrees
Ending location: Cottonwood Campground, Big Bend National Park – 60 degrees
Major Stops: Many roadside stops
Weather: SunnyDay 22: 24.4 Miles to trails and back to Cottonwood
Hikes: Mule Ears Spring – 5.8 miles
Santa Elena Canyon – 0.8 milesDay 23: 30.4 Miles to Sotol Vista and back
Hikes: None
Warning bells went off, a brake red light was blinking and my dashboard told me to get the brake system maintenanced! Yikes! So, the drive out of Chisos Basin was pretty eventful for my heart! I quickly pulled off to get my manual out and read it. This is the pull off.
The manual told me that the system was monitoring many different things and that being on an angle could cause the system to warn when everything was ok. In order to confirm if there was a real issue, they instruct you to shut down the engine and restart it. If the light does not go off, then get to the dealer! Fortunately, the light went off. Whew! Talk about a scare!
Resource Management
One of the new things I’m learning, from living in a small RV, is resource management. Daily I must check the tank levels and state of electrical charge to make sure I have the resources for that day. Also, I must anticipate the resources available at the next location as not all locations have all resources. Resources = potable water, dump station for black and gray tanks, gas, propane and solar status. In other words, before leaving someplace, should I get water or dump?
You will remember, I mentioned the level of propane as I turned south to head into Big Bend. Since I had been running my heat every night, I was now down to 1/4 of a tank, and the nights were going to be cool while I remained in the park. Fortunately, the camp host gave me two options for propane fill in and near the park. Fortuitously, I was able to make an appointment to fill at the campground store where I was heading. This was a relief!
Rio Grande Village
I would not exactly call this a village. It’s more like an outpost with a store, campground and the people who manage the place living quarters. But, since they have propane, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. Here are a couple of pictures from the drive there.
After getting propane, I decided to take a drive up to Boquillas Canyon Overlook as it was too early to check into the campground. This is where Dottie is not always the best copilot. I turned onto the road and started to make my way down it. All of a sudden, the sign comes up telling me the Mexican border is in 1 mile and the overlook is in 4 miles. So, sadly, I turned around as I did not want to cross the border. Then after checking into the campground, I relooked at the map and realized that the border had a turn off road and I would not have had to cross the border. If only Dottie could read the maps! OK, lesson learned, I should have stopped and looked at the map.
The really sad part of this story is that a wind storm arose overnight. So, when I drove to the overlook the next day it looked like the the Oklahoma dust bowl. I did not bother with pictures. Here are a couple of the area around the campground before the wind hit.
Returning to Chisos Basin
The next morning, we headed out to take the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive down to the Cottonwood Campground where we would spend the next three nights. Passing by the Chisos Basin road on our way, was a helpful coincidence since I had left Dottie’s dog tie attached to the picnic table at the Chisos Basin campground. It’s a fairly expensive tie as it is metal covered with a plastic coating and even has a spring on it to absorb the impact if she pulls on it. So it was worth the mountainous drive to see if we could recover it. Starting at the Visitor’s Center, they sent me to the Store. The Store sent me to the Lodge check-in. (There is a National Park lodge here, this is more like a village! Carol – this is your spot to stay! You will love this section!) Finally, I went to the campground and found the host. Fortunately, they had it! Yay!
Heading back down the Basin road, I got that same darn brake system warning. Fortunately, I knew not to panic. By the way, there are back up braking systems according to the manual. Anyway, the light went away after shutting down so we continued to the scenic drive.
On to Cottonwood
The scenic drive starts out rather bland but quickly becomes a beautiful desert drive. Here are some pictures from it.
Arriving at Cottonwood, we were blessed with a beautiful moonrise and verdantly green location. Dottie particularly liked the green Michigan-like grass!
Mule Ears Spring Trail
The next day, I was off to do a hike and reduce my per hike cost of all the equipment to leave Dottie behind with Clarice. Each hike is reducing the costs dramatically, however, I have a lot of hiking to do to get down to the per hike cost my sister has suggested! At this hike, I am down to $10k per hike. That lithium battery bank and autostart generator is the biggest cost!
The hike, which I thought might be flat, was anything but! The National Park newspaper says it’s 20 feet of gain. However, according to All Trails, it is 410 feet and that I believe! It was a beautiful hike through the desert and believe it or not, there was water at the spring! Here is what it looks like.
After I returned to the campground, some neighbors mentioned that mountain lions, called panthers in Big Bend, would go to the springs for their water….oh my! Makes sense, but not something I considered when picking the hike. The host, who was so helpful, told me it was his favorite in the area. It was a beautiful hike!
The Rio Grande and Santa Elena Canyon
So, as any good Michigander used to water, I anticipated the Rio Grande RIVER to be fairly large. Let’s say Grand River width or so. Afterall, this is a major border between two countries! I should not be able to just step across it. OK, it is not quite that bad, but really, for those who remember 9th grade earth science Rum Creek experiments at Rockford, it is really about that wide.
However, when you get to Santa Elena Canyon, it takes on a whole other beauty! This little river, cut this canyon.
Javelina’s and Hanging out at Sotol Vista
What the heck is a Javelina (pronounced hav-uh-LEE-nuhs)? I had never heard of such a thing. They are only found in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona in the US. Dottie and I saw one on our third morning at the campsite when we were out for the Puppy Potty walk. While they are not related to the pig, they look like one. They are about the size of a Vietnamese Potbelly pig when they don’t overgrow. They are 40-60 lbs and highly social living in bands of between 10-25. We only saw one. Unfortunately, I don’t carry the camera on the Puppy Potty walk, so no pictures. Here is a link to one.
Finally, our third day was a down day. So, I drove to Sotol Vista where I could get a good cell signal and we spend the bulk of the day hanging out and getting caught up. The fun thing that happened that day was this bird.
Thanks for sharing these gorgeous pics. I’m inspired, I traveled with my parents camping to the majority of these places when I was younger, now that I’ve retired, I hope my hubby and I will do the same someday:)
Sherry, I can’t wait to see you out here! I hope you are able to travel soon.
Thank you for your kind words! 🙂
This looks so amazing! Life changing!
Thanks, Gaye! It’s definitely character and courage building!
Looks so beautiful Karen, but be careful!
Will do! I carry my bear spray when hiking for all manner of threats. Thanks, Sue!
Thinking of you! Looks like so much fun!!
Having a great time and learning a lot! 🙂 Hope you are enjoying some warmer weather in the sunshine state!
Hi Karen, I’m really enjoying your trip! Great pics and happy travels-see you out there!
Thanks, Jay! Looking forward to seeing you out here! Hey, I met someone yesterday who is training for the Colorado Trail. We are going for a hike today. She will likely hike me into the ground, but it made me think of you. I will share your story today while we are hiking. Happy trails!
Update: We hiked just shy of 6 miles, and I think I held my own and made a new friend! 🙂