An Old Maverick (Road)

It wasn't as windy as they warned this morning when we got up, so we rushed through breakfast and headed out for a day trip.  The dogs were let out for their bathroom breaks and set back inside the motorhome with the AC on, and the TV to drown out sounds from outside.  We packed a picnic lunch, grabbed water bottles, maps, GPS, and other assorted gear to explore the Big Bend Park.

We stopped on Sotol Vista outlook  and took this panoramic shot with my Galaxy Tablet ... it's 8 photos wide all stitched together.  It don't fit crosswise on my blog page, so I did something different... I put it longways!  Now... everyone... turn your computer screens to see this photo!

Our main goal today was to explore Old Maverick Road.  We decided to drive down into the park on the regular Maverick Road... and then stop by to see if fellow blogger Barney Old Fat Man had made it over to Cottonwood Campground.  Sure nuff!  There he was, map in hand, ready to tell us more about the wonders of Big Bend National Park!   We met his pals Bud and Susan too.

Barney's blog is at  http://ofmadventures.blogspot.com   and it's been wonderful meeting him in person and learning more about Big Bend park.  He is so knowledgeable on places and hikes and things to see and where to go and what to look for.  We really appreciated his introduction to our experience at the park for the first time!

With a hug goodbye, we were on our way to Santa Elena Canyon....  Along the winding Rio Grande, this river separates the United States from Mexico on this jaggedy course.   There isn't much water left after industries and agriculture uses to the north rob it of it's volume....

On the opposite shore, I saw a horse grazing!  I whistled to him
(I think in Spanish because he recognized my call)
LOL  

 I am sure he knew exactly what I was feeling ... and he looked at me.
We connected.

Steve and I did our "Tourist Thing" shots along the shores of the river. 

We sat here and ate our picnic lunch.  

The winds were picking up in the canyon, 

we can only imagine how strong they were getting up in the hills? 

Steve leaned wayyyy out and snapped this shot from a kayak launching ramp.  

A bit further down, we saw this big split in the huge cliffs on the Mexican side of the river.... 

turns out the river comes right down through this steep canyon. 

 I read a book called Borderline by Nevada Barr ... and much of the action
took place right here in this area of Big Bend.
Although it is a novel, it brought a lot of the area to life for me
seeing it through the words in the book, and now seeing it in person.

 Those cliffs are amazingly high, and look so little in the pics.
I guess you really have to be there to experience their massiveness!

 We meandered on north along Old Maverick Road....

 This road was much smoother than the Old Ore Road we took the other day... by far!
A car would be able to take this road, without much difficulty.  Just goooo slow!


We came across an interesting little building, and got out to look around.

 Can you imagine raising a large family in here?

 The rigors of desert living must have agreed with him,
he lived to the ripe old age of 108!!!

Getting back in the Tracker, we headed north again, 

to find some more lovely landscapes. 

 As we got further north, the colors of the rocks and minerals changed...
these almost looked like frosty snow, but we know it was around 90 degrees,
so it was quite misleading.

As we got back to the motorhome the winds were really blasting along...   we let the dogs out and got supper going.  All of those normal things we have been doing each evening.  After a quick meal, we ran down to the little grocery store here in Study Butte.  Their prices weren't too bad, considering they have a LONG way off the beaten track for suppliers to reach them.  They even had my Coffee-Mate French Vanilla creamer! ahhhhhh now I don't have to use the powder form.  My coffee morning is now secure in taste and flavor.  

We chatted with the neighbors a bit and I made a date to go back to the quilting shop on Monday.  It's called   

 Quilts By Marguerite  100 Bee Mountain Plz # 1 Terlingua, TX 79852

I couldn't find a website for the shop, but I did find this blog: 

 http://bigbendquilts.blogspot.com/

We have been up in the 90's today.. and still in the high 70's at 10:00 p.m.  but the winds are blasting and gusting.  The weathermen said it will be 30 degrees tomorrow morning?????   Oh boy!