Red Moose (me pater) is on the road somewhere between Old Town, FL and Brownsville, TX. When I confirm that he's planning to stay in the Village, I'll make reservations for a group site.
- MacEntyre
Red Moose (me pater) is on the road somewhere between Old Town, FL and Brownsville, TX. When I confirm that he's planning to stay in the Village, I'll make reservations for a group site.
- MacEntyre
- MacEntyre
"We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." - Ben Franklin
www.MollyMacGear.com
If I can ask a stupid question ....Originally Posted by MacEntyre
why and when are you headed to brownsville?
I live at south padre island, 30 miles away ......
(not many trees here either)
I am not headed to Brownsville... Red Moose is going there.
He's staying somewhere near there with other RV friends, then heading to Big Bend at the end of February.
- MacEntyre
- MacEntyre
"We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." - Ben Franklin
www.MollyMacGear.com
ok, got it now.
One thing I remember from my visit to BB is riding around in the back country after dark, and critter watching. The desert comes alive after dark.
Oh! And peregrine falcons!
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
I've spoken to Skippy...he and I are lengthening our availability for this Big Bend trip from the 5th through the 14th. A full day's drive in each direction would give us up to 8 days in the park. If that means we make part or all of the drive by ourselves, then so be it.
We look forward to meeting everyone, and seeing a few of the wonders of Big Bend!
“I think that when the lies are all told and forgot the truth will be there yet. It dont move about from place to place and it dont change from time to time. You cant corrupt it any more than you can salt salt.” - Cormac McCarthy
Hello to everyone.
I am new to posting on this forum but have been lurking for a few months. I have even bought and traded items with several HF members.
This past summer some buddies and I spent several days in BIBE (pre-hammock) and were truly amazed with the National Park. The primitive camp sites are remote and have minimal to no trees. This should not be a hanging problem for numerous of the more industrious members.
Anyways, below is a summary of our trip along with several photos. I only hope this helps.
I hope to make the March trip.
Big Bend Trip Summary: August 13th – 17th
This trip started with the usual discussions and concerns: too far, hot, dangerous, not physically fit, can’t get away, etc…. After a few cold beverages, the mood quickly changed and somehow everyone felt younger and the date was set.
I will not bore you with the details but will present the general picture. Four good friends loaded up on Thursday and drove west from Victoria. The drive was easy and uneventful. We arrived in Marathon, Texas around 1900 (approximately 7 hours post departure). We opted to stay at the Gage Hotel for one last night of normalcy (somewhat).
On Friday morning we entered the park on the Persimmon Gap side. We immediately drove to the park headquarters and present our itinerary. Our requested primitive camping sites were all available (likely due to the cool 100+ temperature).
The first camping spot was called Rattlesnake Mountain.
The second camping spot was called Twisted Shoe.
The third camping spot was called Glenn Spring 2.
This was a rookie trip for everyone in our party. We managed to see a large portion of the south side of the park by mostly driving. Every single place is truly beautiful but unforgiving. The temperatures were extreme. Every day was above 100 degrees and one night the thermometer was read at 65. It rained every afternoon around 1700. The temperature would easily drop 20 degrees during the showers.
The nights were just amazing. The Milky Way can be seen arched from horizon to horizon. Several distant thunderstorms provided spectacular light shows during the first two evenings.
A number of the places we visited included: Terlingua Abajo, Luna’s Jacal, Santa Elena Canyon (hike), Mule ears, Cat Tails Falls (hike), Juniper Canyon, Chisos Mountain Lodge, Mariscal Mine and Black Gap Road.
We did, of course spend one day (Saturday) floating the Rio Grande through some magnificent canyons just west of Lajitas. Our trip was an all day event which covered approximately 14 miles of river and included a nice lunch. The outing was booked with Far Flung outfitters from Terlingua.
Our departure on Monday morning was bitter-sweet. Everyone was ready for creature comforts but Big Bend had infiltrated our systems. There was silence as we passed the Persimmon Gap entrance. I cannot speak for everyone else but I can only surmise everyone felt the same.
I will end by saying this was a great trip for all. The park, experience, and friendship were beyond verbal or written expressions.
Enjoy.
Nice post, Chago...thanks for that. Hope to see you!
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
8 days! Count me in! You can both ride with me!
- MacEntyre
P.S. Hedcase, you can catch a ride there, and we'll take you to the airport to fly home.
Last edited by MacEntyre; 01-03-2010 at 07:31.
- MacEntyre
"We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." - Ben Franklin
www.MollyMacGear.com
some might think that seeing all the pics might somehow take away a bit of the mystery, adventure, and the first impressions of the grand beauty, but believe me, photos do no justice. every waking moment is like living in an iMax HD movie. I got into big bend in the middle of the night with zero idea of what was all around me, no moon, just darkness, but when I woke up it was like being on a different planet! You're so thrown back into time you could expect to see clint eastwood ride right out of a western movie and tie up his horse right next to the starlight theatre .......
One thing that I will somehow try to avoid is my nose drying up. after a week of that it was relieving to drive away and feel the moisture in the air and my nose begin to loose up a bit as I headed to the population centers of texas. It's like your nose gets full of rocks! a nose spray or some hot sauce on my food will be things I try .....
In that one photo of the bivy in the desert there were some logs in the background. One might wonder, where the heck did those come from? and can we hang from them somehow?
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