Road Trip to Big Bend National Park

I have a friend and colleague that I've known for a little over two years now that lives and works in Big Bend National Park. Her name is Shirley Coleman and she is the Superintendent of San Vicente ISD. We met at a conference in Austin in June of 2007. She has been bragging (not really since she's a wonderfully, humble woman) to me that her backyard and office window look over the Park. Well, I've been talking about going out to visit her since we met. Doug and I finally made the time to do so which spawned the trip to BBNP. We headed out of town on Friday - a little later than we had planned. The dogs went to daycare which was one less logistic we had to worry about. We stopped in Fredericksburg to have lunch which was very nice. What a fun town! Then we had to stop in Harper to get gas and a few groceries. Then we were back on the road...then we had to stop in Junction for a potty stop and to air up the tires. Back on the road...then CCR started to get really angry about something. We were near Iraan, Texas. I looked back at him to see what was going on and I got a nose full! I told Doug we would need to stop at the next gas station or rest stop to get CCR a new diaper...well, then CCR grabbed his right leg and flung it above his head...and it was leaking!!! So we had to make an immediate stop...on the side of I-10 to get him and his carseat all cleaned up. We went through a ton of wipes and a clean onesie! It was a mess...we were able to get it all cleaned up and we hit the road again...then we stopped to throw all of the mess in a trash can at the nearest rest stop...whew! Then we were back on the road...then we stopped in Ft. Stockton to get gas, drinks and for a potty break. Then we were back on the road...then we stopped in Marathon for dinner. We ate at the restaurant affiliated with Hotel Gage which was wonderful! We didn't have reservations and were dressed as if we had been on the road since Austin, and we had CCR with us so they put us in a private dining room across the entire restaurant from the main dining room. We didn't mind and it was actually kind of nice. Then we hit the road again...and finally got to the hotel/lodge in the Park. We got settled and took it easy that night...here's a few pictures from Friday's road trip:



Here's a great shot of CCR's smile. He sure loves road trips...what a blessing!


Here is a picture of us on the side of I-10 post blow out...


Here's Doug and CCR at the same location at the same time...


Here's CCR sitting on a chair outside one of the closed restaurants in Marathon, Texas.


I was trying to take some neat photos of the sunset and rain clouds. I thought this one was very cool. It seemed like every time I was trying to take some really neat landscape shot I would end up capturing a tree square-on or a bush that was blocking half of my shot or so I thought what was a wind sock. Needless to say, I was very frustrated at someone's wind sock so far out in the middle of nowhere yet right in the middle of my shot. Well, it turned out to be an American Flag. And the shot turned out super cool! See it below...I love how the sunset is in focus and the flag is blurry...



Here's CCR reading his Diggers book in the Lodge. Thanks Theresa, Gil and Okello Garcia for the book! It's a huge hit!!!


Here's a few shots of us hanging out in the hotel room...


We got up nice and late on Saturday which was really nice for us and got ready for the day. We went up to the main restaurant at the Lodge (Chisos Mountains Lodge) to have breakfast. It was very good! We got everything we needed for the afternoon and headed out to discover the Park. BBNP is 880 acres which is huge, but we were able to see quite a bit of it in an afternoon. We took a loop around about half of the Park and took some neat pictures. Then we went to Terlingua for lunch at the Chili Pepper Cafe. It was awesome! Then we went back to the lodge for a little R&R before we went to Shirley's for dinner. She told me she was going to prepare Mexican food for dinner, but we had no idea the lengths she would go to provide the most beautiful spread for us! She made homemade tortilla chips to go with the homemade guacamole, pico de gallo and queso. Then there were the homemade beef enchiladas, hm tamales, hm spanish rice and hm beans. THEN there was the homemade flan and Pecos cantaloupe that were both amazing! All in all, we were so surprised with the effort she put in to dinner and how delicious everything we had was...THANK YOU SHIRLEY!!! We got a chance to visit with Shirley which was really nice. We headed back to our room when CCR got cranky and turned in for the night.



This is a shot that we thought was totally hilarious! The rock mountain formation is called Mule Ears Peaks...so we thought it would be fun to put those ears on CCR...


Doug and CCR hanging out at the lookout for the Mule Ears Peaks.


Us hanging out at the same lookout...


At about lunchtime, we stopped in Castalon for a drink and had a snack before hitting the road (and some dirt road too). Here's CCR reading the map of the Park.


This is a shot of Santa Elena Canyon which is in Mexico. The greenery in the foreground is the US and between that and the cliffs is the Rio Grande River. The view was breathtaking!


Here's a look back at the SEC from the dirt road that we travelled for 13 miles...it was rough terrain, but it was so much fun!!


There are some really neat sand/rock formations through out the west side of the Park that create these striations of different colored sand and rock. I thought they were so cool. Here's an overall shot of one location.


Here's a close up of a different location.


Here are our two favorite pictures of CCR with our friend Shirley Coleman. CCR just loved getting kisses from her!



Here's a few overall shots of the Chisos Mountains which is the location of the Park where we stayed.


We hit the road fairly early on Sunday in order to get back in time to pick up the puppies within the normal time at the daycare. We only stopped in Ft. Stockton for gas, Ozona for lunch and the Wild Boar Farms stand outside of Fredericksburg for the some fresh fruits and veggies...and pecans! We picked up the puppies and headed home...

Duh, Duh, Duh...we got home and went inside to let the puppies out in the backyard. I walked in to the hottest house ever! The thermostat read 94 degrees inside. Apparently our A/C went out on Saturday and the house just roasted...Doug got the condensing unit outside to start up again, but it was a pretty miserable afternoon catching up! CCR took a cool bath and went to bed with just a diaper on...with all of the fans in the house on high! Right before I went to bed, I snuck in and put his pajamas on so he wouldn't freeze when the A/C hit the right temperature...he woke up chipper as ever...

We were able to capture a ton of great pictures of CCR in the car...he had a great time flinging his legs around and "munching" on his toes...



CCR has turned into a complete HAM when it comes to the camera...


Munchin' on his toes while watching his daddy pump gas in Terlingua.


I just love this shot! I can't believe I was able to get it with both of his legs up in the air...so funny!