Traveling to the Rose Parade

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Big Bend National Park is known as the largest and least visited park in the country. As we drove into this magnificent expanse of natural beauty we were mostly alone on the highway, allowing for a wonderful view of desert and mountains through our expansive front window. Stopping at the Panther Junction NPS Headquarters we enjoyed conversing with the volunteer Ranger and getting our first of 6 Big Bend indici stamps in our NPS Passport. On to our overnight full hook up RV accommodations we enjoyed an amazingly quiet and dark evening, since the Park has made an effort to diminish electric lights in favor of nature's darkness. We did enjoy watching the sunset from a newly constructed walk to an observation point, on the advice from one of the many volunteers who man the visitor centers. The next day was our chance to take the car on a tour of the park and visitor centers, collecting stamps and views of magnificent vistas. We saw the Rio Grande River, in its diminished state from water extraction north of here, and towering cliffs from prehistoric volcanic activity. We learned of early settlers' activities of cotton and sheep farming when this land had soil and grass prior to its abuse. There were also cross border friendships and squabbles, many depicted at the visitor centers. The evening Ranger Educational Program talked about the many reasons Big Bend is a special park including size (as large as Rhode Island), diversity of animal life (many of the species of birds, mammals here are unique to this park), geology (history is written on the peaks and valleys), and silence and darkness. The last point is made by personal observation at night when the stars are prevalent and not a human-made sound is heard. We noticed the difference when compared with the hourly trains running by the San Antonio campground just 2 nights before. Solitude has its virtues, even at freezing temperatures.

We departed Big Bend via our entrance road to Marathon and, stopping at the entrance visitor center, met another Park volunteer and incoming motorcyclist who gave us travel guidance on our next area of interest in Northwest Texas. We arrived at Ft Davis to stay in the Davis Mountains State Park campground. After settling in we got a chance to visit Ft Davis National Historic Site and learned about an Army Fort that served as an outpost of protection for settlers and cross country travelers in the developing West of the mid 1800's. The living conditions were not what we of the modern military era would have enjoyed but the soldiers did a wonderful job of building roads and communication facilities and helping wagon trains reach the California gold fields, while fighting off Indian attacks. It was interesting to learn of the Buffalo Soldiers stationed here and the exchange of the fort by Union and Confederate forces. We found this NPS site and the State Park are wonderfully clean, just like we found at Big Bend. When asked about this delightful phenomenon, our park representative noted that these parks don't get the usual run of tourists and the ones who do visit seem to take ownership of these special places. At Big Bend there are three seasons: Thanksgiving, Christmas Week, and Spring Break when the multitudes arrive. Otherwise it seems to be as we found it with few, but interested, visitors who enjoy being part of the program. One interesting aspect of this part of the States is a lack of phone and wifi connectivity, this delaying our report to the waiting audience.

On to two more NPS gems, the first being Guadalupe Mountains NP in northwest Texas. Here we view some magnificent mountains, most a product of early volcanic activity. Then we move on to one of the NPS favorites: Carlsbad Caverns. We are greeted by more tourists than the total of the previous three parks combined and large restaurants, stores and services to accommodate them. However, all this pales in comparison to the magnificent large room which is the center piece of the park. Descending by elevator and being reminded not to touch anything and maintain a quiet demeanor we pass an underground store/restroom complex to emerge into the largest underground cavern I've ever seen. Stalactites and stalagmites of all descriptions, pools, and picturesque clusters of material are all accent lighted to show off their unique characteristics. It is nature at her best and a wonderful sight. Of course the occasional yelling kids and loud conversing adults detract from the setting and remind one of how a larger (normal) crowd would be a disaster. Saving this natural wonder from commercial exploitation is a major reason for the National Park System. Our round trip drive of 364 miles today was worth the effort. We retreat to our State Park RV site with few lights and people and wonderful quiet and solitude.

As we continue our trip west and thank our State Park Ranger for his hospitality we're warned of the high winds forecast for the Davis and Guadalupe Mountains. With trepidation we swing south on to US 90 and shortly discover a partial tailwind, since the predicted winds come out of the southwest. Turning on to I-10 we feel comforted that many cars and trucks are already there until the cross winds begin to buffet the rig. Crossing ridges of hills we experience gusts as the winds squeeze through the passes but the real excitement arrives when we near El Paso. Up ahead the entire sky is an ominous dark, greyish brown and the buffeting increases. Slowing our speed from 65 to 45 does help (although the trucks don't slow down from close to the 80 mph speed limit) and prepares us for the sandy rain which greets us on entering the El Paso outskirts. Traffic jams on our way to the RV park are caused by utility poles snapped off onto a side road and a tractor trailer truck over an embankment after skidding through a guard rail. After a quick trip to Ft Bliss's commissary and exchange complex (the size of a mall) we hunkered down for the night with the winds still blowing and the temperatures in the 30's. To avoid damage to the slide topper awnings we brought the slides in for the night and again put on extra blankets against the cold. Our poodle, Cappy's, desire for warmth by occupying a sleeping position solidly planted in the middle of the bed doesn't help us. By morning the temps improve and the winds die down. El Paso reported gusts of 60 mph during the storm which helped us by being headwinds vs. crosswinds. Saturday we're looking forward to visiting local museums and monuments.

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