Fall Getaway - Big Bend National Park

It's that time of year again when our parents ditch us for some time away, just the two of them.  How dare they leave us behind????  You'd think we'd be used to it by now . . . 

For this year's fall trip, they chose to head to Big Bend National Park.  It's right on the Texas-Mexico border along the Rio Grande.  Lodging is very limited in the park, so they stayed at the fancy schmancy Gage Hotel in Marathon, Texas before heading into the park the next day.  This hotel is very rustic and carries out the Western theme in a tasteful, beautiful way. 

Lucky for us, the tile floors in their room didn't allow them to forget about us.  Despite the hotel being dawg friendly, our parents still refused to let us tag along!  Hmpf!

This was their room.  It has very old fashioned double doors and you have to close the window shutters inside the room by hand for privacy.  Each room has a private little outdoor sitting area too!  And the rooms still use a REAL key!

The next morning, they traveled into the the park.  It was a very cloudy day.  Even the park ranger at the gate worried the clouds weren't going to burn off so they could really enjoy the sites.  When Mommy originally planned this trip, she was fearful it would still be hot because it's Texas in October and that's not unusual.  As the weekend drew closer, they feared it would rain all weekend.  Thankfully, it was neither hot nor rainy!  

By the way, if you haven't noticed yet, this post will not actually include any pictures of our parents.  Daddy was terrific about allowing Mommy to take as many selfies as she wanted, but that still doesn't mean he wants you to see them!  This trip is going to be shown over two posts, so stay tuned for a picture featuring the humans who took this trip in the next one!

Big Bend National Park is located in the Chisos Mountain range and the Chihuahuan Desert.  This is the southernmost mountain range in the US . . . and you should already know mountains make Mommy very happy!

There are sixty varieties of cacti in the park!  This particular one, the ocotillo, was a new one for Mommy!  Well, let's be honest, this probably isn't the only new-to-her variety, but it was the most obvious.  These cacti were everywhere and bloomed reddish orange at the tips of their spikes.  There were a few still in bloom in some areas of the park.  (And don't tell Mommy, but this isn't a true cactus!)

Although you can't see our parents in these pictures, you can see a few other living creatures . . . like this really long creepy, crawling critter!  Some sort of millipede???

No bears were spotted on this trip.  Mommy read online later that one of the popular hiking trails (that they didn't take) was closed because bear traffic had recently increased.  Good thing they didn't know that at the time!

And Mommy's eagle eyes spotted this tarantula crossing the road.  Daddy knew what his job was without Mommy even asking . . . he turned around and went back so Mommy could get out and take a picture.  Yes, you read that right.  She was standing only a couple feet away from it by choice.  Some of you may remember she spotted a tarantula in our neighborhood this summer!  THAT one freaked her out a bit.  She's a pro now when it comes to these  . . . ha!!!  This poor guy (or gal??) had a broken leg.

What's this next animal in its native habitat????  We forgot we planned to show you Daddy taking a picture of a roadrunner.  Our parents have seen roadrunners before, but this one was especially close.  Mommy had as much fun taking pictures of Daddy taking pictures as he did trying to take one of the bird!

You're looking at Mexico here . . . on the other side of the Rio Grande.  There appeared to be a man fishing on the opposite shore.  Future border crosser???  Perhaps, but we'll never know.  This is Boquillas Canyon.  Boquillas is Spanish for "little mouths" which may refer to the small oval caves in the sides of the cliff walls or the many small natural springs in the area.

Mommy and Daddy drove from one end of the park to the other.  

This part of the park is called Panther Pass.

This is Santa Elena Canyon.  If you look closely in the picture above, you can see this canyon "dip" in the distance.

Apparently when you're this close to Mexico, you have to import your Cokes!  Surely, there's a bottling company in America that's closer to Big Bend National Park . . . nope!  It's hard to imagine how far out of the way this park is.  Very little civilization!  Big Bend is a designated International Dark Sky Park because it has so little artificial light at night allowing you to see the beauty of the natural night sky. (Anyone singing "The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas" after that sentence????)

And, although our parents didn't make a run for the border, they did have to go through US Border Patrol checkpoints!  All roads headed north from the park and south Texas have checkpoints.

Big Bend was a beautiful trip . . . according to our parents.  We wouldn't know first hand of course.  Stay tuned for part two of their weekend getaway (and maybe some actual pictures of our parents!).  

Left behind,

Dixie, Jenna & Ruger

PS: Happy 48th Anniversary to Grandma and Poppa!