Desert Rats' Xmas in Big Bend

[TexasShadow]

My sinuses and nose wouldn't let me sleep anymore. Having this head cold from Day Two (I lost track of days very quickly, and didn't care), I spent most of the nights blowing my nose or stuffing Kleenex up my nostrils to dam the flow. This morning I woke with undirected wayward energy. To avoid becoming a miscreant I decided early that I was going solo; I needed my own ride somewhere.

Apparently my mood was infectious or it had stricken all of us. The other sorry-looking remnants of the Desert Rats were sullen and moody. Camp was like a small bunch of wet rats bumping into each other while swimming in cold water.

David and I were the first ones up, barely up with the rising sun. After making coffee, we both watched its glow slither over the Chisos Mountains in the distant; a golden orange creeping over black silhouetted curves, peaks, sharp pointy mule ears and rolling lines.



Soon golden rays would bask the Mesa de Anguila, the magnificent and towering cliffs that ended at the mouth of Santa Elena Canyon, and turn them into a radiating wall of rose, gold and amber. Then the strong rays of the hot ball of plasma that turns our nights into day made their entrance like a queen.



Everything in camp was basked in amber and rose light as the sun began to climb the sky. The cliffs of the Reed Plateau across the draw floor to the west were aglow with colors. It was a light show that nothing man-made can best.



David, Ed and Roger went to Kathy's for breakfast; I stayed behind to get my dose of solitude and have conversations with the desert. With full coffee mug and camera, I explored around Roger's again.

I found some new buddies:







and a wash that drains Roger's little plateau down the draw and wash below. It was a chute of limestone shale, the bottom smoothed like a flagstone bathtub. The walls stacked with shale, all the loose sand long since washed out and down to leave a wonderful showcase of textures and colors.



I even found my shadow amongst them. It wanted more coffee. And grub!



Wiley joined me for breakfast; I think he was tired from frolicking with his fellow canines. I heard them yipping several times... of course, it didn't help that I edged them on and called them in on all three sides of us. *shrug*



I sat for awhile in Roger's Posthenge and communed with the desert.



When the others returned, some of us were snarling at each other. It was time for everyone to go off on their own for the day. A solitary communing with the desert on our last day there. And we all knew Roger needed a break from us ....

Sherpie ready for the charge, water stashed with protein bar, tons of kleenex, fresh camera batteries and I was off. I headed east on Farm Road 170 (I proclaim we change it to River Road 170!)

Eventually I stopped at the Big Bend Ranch State Park center.



Had an enjoyable and lively chat with Ranger David. Roger was correct in that he's a good guy and a wealth of information about the area. He freely shared with me his map of north Terlingua desert and some local history. In response to an inquiry about future employment opportunities there with the park, he was encouraging. They just might have a position opening for a biologist........

The courtyard is a desert garden that is like a magical land in itself. It's awesome.







Sauntering outside, the day was well highnoon, from the glare of the sun, and I wandered through the desert plant collection and up the hill behind the center. At the top I sat under a roof in the shade sipping water and enjoying the view overlooking Lajitus to the west, Rio Grande to the south and the center, mountains and ridges inside the park to the north.





Refreshed, I wandered back into the courtyard again with a different perspective:



and then spent the next hour inside the fantastic exhibit depicting and explaining the geological, natural, and cultural histories of the surrounding areas (the entire Trans-Pecos region). It was fascinating and answered so many questions I have had since my first visit. I highly recommend the trip inside.

Eating my food bar in the shade of the adobe, rock and timber porch, I washed it down with more water, geared up and rode on.

I just rode. It was just me, the road, the bike and the desert. Hardly any traffic and I felt as though it all was just mine. All mine. MINE!

Heading back west on 170 I rounded a curve at the crest of a hill and...
Whoah!!!! I was so drawn into and absorbed in the views below and panned out in front of me as I rode down the road, I was lost. A mile or so later, when I finally came to my senses, I decided I needed to go back and do that again. So I did.

Turning around, riding up the hill and doing a U-turn, I approached the curve and the crest of the hill, pulled off the road to the side, parked the bike, took off the helmet and just stood there like a drunk. Awesome.....

I was able to captures something that may represent the view,



and got one from right in the middle of the road. Glad traffic was almost non-existent.



Now, this is Thirtyeight Hill. Why is it called that? I'd sure like to know. Perhaps it is associated with the Little Thirty-eight Mine nearby. I have the GPS coordinates of the mine; maybe I'll check that out, too. (Man, do I need a GPS! All these GPS coordinates and no GPS.... ) This hill is also the northern shoulder tip of Reed Plateau! Where My Ridge Road is.......

Riding back into camp, everyone seemed in better spirits. Camp Chef David outdid himself again with dinner. That guy is just amazing.

We caught Wiley and Yotey howling at the moon, Wiley under the tutelage of the very best.



And we were honored with a nice sunset over the Chisos.



it was the last day, last night. We had a good day, good night in commemoration of our fantastic adventure there.

[Tourmeister]

You need to get a personalized license plate for the Sherpa... "DEZ RAT"

[TexasShadow]

Originally Posted by Tourmeister

You need to get a personalized license plate for the Sherpa... "DEZ RAT"

Hey, I like that!!

[TexasShadow]

Originally Posted by Tourmeister

Start your own magazine...

Lots of potential there, but I'm the worst person to start/run a magazine!

I'm the writer/photographer with a cloaking device that hides in a room with the laptop and coffee maker or escapes on a bike, incommunicado for days at a time ......... But a sponsor would be great! Then I can quit this day job

[Tourmeister]

Originally Posted by TexasShadow

But a sponsor would be great! Then I can quit this day job

I have the same problem. My life could use a good sponsor

[TexasShadow]

Originally Posted by Tourmeister

I have the same problem. My life could use a good sponsor

heheh. I need to buy a winning lottery ticket. I'll share. (TWT Desert Base Camp.....)

I may have a break through soon. Not saying anything yet until the lead pans out, but at least a book is in the first planning stages. I might pm you for feedback.

[M38A1]

What a fantastic trip! You've taken me places I can only dream of one day visiting.

[TexasShadow]

Darest thou now, O Soul,
Walk out with me toward the Unknown Region,
Where neither ground is for the feet, nor any path to follow?

No map, there, nor guide,
Nor voice sounding, nor touch of human hand,
Nor face with blooming flesh, nor lips, nor eyes, are in that land.

I know it not, O Soul;
Nor dost thou—all is a blank before us;
All waits, undream’d of, in that region—that inaccessible land.

Till, when the ties loosen,
All but the ties eternal, Time and Space,
Nor darkness, gravitation, sense, nor any bounds, bound us.

Then we burst forth—we float,
In Time and Space, O Soul—prepared for them;
Equal, equipt at last—(O joy! O fruit of all!) them to fulfil, O Soul.
- Walt Whitman

Big Bend and the surrounding area can mean, or be, different things to different people. For some it is nothing more than dry empty desolate vast landscapes, so empty that it sucks the very life stuff out of them. For many it was a life of servitude to backbreaking grind and painful work as they eked out a life for themselves and their families. For some it was fool's gold; take and rob from others and the land while the taking was good. Others seek the solitude and simplicity, willing to sacrifice luxuries for solace these big empty spaces offer, trading for risk and challenges urban people only read about in old books or watch in old movies.

Then there are those of us that seek places like this for something we can't see or obtain within the microcosom of our every day world. Is it just the roads? All we want is to ride screaming down the tarmac or gravel? If that is so, many other places closer and with less discomfort can appease that desire.

Than what is it? Why do we travel, by four or two wheels, hundreds of miles to ride here where there is, by many other perspectives..... nothing? Stop for a moment next time you are down there and ask yourself that question.
"Why am I here?"

It's not just the roads. Sometimes those roads are winding.....



bumpy.....



thorny.......



steep.....



rocky......



wet.......



and muddy.



Sometimes, there is no road.



It doesn't matter. It's more than just the roads, paths, and trails that draw us. It's an intrinsic, sometimes visceral, longing to be out there. In amongst the landscape and moving. Like a petulant and persistent pendulum inside of us, we have to keep moving. Moving into new tastes, smells, sounds and whispers. Even returning again and again to get more. Each builds a layer on the one before, and a foundation for the next. And our horizons broaden each time we do.

Maybe we can't go to Africa, Belize, the Amazon or Australia. But there are so many places around us, near and far, where we can go. Each can be our own adventure. Don't scale what is available to you to places that you may never visit. Most of us don't have the resources and freedom to gallivant around the world. But we do have the freedom to go places we've never been before. Even if it is only thirty miles away. All it requires is will and determination. If you have those, you can and will find a way.

Even if there is no road, follow your heart. You will create your own road.

[Voni]

Sweet!

And so very wise.

Voni
sMiling

[anaconda]

Great pics Elzi!

[TexasShadow]

Originally Posted by anaconda

Great pics Elzi!

Since you won't be able to go there this month for the ride, how about I drop a DVD slideshow in the mail for ya.

[anaconda]

Originally Posted by TexasShadow

Since you won't be able to go there this month for the ride, how about I drop a DVD slideshow in the mail for ya.

That'd be great Elzi!

[miltonotto]

Nice photos. Kudos.