Blog#11 Adios Big Bend
Day 13-Big Bend National Park to San Antonio
Boquillas from a safe distance. Don’t see the mob yet:)
Another good sign
Pretty sure this is the Canyon Wren
Flycatcher hiding in the Ocotillo
Liked the color on this guy
He was creeping on me.
Was sad to leave Big Bend. They have a crossing into Boquillas, Mexico, that is open Wed-Sun. (Mexico is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays). You can park your car and then pay some hardworking soul $5 to row you across in a pram. Or you can roll your pants up above your knees and walk across the Rio Grande. It has been dammed and diverted so much that right now, it is Rio Pequena. I thought about doing it, for about 30 seconds. It would mean leaving all of my belongings in my car at the border crossing-and it would mean I would likely purchase wonderful things in Boquillas and have to get them back across and then into my home on wheels and back to Bend. Although my portable house could use a few touches…Being a Clever American Woman, I decided I would not go. Not due to fear- too much temptation to buy.
I need a book, damn it
I did get some good photos of roadrunners at Big Bend. That was priority one. Now armadillo and javelina have moved up to spots one and two. My camping neighbors had seen javelina, but the rangers said armadillo aren’t around here. I left the park and saw neither. The hunt is on.
I had a campsite reserved at Seminole Canyon State Park, but decided not to stopover there. My campsite was not spectacular, flat and windy. There are pictographs in the park, left by the cave dwellers from long ago. Sadly, those are shown on a guided tour only and I missed the last one of the day. I did utilize the electricity in my campsite to use my brand new toaster oven, purchased specifically for this trip. I reheated the flatbread pizza leftover from the Hotel Saint George. It was delightful.
I took a quick sidetrip to the Amistad National Recreation Area on the Pecos River. Beautiful.
Amistad National Recreation Area
Ditto
I was getting rather weary of the gray and brown desert with the nonstop wind and was feeling the need to get closer to the Gulf, so I kept driving east. I passed through the town of Uvalde, and it looked like a set from The Birds. There were thousands of birds–all of them black. Starlings, Blackbirds, Grackles. I like birds, but this gave me chills. Every tree, line and post.
Get me outta here
I continued on to just on the southern outskirts of San Antonio and stayed in a travelodge near Lackland Air Force Base. I was lucky to get a room— the man at the front desk asked if I was there for the graduation. The base puts out a class of graduating cadets (I don’t know if that’s the right term for the Air Force… I daresay I have family that will offer correction) every month and the motels near the base fill up.
This says West Texas to me. Lots of wind!
It was a good thing I stopped. It gave me a chance to post a couple blogs. Then back to the campgrounds with no WiFi.
Yes, Nora. More pictures, same bird. The magnificent Greater Roadrunner