Thursday, March 26, 2009

A trip to Big Bend in Texas


We just returned from a great trip with two other couples to Big Bend in Texas. Two of us took our RVs, and the third took their car. It was a good time to go, as the weather hasn't turned hot yet; summmertime heat down there can be brutal—110 to 115 degrees, we're told.

Big Bend, of course, refers to the bend in the Rio Grande that shapes western Texas. Travelers can tell they are getting close to the river by the strip of green that stands in sharp contrast to the barren, beige landscape. In the middle of a massive cliff is a notch that's visible from miles away; that is the Santa Elena Canyon, through which the Rio Grande flows.

We also spent time in Fort Davis, an old fort designed to protect a travel route against marauding Apaches who might be bent on stealing some of their land back. The fort is in the Davis Mountains, which is also the site of the McDonald Observatory, where we spent our first evening watching the stars on a perfect night. Our guide used a Star Wars-like laser pointer to show us Aldebaran, Polaris, Betelgeuse, Sirius, a passing satellite, and many other celestial objects. The laser itself was a wonder, as it looked like the fellow was scraping the stars.

On our first morning, our friends saw javelinas, but all I saw were some tame deer that seemed to have no fear of humans.

7 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I bet they were mule deer. I remember those in New Mexico and they had no fear whatsoever!

L. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net

L. Diane Wolfe said...

BTW - I fixed my broken links from today's post!

And Bob, that photo was taken when they were kittens, and I couldn't tell you which one is which!

L. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net

Morgan Mandel said...

Javelinas - I never heard of them. This one is cute.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Bob Sanchez said...

That cute animal is a deer. :-)

Ruth L.~ said...

Looking at the beautiful pix, I was struck by the brownness. That's what it's like here, too, waiting for spring. Brown. But also pretty.

I can read the deer's mind. He's thinking, "Cheap tourist! No apple for me."

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous pictures, Bob! Makes me want to visit Texas for myself even more than I already do!

austere said...

Such lovely photos- the first one, n particular- just so majestic.

And Congratulations on the Amazon ranking. Huge jump.