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Pictures from first week in Florida

Saturday, April 16th, 2011

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Big Bend National Park, Texas, Day 5-6 and Balmorhea State Park

Saturday, April 16th, 2011

April 12th-13th

Big Bend has inspired me to write a lot. It’s one of the remotest places I’ve been in a long time and reminds me of hiking in Patagonia. The landscape is harsh and rugged; the climate is harsh and few people have been brave enough to make their home here. On that note, I awoke to a beautiful sunrise in the desert after an excellent night’s sleep. I was sad to give up that campsite, but we had new areas to explore. We drove to the Boquillas Canyon Trail and took a short walk into the canyon delicately carved by the Rio Grande River. Along the path, there were small souvenirs (walking sticks, wire dolls, bracelets, etc.) with a donation jar, placed by Mexicans who were trying to raise a little money for the school in Boquillas town. You could see where they made the daily crossing by donkey or canoe, to put the items. They were watching from across the river banks as tourists considered their purchases. As we neared the beach we could here singing, Jesus the Mexican, that perches himself on a rock in the middle of the river and serenades the tourists. Here we were a stone’s throw from Mexico. Unfortunately there is no longer an official border crossing in the park; it was closed after the terrorist attacks in 2001. That afternoon, we drove to hot springs; there are even hot springs in Big Bend. Soaking our tired feet in the hot thermal waters would have been more refreshing if it hadn’t been close to 100 degrees outside, but it was fun anyway. Our last night camping in the park was another adventure. This time were doing something called Zone camping. We could camp anywhere in the zone as long as it was a ½ mile from the trailhead and 100 yards from the trail. The ranger had recommended taking the Mule Ears trail (so named for the enormous rocks that looked like mule ears.) When we got to the trailhead we were a little worried- all we could see was cactus laden desert. We finally found a little rocky patch and set up our tent- both doors opening towards menacing cacti. But as the sun went down and the desert changed from beige and brown to red and orange, we relaxed and spent another peaceful night under the stars.

Wednesday was our last day in Big Bend. We packed up camp, hiked back to our car and drove to the end of the road to Santa Elena Canyon, another more impressive canyon upriver from Boquillas. This canyon is popular for “floating” but the water level looked extremely low. We saw a rattlesnake sunning in the grass on the side of the trail, though.

We took a dirt road out of the park, after 5 ½ days we were ready to continue our journey. This was a wonderful stop in a place that I had never heard of, well worth the visit if you’re ready to make that long drive across Texas.

Just outside of the park, we stopped in a little town called Study Butte for some excellent Mexican food. Then we drove 70 miles to Alpine to stock up on groceries and gas. From Alpine, we passed Fort Davis, a town we had planned to stop in to visit the Astronomical Observatory, but they had suffered some devastating forest fires in the previous days. We could see black parched land for miles and smoke in the hills. Apparently at least one third of the town was destroyed. We were shocked by the devastation and reminded that man is no match for nature.

In the late afternoon, e arrived at our destination for the evening, Balmorhea State Park, an oasis in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert. The natural spring has been diverted into the world’s largest natural swimming pool. We dove into the cool water, between 72-76 degrees F, and washed off the desert sands. A few ducks were our only companions.

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16 Avril : balade en paysage du Sud Ouest texan

Saturday, April 16th, 2011
Encore une journée qui s'annonce sans un nuage, il fait fraid ce matin mais on sent que la température va vite monter. Avec le changement d'heure et le soleil, nous nous levons très tôt : vers 6h45. De ce fait, ... [Continue reading this entry]

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15 Avril : 2 parcs, 2 états, 1 journée

Saturday, April 16th, 2011
Le vent s'est bien calmé dans la nuit mais la température est basse: moins de 10 degrés ce matin et le soleil a du mal à nous réchauffé. Le thé aide mais rien de mieux qu'une petite balade dans le ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Nouveau Mexique FR, Texas FR | No Comments »

Big Bend National Park, Texas, Day 3-4

Saturday, April 16th, 2011
April 10th-11th We woke up ready for a good hike up the mountain. We packed up camp and packed our food for the following days (we didn’t find the propane canister for our stove, so we prepared our dinner in advance.) ... [Continue reading this entry]

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14 Avril : vers le nord, un autre parc national

Saturday, April 16th, 2011
Sous le soleil et un vent très fort, nous démarrons la journée par un rattrapage Internet et blog, puis avant le repas, je profite de l'eau si rare dans le désert et fais encore quelques longueurs dans la piscine d'eau ... [Continue reading this entry]

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Notre trajet jusquà présent / Our trip so far

Thursday, April 14th, 2011
In red : what we did Blue circle : where we slept and visit Green square : what we visit En rouge : notre trajet Cercle bleu : où nous avons dormi et visité Carré vert ... [Continue reading this entry]

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Big Bend National Park, Texas, Day 1-2

Thursday, April 14th, 2011
April 8th We left Seminole Canyon after lunch to make the long drive on Texas Road 90 to Big Bend National Park. The potential government shut-down had us worried because it would have effectively closed the park.  At the visitors’ center ... [Continue reading this entry]

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13 Avril : sortie du désert, direction nord ouest

Thursday, April 14th, 2011
La nuit dans le désert a été assez bonne même si un peu difficile de trouver le sommeil avec tous les "bruits" du désert. Nous démontons la tente et reprenons la direction de la voiture à un ou deux kilomètres ... [Continue reading this entry]

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Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas

Thursday, April 14th, 2011
April 7th-8th We stopped in Del Rio, the last big city, and border town with Mexico to buy some groceries and camping supplies. We have not been able to find the propane canister for our backpacking stove and might be forced ... [Continue reading this entry]

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