Taos, New Mexico

My grandson's blog, Ephimerides, has inspired me to start posting again.

At the end of July we set out for Taos, New Mexico.  It's been really hot in Austin for a long time and we decided to go someplace cooler.  Taos is very cool, especially in the evening.  You can see some of the pictures here.  I wasn't a very long drive.  We stopped in Fort Stockton, Texas overnight, and again in Cloudcroft, New Mexico.  It was a good trip.

Taos

My grandson's blog, Ephimerides, has inspired me to start posting again.

At the end of July we set out for Taos, New Mexico.  It's been really hot in Austin for a long time and we decided to go someplace cooler.  Taos is very cool, especially in the evening.  You can see some of the pictures here.  I wasn't a very long drive.  We stopped in Fort Stockton, Texas overnight, and again in Cloudcroft, New Mexico.  It was a good trip.

Deborah's Birthday

Tuesday was a long, busy day and it was after 9 by the time we got back to the 'cottage'. It took over half an hour on the 7 mile rocky road from Grapevine Hills back to the paved highway, the sun set before we got into the car and we drove through the dark through the pass and into the basin. Everything was closed when we arrived at the lodge, with many of the rooms empty and most of the occupied ones dark. No TV or phones or internet, and most people likely as tired as we were from hiking all day.

The celebration was a this cake, a bottle of Chimay, and several rounds of 'Happy Birthday'® followed with decaf coffee. It got even cooler this evening which felt good after the hours in Terlingua during the heat of the day.

There was an English family next to us, their car doors slammed at 6 the next morning and they were off.

Monday afternoon at the hot springs on the Rio Grande, the far shore is Mexico. Spenser wanted to swim across but the water at this point was a bit rough.

Sunday evening, out first day in the park.

The geology here is amazing. After we checked in we went for a 4 mile hike up the sides of the basin. We say deer but no bear or moutain lions. I promised Deborah a rug or a jacket if I find one or the other.

Chisos Mountain Lodge, Big Bend National Park

I'm on the patio outside of the restaurant, the only place with any kind of connection to the rest of the word - Wi-Fi and a pay phone. Cell phones don't work here and there's no phone in our 'cottage'. I forgot to bring my camera, so I'll need to post some pictures later. The mountains are baeatiful as the sun rises. (isn't that true everywhere?) A bird swooped down and grabbed a bug out of the air just in front of me, and a few feet away a humming bird is attacking a the tall flower stalk of an agave plant. Yesterday we hiked to the base of one to the rock cliffs, about 7,000 ft. (I'll need to check my gps) I jammed a finger sliding down a large rock so typing o's and l's is hit and miss.

We drove 2 hours from Marathon (population 400) to get here, 2 hours without cell phone, radio, a gas station, or even a mini-mart. I've never felt quite so isolated. Fortunatly the park has gas station and a small store. We brought, I hope, enough food for the 5 days we will be here. Cooking all of our meals with only a microwave and a charcoal grill will be a challenge.

The bugs are annoying - I guess there are not too many bats in the vicinity...