Wild and Wonderful

It’s been another fun-filled week as we made our way south again, chasing the warmer climates.
Our friends Ken and Pat recommended we go see the City of Rocks in New Mexico.  It seemed like a bit of a drive for us from Santa Fe, but we knew it would be worth it to camp in a beautiful setting.  As we made our way there, I was very confused about whether it had been hyped up too much.  It seemed as though we were driving deep into the desert and flat farmland.  Were we going to the wrong place?  Soon, we realized that although this park was small, it would be unbelievably picturesque.  True to our habits, we arrived just as the sun went down, and found ourselves a campsite “Cepheus”.  The sites are named after constellations because of how great the stargazing is in this incredibly remote area.  They really did put on a show for us that night!

The next morning we took a hike around the big volcanic rock formations, which were something like a jungle gym for adults to climb on.  We had so much fun weaving in and around the structures and getting some good exercise!

As we left the park, we decided to make a stop in Hatch, a small community of souvenir shops and authentic Mexican food, thanks to its close proximity to the border.  Hatch also happens to be the chili capital of the world!  During our brief stop, we loaded up on tacos at the Pepper Pot and picked up gifts for friends and family, but also picked up a beautifully painted ceramic piece to keep for ourselves.  Hopefully one day soon, we’ll have a home of our own again!

Speaking of places that just kind of pop-up out of nowhere, our next stop for the day was the White Sands National Monument.  What an extraordinary place this is!  The dunes of the White Sands are like a wonderland of gorgeous powdery white dust (gypsum, actually).  We frolicked among the hills and while Kiwi seemed a little unsure at first, she soon began running around off leash basking in the sun.

Thanks to a tip by a friend we made in Hatch, we camped for the night at a beautiful campground.  The Oliver Lee Memorial State Park was a bit more of a drive than we wanted away from the White Sands, but it sure was worth it for the beautiful view and sunset.  We figured out early on that state parks are far superior than private campgrounds when it comes to so many things: price, scenery, cleanliness, and quality.

The drive ahead of us to Big Bend National Park was a long one from where we were, so we knew we would have to split it up across a couple of days.  Having worked in the art world, we were aware of the art installation located near the small town of Marfa, TX.  Prada Marfa, a permanent land sculpture by Danish artists Elmgreen and Dragset, is a criticism of gentrification, consumerism, and luxury branding.  We were bummed to see that it had been vandalized when we arrived, but still appreciated the peculiar roadside placement of this important piece of art.  After spending so much time in nature, it was neat to see something unusual, sticking out like a sore thumb, like this.  We appreciated that in addition to this widely known installation, Marfa also has a budding arts community.

After a night of camping at the Tumble-In RV park, we continued onward.  It would be another full day of driving before we reached Terlingua, a ghost town located just outside of Big Bend.  While we really wanted to spend some time camping and enjoying the uniqueness of this little town, we had a difficult time finding accommodations that would suit us and our dog.  Besides, there were high winds expected for the area and camping while being pelted with sand wouldn’t be very much fun.  But, we did take some time to poke around and visit a few shops before finally making our way into Big Bend.

Heading into Big Bend so late in the day after the long drive felt like reaching an oasis, but it would be a gamble.  We learned that their first-come-first-serve camping fills up really quick, so we were keeping our fingers crossed that the stars would be in our favor.  We hurriedly made our way to the Chisos Basin Campground and hit the jackpot – site number 8 was quietly tucked away, waiting for us to arrive and drop our belongings.  We were feeling really great, and there were still a few hours of daylight left, so we decided to stretch our legs and go hike the Window Trail – the trailhead was right by our campsite!

After seeing the great views and feeling the good vibes, we decided this would be a great place to stay for longer than just one night.  We made friends with two adorable little boys camping nearby with their father.  They’re on a journey of their own which you can follow here: afamilywithoutborders.com. That night as we were brushing our teeth, another fellow camper met us by the water spigot and warned us that he had camped in site 8 night the before and they had a critter visit – a skunk.  Good to know…

We figured we were probably dodging a bullet

As we rose the next morning, we were feeling driven to tackle another beautiful hike in Big Bend.  Our original plan was to visit the Lost Mine Trail, but sadly we didn’t arrive early enough and parking at the trailhead was full.  We had heard that the trail had been closed temporarily very recently due to lots of bear activity, so we figured we were probably dodging a bullet anyway.

Sam and I decided we would just drive around a bit and take in the scenery.  Along the way, we discovered several tarantulas making their way across the dirt road we were driving along.  It made me question the decision to leave my shoes out last night.  Ugh! The long dirt road serendipitously led us to the Pine Canyon trailhead – the parking lot was empty and the trail seemed to call us.  We decided to make our way in, despite the sign warning us about the potential for mountain lion and black bear encounters.  We figured if there was a big enough chance of that happening, they would have closed the trail, just like they did with the Lost Mine Trail a few weeks back.  Still, I asked Sam to bring the bear spray and keep it close, just in case.

As we made our trek, I noticed that we were hiking mostly in the desert landscape.  It seemed a little odd to me that bears would roam this part of the park.  I didn’t think much of it until we hit quite a bit of tree cover closer to the canyon, about a mile and a half in to the hike.  I started to become more aware and more cautious, but wasn’t yet concerned with the possibility of a bear encounter.  Then, scat appeared on the trail.  I poked it with my walking stick and noticed that based on its consistency, it had been left maybe within the last day or two, but certainly not 5 minutes ago.  The deeper we walked into the woods, the more frequent the scat was – almost every few feet there was another pile just as fresh as the last.  Sam and I paused for a moment to consider whether we should continue on, but we were just so close to the end (which promised a beautiful waterfall) that we didn’t want to just turn around and leave.  So, we pressed on, but I made Sam walk ahead of me.  We were sure to make lots of noise to try to scare them away so we could reach the end of the trail.

My legs turned to jelly and my heart began to race

Minutes after we made this decision, Sam paused and calmly said, “Jaclyn, there’s a bear over there.”  Because of his tone, I figured it was a ways off in the distance.  But, it wasn’t.  This big, black, majestically terrifying creature was about 40 feet from us.  NPS recommends viewing bears from at least 300-500 feet away.  My legs turned to jelly and my heart began to race.  The bear, noshing on some leaves and berries stopped and looked right at us.  I started to wave my arms as I backed away and Sam started to yell.  The bear seemed unimpressed with these actions and just continued to feast.  I tried to walk away as fast as I could but my wobbly legs stumbled in fear. What if we get pinned by another bear on our way out of the trail? Just as that thought came and went, another smaller bear rushed past us in the woods, heading toward the first one we had seen.  Concerned for our safety in a momma-bear-baby-bear scenario, we rushed out of the trail at lightning speed.

After we finally caught our breaths, we hopped back into the car and decided that “hiking by auto” was best for the rest of the day.  We happened upon some really great vistas – all which could be viewed from the safety of our vehicle.

After we made it back to our site, two rangers walked by checking camping permits.  I  told them the story of the two bears we had seen that day, but they seemed largely unimpressed.

“Well, did you love the waterfall at the end?” they asked.

I was shocked that they hadn’t applauded our life-preserving efforts against a potential bear attack. Instead, I signed heavily, “No, we didn’t make it.”

We woke the next morning to some droppings scattered near our camper, which could only be identified as coming from our friend, the skunk.  We took it as our sign to leave, so we hit the road for another new adventure…