Big Bend, here we come

Day 1

The idea was to leave right after Sunday school, but like many ideas it was ill-conceived. Leaving before noon became the more realistic goal, and in fact we hit the road sooner, about 11:15 or so.

Our route was set to take us to San Angelo, and mostly the route was problem free. But at one point, between two of the small towns, neither of which can I remember, traffic came to a complete standstill.

Some people opened their car doors and stood on the door sill, trying to see what was happening, while others drove onto the shoulder, either because they thought they could see better, or because they were trying to gain an advantage.

We were stopped at an intersection of roads, and several drivers turned right. We decided they might have local knowledge and decided to follow. A mile an half or two later, we emerged beyond the blockage and continued on our merry way.TomTom led us astray in San Angelo.

The state park's HQ is one place, and the two actual entrances are elsewhere. TomTom took us to HQ, which was, of course, the wrong place and was closed. At least they put a sign up telling visitors where to go.

Our San Angelo site

After following posted directions to the right place, we were helped by a friendly park ranger who tried to be nice and set us up closer to  where we were at the time, instead of where we had reserved a spot. Unfortunately that meant setting us up in an area not really intended for tent camping.  

The ground was full of rocks and, as we were to discover, stickers aka grass burrs or goatheads. The plastic tent stakes weren't going to work, but we had brought some metal ones and a hammer. Turned out plenty of rocks lurked below the surface. I managed to pound most of the stakes in far enough to ensure the tent wouldn't blow away.

Our lack of recent experience resulted in a poor initial choice of a spot for the tent, soon rectified.  After supper, we read til dark, then Sharon found a spot to do some star-gazing.  The view was much better than back home, but not near as spectacular as what we would soon encounter.

Eventually we decided to retire for the evening -- about 9:30. I never go to bed that early, but it felt good and would prove to be a good choice. 

Day 2

The morning was brisk, meaning cold. We slept until the sky began to lighten, about 20 minutes or so before sunrise. That's a lot of sleep for us.

After packing, we buzzed into town to pick up a few things we needed, find a wi-fi hotspot to check in, and then asked TomTom to take us to Marathon, the nearest spot to the park in its database. Bad idea.

The "pyramid" mountain

TomTom decides to shoot us straight down to I-10, which may compute to a faster travel time, but it's a longer trip. Still, we travel through Eldorado, home of the Yearning For Zion RCLDS compound, and we will see a mountain formation that looks like a pyramid from a distance.

The trip seems to take forever, but we arrive in good stead during the late afternoon. The drive through the park to the campground is enough to make my whole trip worthwhile. The views are spectacular, especially the Sierra del Carmen range just over the border in Mexico. Much like the trip to the Grand Canyon, these are views that put the awe in awesome, and I know we will encounter other wonders before we leave.


Our campsite is within a stone's throw of the river. We set up, grab some grub, and settle in. You couldn't ask for a greater contrast to last night's site. Because we near the river, the park service regularly irrigates the campground, so the sites are plush with grass and situated under big trees. The 

Rio Grande Village site

plastic tent stakes require a little coaxing with the hammer, but I don't strike a single rock.

Another early turn-in time. We're the only ones in the campground, so we are treated to the sounds of insects,  the leaves rustling in the trees, and a variety of animal noises. Coyotes howl, something makes a noise like a child screeching -- bobcat maybe? -- and something else makes a kind of honking noise. We decide later it's probably a donkey, but we'll have to ask someone. Early in the morning we hear sounds like a puppy yipping.

Oh, I almost forgot. On the road to the campground we see huge yellow caterpillars crawling en masse across the road. And they move quickly. Something else we need to ask about. (I ask a ranger a couple of days later, and she confirms the donkey sound and the probability that we heard a bobcat. The caterpillars turn into yellow butterflies that are common in the park, but she has no idea why they're crossing the road except to get to the other side.

Tomorrow we begin the adventure in earnest.