The Amazing Big Bend

K: I am still wondering what possessed us to traverse through the entire state of Texas to visit Big Bend National Park, the least visited National Park in the US. .... no cell coverage, nothing but Christian radio stations, no NPR and endless miles of highway. Thank god for the audio book "The First Eagle" by Tony Hillerman!!! But, it was so worth it. In the far southwest portion of Texas, along the Mexican border, the park includes the Rio Grande River, a vast desert and the Chisos Mountains with peaks reaching nearly 6,000 feet. The park is just beautiful. We had a wonderful campsight near the Rio Grande for 2 nights. The night sky was just stunning. Given its remote location, the Big Bend area has some of the best night sky in the US with clear light and pollution-free nights.

While we saw a number of road runners, we did not not see any bears, despite many sightings by fellow hikers just paces ahead of us. We will definitely return to visit this park one day as we must raft/kayak the Rio Grande.

V: Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend are three National Parks so worth the effort to get to. And so great to know that the mystery of the Chupacabra has been solved to my satisfaction. It is not a goat-bloodsucking demon ... but ... a bird - the Nightjar aka the Bullbat.

West Texas is beautifully rugged country, but dang it takes awhile to drive across the state. We will eventually get to Arkansas. We are bummed that we won't be back in Philadelphia for Halloween but hope to find a suitable

place to trick or treat on Saturday.

Very much excited about the notion of paddling the Rio Grande next fall (when the river is the highest). Anybody interested in joining us for that adventure?! And next time, we will have mountain bikes as Big Bend is one of the most mountain bike-friendly National Parks.

Sights:

Sips: Lone Star and Shiner Bock beer

Bites: Excellent campsight dinners - grilled chicken, Caribbean rice and spinach and mole chicken with black beans, avocado, Anaheim peppers and corn tortillas. Campsight breakfasts of scrambled eggs, veggies and beef.

Sights: Big Bend National Park and the ghost town of Terlingua. Viggo's scruffy beard which was left behind in Texas.