jim and jimmy go to big bend july18 /22

great trip ! we camped in the basin friday night . did the window and the top of oak spring cut off as soon as we got out of the truck. only two people at the window when we got there and they left shortly after our arrival . broke camp the next morning and did the lost mine.partly cloudy skies made the lickens glow, big clouds cast shadows over juniper canyon and casa grande.tons of interesting plants in bloom .we had the top of lost mine to oursevles for about an hour. two thirds of the way down we could see rain on the other side of the basin.watching the rain move through the pinnacles was really amazing. it rained 1.4 inches ,1.3 fell on us . the inside of my boots were soaked,packs water logged, the trail had an inch of water on it .we jumped in the truck and decided to get a room in the basin.we were supposed to camp at pine canyon 4,but , wet and not knowing the condition of the road to pine canyon it seemed the sensible thing to do. cranked the heat in the room and dried out our gear. as soon as it stopped raining we we went out to see the pour offs in the basin, they were all flowing. what a treat ,worth the soaking. next morning we went to maple canyon. came across a purple clematis in bloom .jimmy found a way around an obstacle that had stopped me on a prior trip.we were able to get much farther up the canyon , where there are some great views. soon it was time to go to pine canyon, i think it's the prettiest hike i've ever done ,anywhere.we had p.c. 4 for sun /mon nights , i was excited. didn't stop at the camp site ,went straight to the trailhead. it was 82 degrees ! incredible weather .pine canyon was ours ,we didn't see anybody for two days .the madrones were in their various stages of exfoliation ,shaggy bark hanging from their limbs.little rain had fallen in pine canyon, and it showed . most of the maple leaves were showing signs of drought .the ferns had unfurled on the o.s. cut off , none had unfurled in pine canyon. dry or no the canyon was beautiful .the sky had cleared when we got back to p.c. 4. we ate and watched the carmens change with the setting sun . jimmy has always "got" big bend ,but, he had never camped there before ,this was his first night in the desert and he was loving it .that was my fiftyth birthday. monday morning we considered going somewhere.then we decided to do pine canyon again , we both love it and we were already there. the hike in was slower than the day before , that was just fine with me . we had been at the pour off quite some time when we began to hear thunder ,soon enough it began to rain. we took shelter under the large overhang , it rained about an hour .from where i was sitting i could see the base of the pour off, towards the end of the rain the pour off began to flow ever so slightly. way cool .the lichen and mosses exploded, from dried and shriveled to lush green and grey an inch tall. the madrones wet were amazing . it was a great hike out . we had been back at camp for a while when it started to rain over the carmens. first one thin strand, then three thin strands, they joined and moved down hill . we watched the ligthing,and rain move towards us for two ,three hours. storms to the east north and south , i think they joined right over our campsite. we sat in the truck for hours , when it quit we pitched our tents and got some sleep.next morning i awoke just before sun up to a beautiful desert sunrise. what a trip. jim2