Day 4 - Last Day in the Park
Whew.... done! All choice photos are processed, uploaded, and presented in this thread for your viewing pleasure.
Our last day in the park started at 5:30am (well, for ME it did). The wind howled during the night and was still blowing pretty good when I woke up.
For the second day in a row, I climbed up the boulder outside our cabin (#101) to watch the sunrise. I got up so early this morning that I had time for several long exposures to capture star trails. The sky was very dark - the moon had set several hours before.
Unfortunately, I goofed up two shots. The first I didn't "bake" long enough and it came out severely underexposed. The second shot I managed to pull a good exposure (see below). The third long exposure blew out badly because the sky was getting rapidly lighter as sunrise was fast approaching.
The wind was still blowing pretty good, so I set my tripod low and anchored it with my camera bag. I even put a rubber band around my lens hood because it's somewhat loose and unrestrained and would rattle a little bit in the wind (vibrates the camera).
Shootin' in the dark.Here's the only shot that came out - a 14.3 minute exposure. Sunrise was approaching fast, so the sky was quickly getting light. The long exposure picked up some reddish tones in the lower left - right about where the sun was to come up. A dark, heavy cloud moved slowly over Casa Grande.
Star trails over Casa Grande.Click here for larger pic.I sat in the dark on that boulder in total silence. I breathed the cool Basin air. I looked up into the black velvet sky and the glow of billions of stars. I ate the last of my mom's homemade cinnamon rolls. It was heaven.
Some deer passed beneath me in the dark. I never saw them, but they alerted to my presence by doing the typical whitetail snort-wheeze. I guess they're fairly used to humans in the Basin, but not a human in the dark way up high like I was. They definitely freaked out. After several loud wheezes, 2 or 3 of them started and galloped past the boulder with their little hooves thumping against the earth.
The Basin sleeps #2.The sunrise was a good one. Heavy clouds were rolling into the Basin. After the sun rose, it would peak through the clouds every now and then and illuminate select spots in the Basin. The next 6 photos are all from the sunrise.
Flamin' Casa Grande.
Fire over the Big House.
Craggy, green Basin.
The Window at Sunrise #1Click here for larger pic.
The Window at Sunrise #2Click here for larger pic.
The Window at Sunrise #3Click here for larger pic.I stayed on the boulder for about an hour past technical sunrise. The clouds became so heavy that they covered up the Basin sky. The rest of my group was sitting on the porch eating breakfast and slowly getting ready to leave.
Our cabin from my high spot atop the massive boulder.
Our cabin from the ground.We packed up quickly, thinking that it would rain very soon. The clouds were getting heavy and the smell of rain was in the air.
As we drove out of the Basin, we stopped at a few of the pull-offs along the switchbacks to observe how cloudy it had become.
The clouds roll in.We made the n-th pee stop for little Henry somewhere a few miles east of the west entrance of the park. I jumped out with my camera and wondered into the green and fragrant desert. I didn't want to leave. I wanted a comfy chair (and maybe an umbrella) and time to just sit and take it all in.
The green, green desert.
Group pic time.
Our last stop.We drove up to Alpine and had lunch. The terrain along 118 was surreally green. We slowly made it back to Del Rio in time for dinner. My mother-in-law had BBQ from Rudy's waiting for us. The next day we journeyed back to Houston.
Fond memories.SOME THOUGHTS
I'm thankful that we made the trip. It was a little risky taking my wife so late in the pregnancy, but we only decided to go because her doctor said okay. She made it through the trip just fine, pushing herself only as far as she felt comfortable. And, luckily, the trip dates landed right between threatening hurricanes. Gustav veered away from us before the trip, and Ike, well, he was waiting for us to return.
This was my mom and stepdad's first time to visit the park. They were impressed and awed. Their favorite was the Basin - mom kept saying that she never knew a place like that existed in Texas. When the clouds rolled in and obscured the peaks, it gave the Basin a surreal feel and gave them a unique experience.
This was the first trip that we didn't camp. It was a little strange not taking a tent with me. But, the experience was just as good and satisfying. The only thing I really missed was the quiet solitude that backcountry car camping or zone camping provides.
THE END!
