These pics are from my 6th outing to Big Bend this year... All I can say definitively is that WOW is the park lush!
http://picasaweb.google.com/stngrr/BigBend91908Weekend?authkey=aWOOJhy8hD4#Several weeks ago my friend Scott and I had lined up some time off for a quick outing such as this, although Big Bend was not the original destination. After visiting Martin Dies, Jr. recently we stopped by Brazos Bend on the way out as we headed back to S.A. While discussing our options Brazos Bend had become the front runner in terms of places to visit given the fact that we were off for only a three day stretch. Ike intervened, and Big Bend "won out" despite our limited availability of time off in contrast to the drive time, etc.
The trip started out with a late Thursday night drive/early morning arrival to BBNP. I'd checked the NPS reports along with a number of other news sources (including BBC) to plan the quick outing. We knew going into this that 1) the park was lush, 2) Window Trail was closed (among other trails), and 3) the river was flooding. What we weren't aware of until this point was that supposedly the bend had seen rain almost every day prior to our arrival. Whether or not this was the case, I am not sure... What I AM sure of is that we were treated to spectacular crisp cool days and crystal clear nights during which MANY shooting stars made an appearance.
9/19 included a drive towards Boquillas after a much needed nap while waiting for sunrise. On the way out of the basin we scouted for and selected our intended campsite. The Boquillas area was absolutely unbelievable. Water was running at depths that allowed fallen trees to tumble end over end. Entire treetops would silently emerge to tower out of the water and then before long they would disappear only to reemerge downstream.
Rafters were on the river when we arrived. NPS advised me that some rafters were rafting along the edges rather than in the center of the river and creating water rescue situations because riding the edge resulted in some rafters being trapped under the surrounding trees at the former water's edge. Seems to me that rafting the river at either the edge among the treetops or in the center among the occasional rising stump/treetop were equally bad ideas, although the rafters seemed to be enjoying themselves. I could only wonder about the situation of our neighbors across the border for basically the entire stretch of the Rio Grande.
Despite our limited itinerary for the day, the day flew by and before we knew it the nighttime hours were approaching. We arrived back at camp and tried our luck in terms of spotting wildlife from a previously decided upon overlook, but we quickly found that our selected area would only yield an abundance of mosquitoes. I am still struggling to type this without scratching at some of the itchier welts on my arms & the backs of my hands. We decided to retreat after about 45 minutes of only having spotted a few birds that made their way into our immediate surrounding area. The pressure was on because I had GUARANTEED Scott that we would spot some Texas Black Bears if we did go to Big Bend this past weekend.
Before long, something I've seen several times before would play itself out again, though on a bigger scale. A large black moving object emerged at a rare bare patch in the ever so healthy mountainside across from our campsite. I called Scott to look in that direction, and within moments he spotted what I was pointing out... Then another appeared... Then another... And another... And one more...
A sow and FOUR cubs were making their way up the gully behind the no generator campsites towards Basin Road!!! He was every bit as excited as I was about the sighting. What we saw was EXTREMELY unusual it seemed, although given the dense vegetation and abundance of the land, perhaps four cubs are not all that unusual this time around. Either way I was thankful that several of my wishes made on the shooting stars were to have seen some bears. I had after all made a guarantee of a sighting to my friend!
The pictures I posted were the best of the bunch, and in no case can you see all five bears. I was lucky to get what I did since the available light was waning as it was. I wish I could have done better for you guys, but I PROMISE that it was every bit as exciting as you can imagine! After nightfall we were treated to more shooting stars, bats, a skunk, and glow worms on the ground. There is a picture of a little bug on the little rocks... That was the source of a previously undetermined blinking green light that Scott pointed out on the ground. Had never seen it before, and I'm not sure that the little critter is a "worm", but that is what I am calling it for the time being.
Woke up with dew on the sleeping bags, but that quickly burned off once the sun made an appearance. We were treated to javelina sightings, Scott saw some owls fly over us before we woke up, and we each spotted a number of deer, birds, and other expected wildlife in our individual explorations in the immediate surrounding area. We didn't do a whole lot on the 20th. The bears were the goal, after all, so we spent our time wisely... Napping and snacking on junk food. I also made an outing to visit with some of the rangers that day. By the time all was said and done it was time to grab a bite and then watch the mountain side once again. This time we were treated to some deer, but that was about it. Still very enjoyable.
Woke up yet again with dew on the bags, but it seemed to burn off and dry even more quickly. This morning's agenda was to visit Santa Elena and snap some pictures. A ranger had told us that we could drive to the Santa Elena overlook the day before. Either that was a miscalculation, a misunderstanding, or the waters had risen just a tad more during the course of the previous night. Castelon was as far as we could drive. The road was blocked right after the Castelon store turn off, and rightfully so. It was unreal. After a brief stop at the Castelon store (which I had never visited previously for some reason), we headed back to San Antonio.
The road back treated us to an EXTREMELY fast snake that raced across the road faster than any snake I'd seen before. It wasn't a coachwhip, either, and I have seen those move to what I believed to be their top speed in the given environment. Whatever snake we saw (silver/gray, about 2.5 feet long at best), it almost looked like it was just an illusion, that is how fast it was. It WAS a snake though. Made it out of the park pretty easily, got back home at a somewhat reasonable time, and basically got a lot of good debates in the mix while seeing things that were completely unexpected. Definitely feel bad for those affected by the water, but it did give us the opportunity to further respect nature and the unstoppable force that it is.
http://picasaweb.google.com/stngrr/BigBend91908Weekend?authkey=aWOOJhy8hD4#
