Caves and Cactus

On 2/24 (day 14) we awoke to snow on the ground in the desert. The powerful winds the day before blew some horizontal snow overnight. But the wind was calm, and the sun was out. It was the coldest predicted high temperature of our trip so far - around 50ºF. However, months ago we booked two cave tours...

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Earth, Wind, and Spires - Side 2

I ended the last blog (Earth, Wind, and Spires) with our arrival at Chiricahua National Monument on 2/22. This area was formed when the Turkey Creek Volcano blew about 27 million years ago with a force about 10 times that of Mount St. Helens. The Earth belched. It deposited a deep layer of tuft across...

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Earth, Wind, and Spires

 We’ve been mostly offline for a few days and I have a brief connection, so this is a catch-up post EarthOn 2/20 (Day 10 of our trip) we visited Rockhound State Park in NM. Rocks are definitely earth - in its most solid form. Elena poked around for interesting rocks for several hours. Bebop also...

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Do Look Up

On 2/18 we attended the Star Party at the McDonald Observatory outside of Fort Davis, TX. The first time we came to one of these Star Parties back in 2002 it just took my breath away. This is one of the darkest places in the continental US, and it’s at 6,800 foot elevation, so there isn’t even as much...

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Bebop - Back on the Trails Again and Blogging

Now that we are out of the National Park, I can hike the trails again and be the leader of my hoomans. At Big Bend Ranch State Park, I visited a rest area Teepee, had a drank from the Rio Grande, and stood on a sand dune.Teepee rest stop, sand dune, and drinking from the Rio GrandeWe hiked a trail called...

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Big Bend - The West End

Cottonwood campground, on the west side of Big Bend NP, is a small campground - just 17 sites. It sits on the bank of the Rio Grande and just 8 miles from the mouth of Santa Elena Canyon. We reserved the best site - #17 right next to the group campsite - provided the group site is empty, which it was...

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Big Bend - Rio Grande Village

On our full day (2/14/22) at Rio Grande Village (RGV) in Big Bend NP we took a couple of outings. We hiked into Boquillas Canyon in the morning. The river has sliced a narrow path through at least 1,000 foot high rock. You can’t even see the narrow canyon entrance until you are very close. We arrived...

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Seminole Canyon to Big Bend NP

Before we departed Seminole Canyon, we took an archeologist guided tour of one of the overhang shelters that had been used for thousands of years. The Pecos style wall paintings were fascinating, as was learning about the way people survived in this desert environment for hundreds of generations. The...

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Bebop - Back in the Bebopabago

I got worried this week when my hoomans started gathering their stuff. They went to Florida without me last month, and I don't care for that - even if I get to stay with the best neighbor in the world. I followed dad out on every trip to the van and jumped in to secure my spot. I was happy when they...

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