Big Bend National Park: Hot Springs After Hiking, Anyone? (Day 2)

Top view of unnamed Tinaja off Old Ore Road.

The part of our night that wasn't spent trying to stay warm in our very ventilated tent consisted of trying to calm our ever vigilant dog, Ria.  She hadn't been camping in a while and was on pins and needles every time the wind gusted, which was about once every two minutes.  We slept in, and then made fried eggs and root veggie hash inside the tent.  This left us warmer, with an added bonus of a steam bath in eau de potato.  Ha!

After some bike maintenance, we headed to Old Ore Road.  It is a 26 mile point to point ride.  They say allow 3 hours for driving, but those estimates are for 4WD vehicles.  You can do it faster on a motorcycle, of course, but you probably won't, since there are so many views that are pause-worthy.  My favorite part of the ride was stopping to explore a small canyon that had been polished smooth by rushing seasonal waters, called a Tinaja.  There are other, bigger tinajas to see in the park, like the Ernst Tinaja, but we had this one all to ourselves.

This was part of my view as I snacked on a Clif Bar in the unnamed tinaja.  So pretty!

As we continued down Old Ore Road, we encountered several SUV's.  Most of their drivers let us pass by, but others didn't catch the hint.  We also ran into a caravan of photographers from Houston driving identically decked out Toyota FJ Cruisers, and one fellow was nice enough to take the following shot of us.

This part of the road ran below an impressive ridge with some beautiful geological formations.

We rode a few more miles, and then found ourselves on top of a very large hill with a lovely view.  The rest of the ride was nice, but rather flat.

This was the highest point on the Old Ore Road, and the view was gorgeous.   

We had intended to stop by the fossil exhibit on the way back to camp, but time was short and we wanted to make it to the hot springs before dark, and we still had to stop for gas.  Hurrying in general makes me cross, but after passing on the exhibit, hurrying to the spring, and getting stuck behind what felt like the slowest driver of all time we arrived in the parking lot just after twilight.  By the time we were at the spring, it was pitch black.  Oh yay!

Crazy hair lady is not impressed.

My grumpy face didn't last very long, though, because the water was so relaxing, and there were so many people having fun in the hot spring that night!  I had no idea it would be so popular--it was hard to find a place to sit.  I guess I could have been disappointed at all of the extra company, but I was thrilled to know that I wasn't alone in my affinity for hot springs.

As a bonus, that night was a new moon, so the star gazing was dazzling.  No, I'm not over exaggerating--it was truly spectacular.  Big Bend National Park is one of the best places in the country for star gazing for several reasons.  Firstly: you aren't near any sources of light or air pollution.  Secondly: deserts are dry, and places that are dry don't get many clouds.  Thirdly, down by the river there isn't a lot of vegetation or other view obstructing, well, anything.  I am convinced that we picked the best time to go star gazing in Big Bend, and I'd encourage you to do exactly what we did.  It is an incredibly beautiful and romantic way to enjoy a long winter's night.

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Big Bend National Park: Hot Springs after Hiking, Anyone? (Day 1)

There are two dirt bikes in this picture, but you really have to look for them.

K and I spent New Years at Big Bend National Park.  We thought, "What better way to relax and connect with the natural world than to go ripping through the desert on dirt bikes?"   It'd be a tragedy to live a full year in TX without having that experience.  I first learned of the park while looking for natural hot springs open to the public, and although the pictures weren't particularly inspiring, I knew I had to make a pilgrimage.  I didn't even check out any of the scenic pictures, which turned out well because I had no expectations going into the adventure.  Everything was fresh and new, at least to me, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.  Access to the park for 7 days cost us $20 for the car and included K's bike, and an additional $10 for my bike.  It was super nice of them to let us use the car pass for K's bike.

The park, though massive, was surprisingly busy. I would definitely try to make reservations if I were going in the spring or fall.  Site #31 was surrounded by scarily thorny mesquite trees and well protected from the wind, as were most of the sites in that corner of the campground.  That corner of the campground is excellent for people with trailers or more than one vehicle because most of the sites have pull through parking.  None of the Rio Grande Valley sites have electricity, but they all have bear lockers and grills.  Speaking of bears, Yogi doesn't seem to be that interested in campers anymore.  If you're negligent in putting away your food, you may be visited by some javelinas, though.  Camping was $14 per night.  The views are epic, and the campground is close to the natural spa, so I consider this a massive win.

Day 1

The day was spent making camp, and finally riding the River Road East to Black Gap Road, then home.  You read that right--camp = home, because home is where the dog is.  While the scenery from the River Road East was beautiful and interesting, the riding itself wasn't a challenge.  I was hoping for trails, or at least unmaintained old dirt roads.  I recommend it whole-heartedly to someone who hasn't been off the pavement yet.  River Road West is supposedly more challenging, but we didn't make it this trip because of range issues.  K needs to get a bigger tank, and I wouldn't mind one myself.

The gravel River Road East had some sandy parts, but otherwise was oh, so smooth.

This part of the River Road East was curvier, and had interesting geological formations.

I couldn't help wanting more, thinking, "Is this it?"  Riding in Breckenridge has spoiled me!  Not to worry: Black Gap Road was much more interesting, and I rode for all I was worth.  I think I freaked K out a bit, since he's not used to following me.

This is where the River Road meets the pavement.

The sunset was glorious, turning all the rocks shades of pink and purple.  It affected us, too-- turning us into meat popsicles on our way back to camp.  All was well once we tucked into the lamb, barley, and parsnip stew I had canned earlier during the holidays.

Passing through the tunnel on the way back to camp during a fabulous sunset.

Day 2     Day 3 >

On the Conquering of Mountain Passes in Breckenridge, Colorado by Dirt Bike in 2012

I wrote this in the summer of 2012 and totally forgot about this post until today.  Whoops.

Krishna did something amazing.  As my birthday present, he secretly arranged for us to take a trip out to Colorado to go dirt bike riding with a bunch of his racing buddies.  My hubs knows me so well!  :)

We ended up staying in an impressive chalet that could sleep something like 20 people comfortably.  The owners were apparently big hunters, because there were trophies in every room--including a moose in the great room.  Let's just say it grew on me.

I had no inkling of what a terrible rider I was until I tried going off-road.  I spent the first 3 days with a death grip on the handle bars, but at least I didn't get nervous and yak in my helmet.  That's a plus, right?

Fearless and manipulative little rodent.  He ended up making a show of perching on one of our buddies' boots, and in return he got crumbs of cliff bars.  No doubt we killed the poor creature with our handouts.

A beautiful scene in Alma, CO--the highest incorporated town in the country!  (2014 edit: Probably not anymore.  Hah!)

Insert cliche statement about bridging the gender divide.

Yeah, it doesn't look like it, but the climb up was tough (at least, for me).  I'm positive that SUV came up a different road than we did.

This was my first water crossing ever.  I balanced with my feet in the air and didn't get wet.  Amazing!

I have such great friends.  Thanks for the perfect commemorative chocolate!

These are my favorite directions.  I'll have to get myself more of this.  Also, more chocolate.