What the Walrus said . . .

Photos and Anecdotes from a vagabond!

Big Bend NP, Texas

Well . . . it had to happen sooner or later . . . I have finished visiting and hiking in the last National Park that was on this year’s list. But . . . as I say that, and leave Big Bend NP behind me . . . I found myself standing in front of the Alamo today in San Antomio, Texas! So . . . maybe I will never be done!! LOL

Big Bend National Park is located in jiust about the farthest corner of Texas that it could get. To be exact, a good portion of the Park runs along the border between the U.S. and Mexico . . . which has created some small problems in the Park that I will get to later.

The park itself is vast with many miles of hiking trails ranging from the easy and wheelchair accessible to seriously strenuous. Hiking, either in the desert or the mountains is quite challenging, but even more so when you throw in temperatures of nearly 100 degrees with periodic monsoon rains and flash floods! I found myself dealing with all of these conditions . . . but they did provide for some amazing photo oppurtunities.

This is a Javelina. It is not a pig and not even related to a pig. They run in gangs of 16 – 20 individuals and full grown are around 30 – 40 pounds. They are hard to photograph because they run from humans when they are approached. The best thing to do is to try and get in front of them, hide and wait for them to slowly work into your view finder.
This individual was more concerned with tearing up the chewy roots of a yucca plant that I was just an annoyance.
I heard this bird before I ever saw it! It was screeching at the base of a cactus, chasing something around and through the underbrush. It turned out to be hunting a large, possibly tasty locust that it swallowed before I could get the picture. This is a Cactus Wren, and they are very common throughout the park.
Different Cactus Wren, same Park. This one was very interested in me and kept looking at the camera lens.
With all of the rain that has fallen throughout the southwest, the deserts are blooming and green with new life. I am uncertain if the rain has triggered this Pink Mimosa to flower, or if this was just the right time. Regardless, the flowers are stunning!
Mule Deer are common in Big Bend NP. This young male was a bit skittish of me, but soon returned to foraging for food. You can see the start of his antlers, still in velvet.
I had missed all of the flowering cacti, but this gorgeous blossom made up for that lack of color. The SEEK app simply identified this a a “Flowering Plant.”
Crissal Thrasher. This very loud and obnoxious bird seem to move in small flocks of three or four members at a time. For some unknown reason, while I was hiking, they would follow along, screeching at me, while they played tag through the trees and scrub brush.
A very silly Carmen White-tailed Deer. I was hiking out to a spot called “The Window” in the Chisos Canyon. I was actually looking for the Black Bear in the area. I rounded a section of the switch-back, and this creature was on the same trail and headed in the same direction as me . . . and he was foraging and taking his sweet time. All I initially saw was his back side, with his head down in the tall grass. I finally had to scuff my boots on the trail rocks to get him to look at me . . . and this is the picture I got!! LOL I thinking he is winking!!

Carmen White-tailed deer do not do well in the arid desert areas. They prefer to stay in the higher, wooded canyons and valleys. These deer are smaller than the Mule Deers and move easily on the rocky slopes and mountain sides.

You will need to be quick to get photos of the various lizards in Big Bend NP. For the most part, they will usually wait to move until you are close, and then they shot off like lightning. But . . . usually they only run a short distance, so if you stop moving, they will too! Then you might be able to slowly work into a position to grab a picture. Do not feel bad if they run away again. It took a lot of missed photos to finally get this one! Again, the SEEK app was only able to tell me the is a variety of Whiptailed Lizard.
I took this photo to show you why and how flash floods occur. On my first day hiking out to the “The Window” in Chisos Canyon, I found myself looking back up the canyon at a very heavy rain moving in over the tops of the mountains. I, at the time, was standing in the riverbed at the bottom of the canyon. Within five minutes of the rain moving into the canyon, this photo shows you the waterfalls that were forming on the slopes above me . . . headed into the riverbed where I was!! Thankfully, my common sense kicked in (mainly because I could now hear the water cascading down the canyon!) and I headed for much higher ground . . . rapidly!! I took this picture while standing under a Pinon Tree, trying to keep my cameras dry!
The slow-moving monsoon rains make for dramatic panoramas of the canyon.
These two volcanic spires are called “Mule Ears” This was not a good day to go on the eight-mile hike across the desert to see the spires up close due to the monsoon rains moving across the desert.
Chisos Canyon – Day Two. I headed out to “The Widow” again, but this time before 8 AM since the rains usually come after noon. Also, morning and dusk are the best time to find the Black Bears that supposedly frequent this area.
Apparently “Black Bear” in Texas are not always “Black!” And . . . they are not American Bears either!! These bears have immigrated into the mountains of Texas from Mexico. As you can see, Texas Black Bears can have brown faces or muzzles, along with cinnamon-colored spots, or even be solid cinnamon-colored Black Bears. This one appeared on the other side of a narrow ravine from me as I was walking down and out to The Window. This bear was walking the ridgeline, headed up towards the Visitor Center and Lodge in Chisos Canyon. The area has so many bears right now, feeding on the nuts in the campgrounds that the Park Service has felt it necessary to close the campgrounds for bear safety!
A better, closer view of Mule Ears.
Other trespassers into the park . . . a herd of horses that have crossed from Mexico by wading the river at low water. The only issue is now that the water has risen after the monsoon rains, herds of mexican horses and cattle cannot swim back to Mexico until the rains stop. It is easy for the Park Service to handle these animals . . . they simply fend for themselves. However, the humans that cross from Mexico sometimes have not been as lucky as these animals, and have become lost in the desert and died of thirst or drowned in the river, leaving Park Service employees the task of handling the aftermath!
These are the roads after the monsoon flooding has crossed them. Slippery and muddy, and sometimes dangerous, especially if the water is still flowing across them.
Saint Elena Canyon. This is one of the three river valleys that run into Big Bend NP and flow into the Rio Grande. This is a very popular area for river rafting, except right now the monssons have made it incredibly dangerous. The entry for rafting in Saint Elena Canyon is extra tricky because you have to carry your raft in, lower it down the sheer cliffs, then climb down to get into the rafts. Once you start, the only way out is through the opening shown here!
The desert in absolutely gorgeous! All that stuff you have heard about the desert and it being a “dry heat” versus the high humidity of other locales is BULL!!! any temperature over 100 degrees is purely MISERABLE regardless of where it is. And with all the rain the desert has recently had, the humidity is through the roof!!!
Cotton-tailed Rabbit. Usually a dawn or dusk creature, hiding from the ever-present coyote, these small rabbits are fairly elusive. This one, I believe was foraging after the heavy rains kept it in its warren overnight.

As you can see by the photos above, Big Bend NP is truly a sight to behold and a wonder to experience. especially if you like deserts. It may be kind of tucked away, in a corner of the country that is a bit difficult to get to, but it really is worth the visit. Do yourself a favor and add it to your bucket list of ‘Places to See” and then come for a visit!

I am headed northeast now, working my way through Texas as I head to Ohio to visit some of my kids and their families. I have other places to see and visit along the way . . . plus I have a whole bunch of places I have visited but not posted about yet. So please . . . continue to follow along, and I hope you are enjoying the travels like I am!

Matt

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