Big Bend National Park

Several months ago we planned a trip to Big Bend National Park with Mike and Lisa.  We had heard that Big Bend is the most beautiful place in the state (the "Grand Canyon" of Texas) and that at 800,000 acres, it is one of the large national parks in the country.  We had been looking forward to this trip for a long time, gearing up for cooler weather since we were, of course, towing our motorcycles.  It was a 10-hour drive each way, but well worth the few days we were able to enjoy being out in nature, quite literally in the middle of nowhere. The four of us had a great time and would go back again in a heartbeat.

Entering the park

As we were driving along at sunset, I was looking for

shapes in the mountains and clouds.  This cloud struck me

immediately, and I couldn't believe the irony that here

we were in Texas and this cloud looked just like a Texas

Longhorn!  It was even a pinkish orange color.

When we arrived at our resort on Wednesday night, we

had the place to ourselves since most guests had either left 

after the weekend or weren't coming until the following 

weekend.  They had an outdoor fire pit at the end of this 

walkway, above which was an open sky with the most 

unbelievable stars you could ever see.  Without the glare of

city lights, you could see a million stars and

constellations.  It was magical.

Here is the front of our hotel in the daylight.  We stayed

at Lajitas Resort which was built only three years ago

and up until this year, was a private hotel open only to

stars by invitation.  It didn't do very well  as an

exclusive resort but did receive a few noteworthy 

guests including Willie Nelson and Tommy Lee Jones. 

I truly wish this picture could speak a thousand words.

This was the Ghostown Cafe, our daily breakfast spot.

While the atmosphere was "interesting," to say the least,

the food was some of the best we'd ever tasted.

Our first day out we drove all over the park to

explore the different sites.  The roads were awesome

for bikers, as they were windy, scenic, and traffic free.

Mike and Lisa coming up along side us on the bike

One of the nice things about our trip was that we had

purchased a couple of "chatter boxes" ahead of time, so

that the four of us could talk to each other as we rode.

It worked out really well, as we were able to point things

out and share what we were seeing.

At the end of our first day we discovered "The Window"

which is probably the most scenic spot in the park.  We hit

it at dusk but came back the next day to do the full 5.5 mile

round trip hike down to the actual window.  Here we are 

riding down to the starting point.

"The Window" is the breakpoint between the two

mountains, an opening through which you can see

the valley below.  It's really quite breathtaking.

On our hike we encountered a plethora of creatures!

There were grasshoppers, like this one, everywhere.

Getting closer to The Window

I stumbled upon this tarantula and it scared me to death.

Once we discovered it was dead, I felt comfortable enough

to move in for a close-up shot.  These spiders were all over

the place.  Neal pointed out at least 5 that he saw crossing

the road as we drove through the park.  They were enormous!

Comically, as the four of us were playing with the dead

spider, there were two deer watching us from about 20

feet away.  When we stood up to look at them, they were

very tame and almost seemed to pose for a few pictures.

Such beautiful animals.

Finally arriving at The Window.  What an amazing

sight!

This is the same picture but one that Mike

took with his camera.  Turned out much nicer!

Back at our resort, we got ready for a nice dinner

at the hotel restaurant, which overlooked the mountains.

I didn't get a picture of it but we had an early

celebration for my birthday this night, when Neal

surprised me with a cake that he had ordered from

the small bakery on the hotel premisis.  He had our

favorite waiter bring it out with a candle and

everyone sung "Happy Birthday."  It was truly

a wonderful evening.

"SHADOW CREEK BIKER GANG"

(all of us in our Harley coats)

On our last full day in the park we left the bikes for the 

Hummer since the temperatures had dropped another

10 degrees.  We did a little off-roading and visited the

second most scenic spot in the park - Santa Helena.

The mini "Grand Canyon" of Texas