Big Bend National Park, Big Bend, Texas
The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. ~ Proverbs 20:5
12.5 miles, just under 34,000 steps, 2,000’ elevation change, 8 hours (including a leisurely lunch). That was our day today! Oh. And it was 32 degrees when we left home this morning at 8:20am . . . .
We drove 19 miles to Panther Junction (the main Visitor Center) and then an additional 9 miles to the Park Lodge where our trail began. But first, Blaine attempted for the third time to make a reservation for a State Park in Utah – – while we were in the parking lot – – and . . . . . he finally got it! Maybe he shoulda taken me along the first time. 😊
Most of the drive we were looking at the mountain that we would be tackling today.
Despite the shadows of early morning!
One our 40′ RV can’t stay in.
An hour later we were at the trailhead and just a little bit warmer. We didn’t stay cold for long, and we were soon sorry we’d worn our winter coats.
Not quite what we had pictured. : )
Their color was so vivid, they reminded us of Maccaws!
Beautiful birds!
Doesn’t look like much on paper, does it? : )
Emery Peak is the highest point in the Park, but a Ranger told us
the views from South Rim are just as good.
We weren’t disappointed with his suggestion!
The blue dot indicates where we were when he did that.
The bottom shows the trail elevations.
I think it looks like a fat cat. lol! What do you think?
So come join us on our hike! For better or worse, this post is mostly pictures. Lots of pictures. You’ll get to experience the Pinnacles, Boot Canyon, South Rim and Lagoona Meadows Trails without ever leaving the comfort of your chair. Of course, that also means you probably shouldn’t eat that extra slice of pizza you were salivating over . . . .
Or that bowl of ice cream . . . .
There are no words to adequately describe our day today, so just look at the pictures and remember to imagine our eyes seeing them much, much better – – more colorful, more detailed, more beautiful, more majestic . . . well, just more . . . everything!
Except for the two times Blaine ran into a cactus and I had to pluck out the needles with my fingernails. Not an easy task, by the way. Those things are brittle and cling hard! And half of them weren’t the large ones you can easily see.
Florida, Maine, Texas, California and states inbetween! : )
The nasty, rude things jumped out and grabbed him by the pant leg!
Look how far we’ve come already!
But we sat down here and ate some trailmix, and I was right as rain,
once my body got re-fueled!
Gorgeous spot for a break!
They were moving much too fast to enjoy the scenery. : )
3 hours and 40 minutes!
He waved good-bye and off he went, down to the very edge of the cliff!
At least most of the time he was down there!
Who knew fungus could be so pretty!
They only bloom once in their lifetime.
Those “teeth” are really sharp!!
We’re going towards the Laguna Meadows Trail.
and you can take a .5 mile walk from the Visitor Center to see it better.
Not today!
7 hours and 59 minutes!
Not much of a sunset today.
Big Bend National Park really should be on everyone’s bucket list, and you should plan on spending at least a week here – 10-14 days would be even better, because then you wouldn’t have to run from sunup to sundown like we did. 😊