Sunday, May 12, 2019

Big Bend Recap....Feb-Mar 2019......

(c)2019horst kelly photographer
(c)2019horst kelly photographer
(c)2019Horst Kelly Photographer
I'm guessing that I'm a little behind the power curve in providing an after actions trip report of  my adventure to Big Bend back in March....I left early the morning of 25 Feb..First order of business was to get a set of tires for Ms Casita...the old ones looked brand new, but have 3 1/2 years of sitting in the hot South Texas sun....felt more comfortable getting  some new ones... got there just as the doors where opening and half hour later was beginning my adventure... It was overcast, in the low 50's. Perfect day for travel.

I was traveling east on US 90 enjoying the open road, no real traffic...no issues, just humming along...about 100 miles out I stopped for gas and more importantly to empty my bladder(seems like I have to do that more often these days)  :)) As I was doing my walk around making sure all was secure with truck and camper, I happened to glance at my Casita license plate....yup u guessed it it had expired....WHAT, that can't be right.  without boring you... they where expired. It was all caught up during the time my Bride had the month stay in the ICU, hospital and physical rehab.  ok ending, called them, wife got new sticker, took photo and sent me what I needed...I finally  found a useful application for smartphones, texting and phone cameras...I do feel old!!

I decided to stop in Del Rio at the National Recreation Area-Amistead( San Pedro Campground). It's dry camping with pit toilets,,,couple of bucks with the Senior Pass...campground was almost empty, sun was out which fed  my solar panels....very relaxing.... grilled a filet of salmon, coleslaw, Texas toast and a German "Dunkel" Bier.....watched the sun set, read some Texas history and fell asleep.
(c)2019Horst Kelly Photographer
(c)2019Horst Kelly Photographer

Got up before the crack of dawn, the area was covered with early morning fog. I was rolling before the fog lifted and headed west for the "Promised Land"..Big Bend....Before I knew it I was in Marathon Tx.,  got gas, turned south on US 385 and 70 miles later was pulling into the Panther Junction Visitors center to procure  a primitive campsite.....Did my Dream balloon of staying at a primitive site just get busted...yup, they where all filled up and  BTW it doesn't look like any of the   sites will open up in the next 10 days or so....and that's a whole other post...Two of the established campgrounds where filled...I scrabbled down to Cottonwood which is  my favorite established campground...no large rigs, a different type of "camper folk" stay there...Anyway that's where I settled in for two weeks...
(c)2019 Horst Kelly Photographer

And it was a enjoyable time...2 more Casita's there so we had a "Mini rally" a couple of nights...One Couple was from northern Nevada,retired Army, had a '14 Casita, the other couple where from New Mexico had an '09, Professional photographer..maybe semi-retired. After the Casitas left,  2 VW campers(Montana folks) adopted me for the duration of their stay(a week)...and then a  class C Guy, retired, enjoys photography, hiking etc ...from Minnesota pulled in next to me and we hung out and shared experiences for a couple of days....
(c)2019Horst Kelly Photographer

You couldn't asked for better weather though it was pretty windy most days...I have never seen that many Bluebonnets and that hardy. what was nice is though not complete solitude, there was alone time...some evening I would venture up to the middle of nowhere to see if I could get some night photography shots or witness some wildlife roaming around....
(c)2019 Horst Kelly Photographer

The last 3 days things cleared out and the stillness of the evening was  refreshing...So I would say that this trip trip I had the best of both Worlds... camaraderie and solitude.  I did take some photo's and did some hiking and testing my Ram, as this was the first camping trip with it and it worked great.

In summary I had a terrific time....not the way I had planned it out, but worked out better for the most part. Big Bend as a Park has changed....up until recently it was , in reality, a Texas Park....maybe 1-5%  or so where visitors from out of state...and for the most part the park was close to empty...In my opinion  that has all changed...it is now truly a National Park, with its Tour Buses, Foreign visitors , and at times impatient,  demanding people, etc. The down side of this is that the infrastructure is gasping to try to keep up with this increase in visitors, need more pull-offs, wider roads,  larger staffs, more campsites....and the reality is most of that won't happen.. The Park  was never meant to be explored like Yellowstone , Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon or the like. With the increase also comes stuff like an increase in trash on the roads, trails, campsites...  dirt bikes using the primitive roads , etc...  I realize Big Bend isn't alone in this boom/increase in visitors...Zion and Yellowstone are maxed out, as is the Grand Canyon and other Parks.  The Slot Canyon in Page is like a major metropolitan area during noon rush hour . I also know there are still places that have vast emptiness...nevertheless, I miss the old "hideaways"....So now the adventure is one where I seek out and find new places as yet undiscovered...and to me that's a big part of this "experience" called exploring/camping ...
(c)2019Horst Kelly photographer
(c)2019Horst Kelly Photographer

All in all I had a terrific time, and am looking forward to my next trip. The only "wart",  I need to fix  my fridge. It stopped working about 4 days into the trip. It looks like I may need a new one.....maybe I should sell the Casita and get a another one or maybe a very small slide in truck camper like a Capri or  four wheel popup camper(truck camper)....stuff to ponder!
(c)2019Horst Kelly photographer

Thanks for stopping By...Until the next time........Happy Trails , Horst sends
(c)2019Horst kelly Photographer
ps...And Happy Mothers Day

6 comments:

  1. It was awesome to see a post from you. Like, I'm one to talk. Not much has been happening blogworthy in our part of the world till last Thursday. We were hit by a tornado, but thankfully, no damage to us, or our home. Over fifty large pine trees down in our "yard". We're going to be busy for months cleaning up the mess. I'll try and do a post with pics one of these days. Loved the pictures, and you're correct about the overcrowding, it's everywhere.

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    1. Wow....so sorry to hear that. Sure glad you guys and your home are ok....I remember seeing photo's of your property and how envious I was of landscape with all its trees... we had some tornado warnings but nothing real close..I'm assuming the Casita is alright? How about your brother, doesn't he live close by? Take care of yourselves and if there is anything we can go, let me know my friend ...Horst sends

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  2. Loved your pics Horst as always. Sounds like you did have the best of both worlds, and glad you had a great trip. You are so right, it seems there is a boom in those camping and rv'ing now a days.
    It was great hearing and reading your post. Take care my friend and good luck in deciding on the fridge or a newer rv.

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    1. I did enjoy my trip...right now I'm kinda leaning towards a small slide in truck camper...we'll see. Been thinking about you two and if the surgery has been scheduled and/or completed yet Mike...thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery and many more adventures! Take care Buddy. Horst sends

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  3. Horst, your last post was amazing! You find the most glorious places.

    I guess I watched too many Westerns where people died in the desert when I was a kid. So the idea of heading out there alone terrfies me.

    But thanks to your beautiful blog, I get to see it anyway.

    I have tried every way possible to post comments on your blog. But whether I try Name/URL, Anonymous or Google Account, it won't let me post. I have the same problem on Mike and Gerri's blog. I guess a lot has changed since I was out of the blogosphere for 3 years.

    Anyway, I just wanted to know I am reading your posts even though I can't comment.

    Sharon/tiny camper

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    1. Thanks Sharon for the nice comments...I don't understand why you aren't able to post a comments..I went ahead a copied and pasted your comments to the Blog. Its nice to see that you getting out and about...your Van build is "First Class". I'm still looking at new camping/traveling options for myself. Take care of yourself...enjoy your new adventures and keep that Blog alive ....Horst sends

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