cloudseeker2001 0 #1 February 13, 2004 So I am heading out west again this spring and instead of 4 corners area, I was thinking about Big Bend......Well, on the NPS website many pages warn to secure your property to reduce the risk of theft.................So, does this mean Mexicans are coming over the Rio G. and stealing and harassing people? Anyone have any experience good or bad? But then again, skydiving into Mineral Bottom sounds really nice too! "Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance, others mean and rueful of the western dream" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #2 February 13, 2004 I hiked Big Bend 2 years ago (well, as much as I could hike in 4 1/2 days). Great freak'n place, absolutely beautiful! It means that its a rough part of TX, right on the border, with bad folks from both sides trying to take advantage of people. Personally, the only problems I had while I was there was with the wildlife trying to get the MREs and powerbars I brought for food. If you go, you should take my tradition up...every evening I'd go to the Hot Springs and soak for about an hour, and jump in the Rio Grande to cool off. I even swam across for a laugh, stood up in Mexico, swam back and said "I'm illegal!" All in all, its fucking awsome! My Fiance and I are planning on going this March!--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cloudseeker2001 0 #3 February 13, 2004 Yea, I remember you posting about it........Most if not all the camping I will be doing will be as far away from other people as possible and the idea of getting a rude "visitor" in the middle of the night to does not do it for me! I think I have decided to hike Gila anyway.....Nice 4 day hike, then maybe stand atop of Texas on Mt. Guadalupe-nice day hike, ever been there? "Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance, others mean and rueful of the western dream" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #4 February 13, 2004 Haven't made it to Mt. Guadalupe, yet...I need to. The thing with the camping is that its first come first serve, so you may end up like me if you go during a real busy time, and sleeping in your truck outside the park, driving back in every morning to go hike. *shurg* still worth it!--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casie 0 #5 February 13, 2004 Haven't made it to Big Bend YET, but plan on it sometime in the very near future!~Porn Kitty WARNING: Goldschlager causes extreme emotional outbursts! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #6 February 13, 2004 QuoteI was thinking about Big Bend......Well, on the NPS website many pages warn to secure your property to reduce the risk of theft....So, does this mean Mexicans are coming over the Rio G. and stealing and harassing people? I've heard of them breaking into vehicles, but haven't actually seen it happen. The Border Patrol has closed off that border now and now longer allows them to come across for the day legally, so that probably helps. And they have a strong presence in the park. It's against the law to have a firearm in the National Park. So you have to choose between carrying anyway and breaking the law, or being defenseless. It's a wonderful place, with lots of hiking trails and neat places. I've spent a total of about three weeks there, and still have seen but a fraction of the place. I'm going again at the end of this month. Avoid the college spring break period. The camp grounds fill up with loud, obnoxious, drunken college kids. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #7 February 13, 2004 Quotethe only problems I had while I was there was with the wildlife trying to get the MREs and powerbars I brought for food. Yes, the javelinas will destroy anything containing food that you leave laying around the campgrounds. Lock it up in your vehicle. Photo attached of a pack eating a camper's food, which he left in a bag tied to a tree limb off the ground - they got to it anyway. They roam brazenly through the camp at night. I slept in the open one night, and awoke to a grunting noise, to find a huge javelina staring at me face-to-face. QuoteIf you go, you should take my tradition up...every evening I'd go to the Hot Springs and soak for about an hour, and jump in the Rio Grande to cool off. I even swam across for a laugh, stood up in Mexico, swam back and said "I'm illegal!" Yes, that is a very neat place. The hot spring is right on the edge of the river, and by swimming 50 feet you can set foot in Mexico. Photo attached, with me relaxing in hot spring, U.S. in foreground, the Rio Grande and Mexico in the background. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumper03 0 #8 February 13, 2004 QuoteI hiked Big Bend 2 years ago (well, as much as I could hike in 4 1/2 days). Great freak'n place, absolutely beautiful! It means that its a rough part of TX, right on the border, with bad folks from both sides trying to take advantage of people. Personally, the only problems I had while I was there was with the wildlife trying to get the MREs and powerbars I brought for food. If you go, you should take my tradition up...every evening I'd go to the Hot Springs and soak for about an hour, and jump in the Rio Grande to cool off. I even swam across for a laugh, stood up in Mexico, swam back and said "I'm illegal!" All in all, its fucking awsome! My Fiance and I are planning on going this March! Never had a problem with stuff being stolen or broken into. I've hiked all over BBNP. I mean ALL over. Helps to have a research permit cuts out the crap with trail/camping permits... I could go on and on and on about that place...most beautiful place in the world I say... and the rocks...omg the rocks... Looks like we got a lot of hot spring soakers here! *raises hand* count me in too! JumpScars remind us that the past is real Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #9 February 13, 2004 QuoteYea, I remember you posting about it........Most if not all the camping I will be doing will be as far away from other people as possible There are three campgrounds in the park; east end, west end, and "the basin", which is the mountain area in the middle. The east and basin areas have bathrooms with toilets and running water. The west camp has only porta-johns, and outside water spigots. There are plenty of "primitive" camping sites also, if you like to rough it. Those are always uncrowded, and you'll usually be alone. The only rude visitors you are likely to see at night are the javelina (wild pigs), and wild burros. Or if you're lucky, some antelope. Especially if you're near the Rio Grande. Attached: photo of two wild burros, a black one and a white one, with some majestic cliffs in the background. These burros are left over from the mining days in the area, where gold, silver and mercury were mined. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #10 February 13, 2004 Quotemaybe stand atop of Texas on Mt. Guadalupe-nice day hike, ever been there? Done it! Guadalupe Mountain is the highest point in Texas, at almost 9,000'. The campground doesn't have showers, but does have a bathroom with toilets and sinks. Bring your own food to be self-sufficient. The nearest town is about 40 miles away - that's Carlsbad. Same with gas. There is a tiny cafe just to the north, run by a married couple. I eat breakfast there sometimes. The man runs the pack mules for the Park Service when they're doing trail work on the mountain. You'll see lots of mule deer. There are mountain lions around, which you probably won't see. The hike to the peak is only about 4.5 miles, but it is brutal. The trailhead starts at about 5,000', so you have to ascend 4,000' over 4.5 miles. The first third is very steep, the middle third is a gentle upslope, and the last third is brutal again. Start early. Sign the log book at the bottom, so if you don't come back, the Rangers can come looking for you. See the neat monument located on top. Don't be on top during lightening storms. The winds can get very strong - they have windsocks on the side of the highway there, to warn truckers when they're likely to get blown over. There is a primitive campground about two-thirds of the way up, in the only flat spot around. I did the hike in two days, with an overnight stop. It was still hard on my legs. If I had to do it again, I would travel light, and do it in one day. Hauling that extra weight for the overnight stay was tough. Carry plenty of water - one gallon per day. You probably won't need that much, but you'll be sharing it with all the idiots on the trail who think they can make it on one 16 ounce bottle. If you're there for an extra day, the 2nd best hike is in McKittrick Canyon - a wooded canyon chock full of deer and lions. There is an intermittent creek there, with water bubbling up from underground, which feeds a creek for a half-mile or so, before all the water is abosorbed into the ground again. And there are small fish that live in this delicate environment. It's absolutely gorgeous there. In my opinion, this is the 2nd best park in Texas, behind only Big Bend. Palo Duro Canyon would be third. Photo 1: the mountain, from afar. Photo 2: a scene of the trail, winding up the mountain. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casie 0 #11 February 13, 2004 I luv your photos....thanx for sharing! Makes me want to go camping.~Porn Kitty WARNING: Goldschlager causes extreme emotional outbursts! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #12 February 13, 2004 QuoteI luv your photos... Hey, who likes dinosaurs? Here are some photos of real dinosaur footprints in a riverbed, west of Dallas. Location: Dinosaur Valley State Park. In photo #1, I've laid my walking stick on the ground for scale - it is 5-feet long. That gives you and idea of the gait of this monster, through this series of tracks. In photo #2 my hat is used for scale. If his foot was this big, just imagine how big the whole dinosaur was! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumper03 0 #13 February 13, 2004 QuoteHey, who likes dinosaurs? ME! ME! Been there too. Definitely would recommend going to walk around there. You know that big Pterdon (not the actual name but there no way in hell I'm going to try and spell it) they have in the visitors center at Panther Junction? Let me know the next time you going to BB and I can tell you where to find more out in the park Thing was bigger than a cessna....yeesh!Scars remind us that the past is real Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #14 February 13, 2004 Dinosaur Valley State Park. Great place, really really good Mt. Biking through there!--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #15 February 14, 2004 QuoteYou know that big Pterdon (not the actual name but there no way in hell I'm going to try and spell it) they have in the visitors center at Panther Junction? Let me know the next time you going to BB and I can tell you where to find more out in the park Thing was bigger than a cessna....yeesh! I can't spell it either, but I know what you're talking about - the giant flying reptile. As a matter of fact, I'm going again at the end of this month, for another week. I'd love to see one still in the rock au naturale. Where is it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanuckInUSA 0 #16 February 14, 2004 I love that "Dino2.jpg" picture of yours. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #17 February 14, 2004 QuoteI love that "Dino2.jpg" picture of yours. The three-toed meat-eaters were the most common footprints found there. Also common is the three-toed web feet of some vegetarians. And there is one place where they actually have a few steps from a brontosaur. The ancient seashore used to turn across the middle of Texas, about where Dallas is now. The dinosaurs walked in the mud there millions of years ago. Then the oceans receded, and the land was covered up with volcanic eruptions and such. Those footprints hardened into rock under the earth. Now, our modern day streams have eroded the earth down to that layer of ancient seabed once again, exposing these hidden footprints. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #18 February 14, 2004 QuoteI luv your photos....thanx for sharing! Makes me want to go camping. Here's the famous photo shot from Palo Duro Canyon, in north Texas, near Amarillo. This is called the "lighthouse" formation, because that's what it looks like. I think it is about 200' high. In generic terms, these are called "caprock" formations. That name derives from the fact that they are topped with a boulder, with softer sediments underneath. Thus, over millions of years of erosion, rain washes away the surrounding earth, leaving the earth underneath the boulder in-place. So you end up with these tall spires with a large rock on top. The second photo from Palo Duro shows the many varied colors of earth that are present here. Palo Duro was also the hideout for the last of the Indians, before they were finally conquered and placed on reservations. I found an arrowhead up on a mesa there. Heck, I might as well include that photo too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #19 February 14, 2004 QuoteI think I have decided to hike Gila anyway.... Be sure to go visit the cliff dwellings - they are amazing. The cliffs in the area sometimes have Indian paintings on them. And there are some smaller cave dwellings scattered around that the rangers don't tell the general public about. Photo #1: a cluster of caves in the side of a cliff, filled with stone indian shelters. Photo #2: a close-up of the wall built in the face of a cave. There would have been a ladder going up to the doorway for access. The "T" shaped doorways are common in Indian pueblos, and no one really knows why they were made in that shape. Photo #3: an Indian pictograph on a cliff wall. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rfarris 1 #20 February 15, 2004 No sight naming please!! Oops..wrong forum. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #21 February 16, 2004 And if you come through El Paso on your trip, I highly recommend Hueco Tanks State Park. This consists of several small rocky mountains, where ancient Indians used to live, and is a site of a great many terrific Indian pictographs painted on the rocks. Attached are some examples of those pictographs. It's also a reknowned rock-climbing site, if you're into that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
