Category Archives: Texas

Camping, Mountains, National Parks in USA, Photography, Rivers/Lakes/Waterfalls, Texas

Grandeur in Texas

December 1, 2021 Debra Coe and Tom Guyton 14 Comments

The Majesty and Grandeur of Big Bend National Park
(A Flashback Journey)

I had lived in Texas a long time before I finally explored Big Bend National Park a few years ago along with Tom and some friends. Like many of us who are originally from mountainous areas like Colorado, I had had a preconceived notion of what West Texas had to offer in terms of mountains (i.e., not much). So, I was quite surprised to discover this 800,000 acre Texas treasure. If you have not been, I would highly encourage you to make the trip. You’ll find plenty to do if you’re into outdoor activities. Hiking trails range from easy to strenuous, and there are several scenic driving routes within and around the park including both paved and unpaved roads. Horseback riding is available as are river rides and guided bird watching tours. Overland tours are another possibility, and there’s even a golf course.

You pretty much have to be going to Big Bend to get there, it’s not of the way to anywhere else really. As for traveling there from Austin, we chose to split the eight-hour drive into two days arriving the first night at the historic Gage Hotel in Marathon Literature on the Gage describes as “unique, historic and sophisticated” which is an accurate depiction. While we did not eat at the elegant Gage Hotel Restaurant, we took advantage of the kiva style firepit in the courtyard as we shared pizza with our friends.

When you first get to Big Bend – it sort of
takes your breath away!

The following day, we arrived in Terlingua and spent three nights at Big Bend Resort and Adventures. The hotel itself is pretty bare-bones, but it did have the advantage of having a decent restaurant which offered a good breakfast buffet – exactly what we needed before setting out on hikes into the park each day. You’ll need to check before going to see if this is still available.

Big Bend is well named – it is a big place. Expect to drive some pretty long distances to get places.

Big Bend has quite a few places to stay as well as a few camp-grounds within the park. One of these is Cottonwood Camp-ground which has twenty-two campsites and is near Santa Elena Canyon at the Rio Grand River. This camping area has many trees with sites that are spaced quite a way apart, but it is definitely a no-frills campground. This means they do not have electric hookups, and they do not allow generators. Another is the Chisos Basin Campground which is a popular place because of its higher elevation and cooler temps in the summer months.

Santa Elena Canyon is a great stop for some moderately strenuous hiking and some amazing views. We suggest going early or late to miss the crowds on pretty days.

My advice would be to visit Big Bend in spring and fall when the weather is moderate. We made our trip in November, and the weather was perfect. Tom and his son and grandson went in early January last year and were caught in an unusual snowstorm. While pretty and fun for snowball fights, it was a bit treacherous driving for several hours on an eight-inch thick blanket of snow which made it nearly impossible to see the road. And I’ve heard that in the summer the tarantulas carry parasols to stay out of the blistering heat.

This is one of our favorite spots, looking up Santa Elena Canyon. There are float trips available through the canyon which is on my bucket list. The cliffs on Mexico’s side (left) of the Rio Grande are higher than they look here.

Hiking poles are always a good idea, especially for those of us with tricky knees. I use two poles and glad for it.

Sometimes, out of nowhere, we discovered abandoned homesteads – someone’s dream at one time. It had to be tough going because there is not much around there to sustain a farm or ranch.

The tiny town of Terlingua is a must see if you make a trip to Big Bend. It is a completely unique place noted for being out of the way. Many of the folks who have moved to Terlingua do so in order to live as off the grid as possible. I suppose if a person really didn’t want to be found, this would be the place he or she could achieve that goal. And it seems that everyone in Terlingua has a deep respect for one another’s desire for privacy and seclusion. One evening we ate at La Kiva Restaurant and Bar, a great watering hole which is built partially underground. I did a double take upon walking into the bar thinking that the Village People had come to town. There at the bar on karaoke night were guys in hard-hats, others in cowboy gear, and yet others with dread locks all of them talking and joking with one another. Their commonality seemed to be their desire to be far away from the city.

Another don’t miss spot in Terlingua is the Starlight Theatre Restaurant . The food is excellent, and the entertainment on the night we were there was great. This restaurant appears to be a very popular places to go whether you’re a regular or a tourista. Lots of folks were milling around on the big front porch just chatting with each other. Right next door to the Starlight is the Terlingua Trading Company which has a wide array of merchandise. I’d suggest coming early to tour the Terlingua Ghost Town before shopping or going to dinner. It’s a self-guided tour through a small set of tumbledown buildings and cemetery but definitely provides a glimpse into what life must have been like there long ago.

Debra dangling her feet in the Rio Grand River just 30 feet from Mexico. Truly a beautiful spot that reveals the geologic magnificence of the place.

While we only stayed in the Big Bend area on this trip, there’s much to see for those who want to make a longer trip. Balmorhea State Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, The Davis Mountains, Fort Davis, The McDonald Observatory, Marfa, Alpine, Fort Stockton, and Boquillas Crossing and Boquillas Canyon are all nearby.

We’d love to hear what you enjoyed most about the Big Bend area and see photos you took while there.

Wildflower Beauty

November 17, 2021 Debra Coe 10 Comments

The Climate Change Summit, COP26 just ended with nearly 200 nations gathering to try to stem global warming. I’ve been thinking about the fragility of our tiny planet and the life-forms that exist here. The intricate inter-dependency of all life-forms upon one another is truly astounding. I cannot fully explain why or how these wildflowers contribute to the balance of life on earth. I’ll leave that to more knowledgeable minds. What I do know though is that they have a purpose beyond their beauty. And I have been blessed to have made their acquaintance.

Upstream by Mary Oliver

“May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful. May I stay forever in the stream. May I look down upon the wildflower and the bull thistle and the coreopsis with the greatest respect.

Teach the children. We don’t matter much, but they do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach then the taste of sassafras and wintergreen. The lives of the blue sailors, mallow sunbursts, the moccasin flowers. And the frisky ones – inkberry, lamb’s quarters, blueberries. And the aromatic ones – rosemary, oregano. Give them peppermint to put in their pockets as they go to school. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves, and then the silent beautiful blossoms.

Attention is the beginning of devotion.”

Matthew 6:25-33

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown in the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So, do not worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thought of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

. . . . .

New Mexico, Photography, Texas, Wildlife

Small Wonders

October 26, 2021 Debra Coe 15 Comments

In her poem, “When Death Comes,” Mary Oliver writes:

“When it’s over, I want to say
All my life
I was a bride married to amazement.”

To me being “married to amazement” means to live – and love – with a wide-open heart fully expecting to be amazed. I find that when I take time to practice this, I always find beauty in unexpected places.

This especially happens whenever I’m in nature. I find hidden treasures. Most often these are tiny enough to be very easily overlooked. The only thing really required of me to see these small wonders is to slow way down and open my eyes and be in and with nature where I am.

On our last camping trip to Colorado, I was intently practicing taking photos with my new camera trying to get the macro focus just right. I’d been focused on a cluster of berries and had taken multiple photos, when quite to my surprise, this tiny seed with silky hairs floated right into focus. It was as though nature was reminding me again to be open to the surprising treasures right in front of me.

Later the same day, Tom asked me to experiment on using the new telephoto lens to take a picture of what he and I both thought was a yellow flower across the stream and quite a distance away. What a surprise! It turned out this was actually a cluster of tiny yellow leaves whose stem had been entangled in a spider’s web. Although the leaves would soon be gone, life was happening! Some unsuspecting insect would become a hungry spider’s next meal, and the cycle of life would continue (at least for the spider!) And this would happen whether or not I was there to bear witness to it. If I want to be amazed, I must pay close attention.

As I was hiking with our photography group on a trail in Rocky Mountain National Park in search of something magnificent and large like a bull moose to photograph, a friend pointed out this small cluster of berries nearly hidden beneath a fallen log. I had just about stepped over it without ever seeing it. In my opinion, it is no less glorious than a bull moose. Science may have an explanation for why humans perceive beauty. However, I like to also believe such vibrant colors serve as a reminder that beauty is an expression of the Spirit’s joy and creativity.

Nature’s willingness to astonish us is by no means restricted to spectacular places. On a lazy afternoon last week, Tom and I drove outside the city and found a trail. Rather than focusing on a particular destination as our goal, we decided to saunter (my new favorite word). Many people in our part of Texas wait for Spring to take scenic wildflower drives, but some of our Hill Country flowers are still blooming, and the bees are happily gathering nectar. Even a cactus when viewed close up is amazingly beautiful in its intricate design.

Of all the tiny elements in nature, the butterfly is my favorite. To me it speaks of transformation. This photo (below) was taken close to our home. Again, it was a serendipitous moment when I was focused on the flower, and the butterfly simply flew into view, seemed to smile at me, and then she became part of the photo. The detail in her wings, face, and wobbly antennae bring a smile to my face. Mainly though, I love butterflies because they remind me of my belief that death is not an end but rather a transformation. The following hymn, “Hymn of Promise,” written in 1986 by Natalie Sleeth, speaks of resurrection as witnessed in nature.

In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity.
In our death a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

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