Big Bend Day 3

Today was a really amazing day in Big Bend National Park. We got on the road early and made the drive down to the Rio Grande area. We wanted to do a nature hike in that area called Rio Grande Nature Trail. We saw a pair of cardinals, which was exciting. We spotted a few turtles and frogs, including a long-necked turtle. There was also a pretty yellow chat and some vultures. We even passed many "stores," or little places where people had crossed the river, set up shops, and left a pay station. You could choose an item, place money in the box, and take what you want.

This tunnel was fun to drive through.

The nature trail was fun. I love Randy and Seth peeping over the edge.

We spotted this roadrunner on the way to the trail.

Blurry pic of the frog we saw.

Horses and burros everywhere.

I'm sure Mark knows the name of this pretty yellow bird.

We walked past this millipede.

Gross!

We walked down to the river on the nature trail.

That is Mexico across the way!

We enjoyed the hikes in the morning when it was not blistering hot!

There are also great views on this trail.

We saw this turtle out of the water.

And this turtle under the water!

After we finished the nature trail, we headed down to the border crossing. There is a really easy crossing into a small town called Boquillas del Carmen. We had our passports and cash all ready, and there was no line to go through the checkpoint. Then we walked down to the rivers edge and met our boat. There were a few sandbags to walk out on, and then we stepped onboard. It costs $5 per person to cross, and we could easily have waded, but we were glad to pay and be towed across by the locals. 

As we climbed out of the boat, we were met by the mule wranglers. It cost another $15 to take a mule into Boquillas, and it was under a mile, but that's each way. So we saddled up and rode into town. Our guide did most of the driving, and we simply rode along, at the mercy of the mules.

The border crossing in the national park is small. 

We were excited to visit Mexico.

The Rio Grande was extra pretty this morning.

We got taken across the river in a small boat.

It took just a few minutes.

Then we got to ride burros to town.

Mom loved it!

When we arrived, we paid a small fee to be in Mexico, and then our guide walked us through the town, pointing out the school, the hospital, and the shops. Everything except for the restaurant was cash only, but we didn't buy anything because we don't carry too much cash. 

The restaurant, Jose Falcon, took Venmo, so we sat down and ordered. The boys wanted fajitas, which were really amazing. Mom got tamales, and Dad went for the chimichangas. All of the food was really good, so we decided to have dessert. We tried some empanadas, and also some sopapillas, which were even better than the food! Dax declared it a "Top 3 meal ever!" Most of all, we enjoyed the beautiful overlook of the Rio Grande and being together in the boys' 5th country.

The city welcome sign.

The stores had lots of beautiful items.

The view from the restaurant was awesome.

We were excited to eat food in Mexico.

Such a cute photo spot.

The fajitas were top notch.

Everything was amazing.

We had such a fun time.

Mark enjoyed the burro ride.

We named our burros as we rode, too.

Off we go again back to the river and the USA!

Back in America, we drove down along Rio Grande to another hike. This one entered a narrow canyon right along the river. It had a nice view of Boquillas del Carmen across the river, too. We walked right along the  edge of the Rio Grande, picking out birds, and passing the little "stores" set up by locals. Finally, the canyon narrowed down to just allow the river through, so we turned back. 

We loved walking along the Rio Grande.

The canyon really was beautiful.

We had one more stop to make in Big Bend at the hot spring. We slipped into our swimsuits and and made the hike along the quarter mile trail. We passed a few historical buildings, and then came alongside the river. There was a little pool that was right on the bank, and the water was 105 degrees. It was so nice to sit in the hot water, even though it was over 90 degrees outside. It was really cool to hop back and forth, spending equal time in the hot spring and the cool Rio Grande. The boys really enjoyed splashing in the shallow water in the river, but Mom stayed mostly in the warm water. 

This was one of the best things we did.

The warm water felt so good.

Dad loved the cold river water.

Mark and Mom stayed in the warm water.

Standing over in Mexico again.

We spent a lot of time at the spring.

Dax and Seth loved swimming in the river.

The hour drive back to the duplex seemed long, but we arrived back in time for Mom to cook up some pasta. We only hung out for a little while, though. We wanted to drive out and see a ghost town in Terlingua. 

This ghost town was really interesting because the modern town was built right around it. We actually had difficulty taking pictures of the tumbled down buildings without getting stores and houses in the photos! But there were about 30 buildings in various states of disrepair, and most were created by stacking flat rocks and putting wooden door frames between them. There were even a few cars from the 1930's that were all rusted out. 

The ghost town was fun.

We always love the rusted old cars.

Seth is taking this one for a spin.

It was a fun easy walk.

After the ghost town the boys wanted to go on a late animal drive. This made sense because the animals only come out at dusk and after dark. We drove into the park for about 20 minutes and then turned and came out. We didn't see much until just as we entered town. Two coyotes ran right into the headlights. The smaller one hurried into the bushes, but the larger one lingered for a few pictures. It was a great end to the day.

One quick, blurry pic of the coyote.