A West Texas New Year

Mom gave my brother and me these as a stocking stuffer fun pun this year because we both left on roadtrips right after Christmas. She said we both had to let her know how they are. I figure here in the public record is as good a place as any for such a contribution to literary greatness:

I did not expect them to be awesome because, fuddy-duddy that I am, I don’t usually enjoy nonstandard Oreos as much as the classic. I was pleasantly surprised: they are lightly marshmallow-ey because there are Lucky Charms-style marshmallow candy bits in both the cookie and the icing. And the icing is chocolate icing, but just as with Oreo cookies themselves, it’s the kind of chocolate taste produced by an individual who longs to taste chocolate for the first time after having heard a buddy give him the gist via text message. The result is sublimely indescribable: they are freaking delicious — 4 stars.

Thanks Mom!!

We were still a little sleepy from Christmas shenanigans, so we weren’t in a rush this morning. Evan and I headed over to HEB (Evan’s first trip to an HEB!) for various provisions while George worked on adding some mounting brackets to his roof rack. Back at the hotel, Evan broke out a new round of stickers for us, which we applied before getting going. Oh and also he still has that infernal fuzzy steering wheel cover he gave the Xterra 1.0 for Christmas on OAT West last year, so he popped that on while I wasn’t looking.

We headed out for Fort Davis but ended up making a handful of stops because of fuel issues. Our “oh shit George is literally out of gas right now” stop had $4 unleaded, so we got a partial fill before heading to Fort Stockton. There, the first filling station had 7 out of 8 pumps out of order, then a Love’s Truck Stop that was so crowded it may as well have been an overpriced music festival, and finally we ended up able to get gas at a little crack shack on the edge of town.

Finally, we rolled into Fort Davis and drove up to Skyline Drive in the Davis Mountain State Park. Beautiful as always! I do love that area.

I tried getting a heroic photo of the cars but a couple touristy types were having trouble turning around in the parking lot and after ten minutes of waiting for them to sort themselves out, I gave up. Then we hiked over to the canyon overlook at the top of the park for a little rest stop.

After the break, we drove over to Marfa for dinner at the swanky Hotel St. George. We figure that’s probably the last chance we’ll have for a nice dinner or vegetables of any kind for the next few days.

From there, it was just under two hours into Terlingua where we’re staying for the next few days. It’s a humble little place which is just perfect. The woman who checked us into the place had to drive up from her house because we got in at 10, but she seems pretty cool. Even in the parking lot of the motel, we can see more stars than I’m used to being able to see at once. I think this will be a neat place to base our next couple days.

We ended the day with a drink and me giving the boys their Christmas presents; since this is their first time in Texas for a trip I wanted them to feel as native as possible. I got Evan a straw cowboy hat and George got a big Jeep belt buckle. Also, since he made me put a Sooners sticker on my car last year (UT played OU in a bowl game), I decided to give the Jeep an Alabama sticker because I think he needs one (OU plays Bama this week).

Tomorrow is a Big Bend day, with more off-road driving than hiking. If nothing else, we’ll hit Black Gap Road (George’s Jeep trail) and a section of Old River Road which kinda runs along the south edge of the park a few miles inland from the river over toward Santa Elena Canyon.

George is in the shower. Somehow that turned into Evan and I continuing the work on George’s off road light installation…

Because of the government shutdown, I’ve decided to change the speed limit on this road.

— Taylor, frustrated at a 45 mph limit on a straight flat highway…

Woah what a day… And caution to the reader – unedited post and photos ahead…

This morning, Evan and I got up and foraged the neighborhood for breakfast tacos while George finally completed the installation of his new offroad lights he got for Christmas.

The duration of the installation work ensured that we would all be in a position to see the lights in action before we’d be able to make it back tonight. Even so, we decided to push forward with the original plan.

We drove into Big Bend National Park and were greeted with a highway information sign that flashed, “GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. NO OVERNIGHT CAMPING” next to the closed fee station, but open roadway. So I suppose that at least answers our questions about Monday night.

We hit up the fuel station in Panther Junction and then drove on to the beginning of Glenn Springs Road. George and Evan both aired down their tires when we got off the pavement. Those more experienced than I would laugh at me, but I’ve never actually done that. So I made a modest drop from the 35psi down to 28 and I have to admit, it does make a difference. And for the rest of the day, I’d take all the advantage I could find because this escalated rather quickly.

We were only on Glenn Springs for a short while before turning off onto Black Gap Trail, George’s Jeep trail. The couple cars ahead of us were a little more stoutly equipped, which has always made me feel a little conflicted: we do pretty awesome stuff in mostly-stock vehicles, but also it means we lack the insurance afforded by driving an indestructible tank. Black Gap quickly started throwing us side-to-side over rocks and high ridges, but with ample stops along the way to take in the incredible scenery while letting the blood pressure go back down.

At one point, we stopped in a wash to let another caravan pass us. They took one look at us and our vehicles and said, “You thought that was tough? Just wait until you get to the next bit. You’ll never make it. But you can turn around in that area.” That seemed both ominous and annoying.

And then we got to “The Step.” It’s the feature on Black Gap that’s a make-it-or-break-it situation for the people who run this trail. It is a 24 inch vertical ledge (or, if you’re traveling northbound, drop-off). There are a bunch of stacked rocks below it to make a bit of an incline, but they shift as you drive up and it’s a very narrow passage.

I was intimidated having heard about this. After the other caravan’s comments, I was nervous, but also surprisingly determined. And then the Renegade kinda lept up the ledge with very minimal scraping of its right-side rock rail, which is what that’s for… And it’s the shortest of the three. Then Evan in the Landy got up without incident, just a little scraping of his back bumper because the Discovery’s departure angle is so shallow. That’s the longest of the three. And then it just left me.

[Uh, I should get this photo from Evan, I suppose. But he went to bed.]

I’ll admit… I covet mine neighbor’s automatic transmission. Only in this particular instance. But as we learned on the road into Bar Ten Ranch, and again a time or two on one of the OATs, I have a hard time approaching the combination of extreme uphill start in low range over an obstacle with any measure of finesse. And so it was again today. I got half way up the rock pile at The Step and froze. I was on the right line, but just had to get going again.

I lurched up the hill and then shot over the rest of The Step in a great commotion that surprised me even more than it did Evan and George. And except for the “mudflap symphony” created by the rear flaps getting caught on rocks (expected), I didn’t run into any other trouble.

We took a little break after that to catch our breath, then continued down the trail. It quickly became obvious that the day’s original schedule was a bit too ambitious because we were about two hours into Black Gap Trail and had only covered 5 of its 9 miles… But thankfully it started to let up. There were a few more challenging bits and then we were dumped onto River Road, a backcountry road that runs the entire width of the park.

We decided to head east a mile to make a detour to see an abandoned cinnabar mine and settlement below. That was awesome. Usually old mining towns are fenced off or pretty well destroyed. This one was in remarkable shape and had a huge brick building high up on a hill that processed the mercury ore they were excavating, and it was all open. So we walked up there, poked around, didn’t touch the poison bricks, watched the sunset, had a beer, and took more photos.

Realizing how late it was becoming, we headed out west on River Road because despite it being another 20-30 miles of overland driving, it was still shorter than doing 10-20 miles overland eastbound then having to take the highway around the whole park again. Just to be sure, we asked Google Maps and Garmin Navigator what to do, and they both seemed to think the appropriate route suggestion was to take Black Gap Road again, which is asinine for a navigation application to ever suggest something like that to someone without a major warning.

Then George got to use his offroad lights. (Disclaimer: I poke fun, but I also got to use my offroad lights. Yay!) It was properly dark before long and we had a good hour or two of fun in and out of washes paralleling the Rio Grand until we hit the service road to head back to Terlingua. It was a really really fun road, and then there was that time I got charged by a wild horse.

Quick stop back at the edge of the pavement for Evan to reconnect his sway bar. We thought about reinflating tires, but it was super late, super dark, and super cold, so we went ahead.

We got into town and both restaurants we went to had already closed, so we returned to our motel and ate the lunch we’d packed but forgotten to eat while we looked through photos from today.

Today was a helluva day and I loved it, but it was basically 90% driving. Tomorrow I’m hoping to show off some of the park on foot. We’ve got one 5 mile hike I want to do, and I’ve also earmarked four 0.5-2 mile hikes to sprinkle in between less ambitious overland driving. And we’ve got two more days to stretch it into also, which is nice.

So I guess it’s winter now then. After yesterday’s brilliant sun, this is weird.

Ford tried so hard to make a crossover the doesn’t look like a jelly bean that they ended up with a minivan that looks like it was made by Scion.

— Taylor, critiquing a Ford Flex while stuck behind it on the park highway.

Today was fantastic. We got an earlier start than yesterday, complete with a great breakfast from Espresso y Poco Mas in Terlingua. Over burritos, we decided to reverse today’s original plan and do Boquillas Canyon at the far southeast end of the park first, then start up Old Ore Road to do Ernst Tinaja. Then we’d finish up Old Ore Road and decide whether we had time for Balanced Rock or not.

As we entered the park, I was reminded again that Big Bend only trades in extremes. Yesterday’s extreme sunlight receded behind extreme cloud cover today, with a very low fog ceiling. And it was in the low thirties with pretty extreme wind. Driving over to Boquillas, I was a little nervous we wouldn’t see much. Along the highway, we saw a runner sprinting and a cyclist on her way through the park. Impressed by their dedication, we turned off our seat warmers in solidarity.

After all of yesterday’s driving, I was hoping we’d get some time on foot to explore. I got my wish today, and it was perfect. And we even managed to connect the dots with a fun little overland adventure.

Boquillas Canyon was beautiful. I’m sad that we were not able to do the Boquillas Border Crossing because of the Government Shutdown, but the trail up into the canyon is gorgeous, despite the crazy wind and dust. We played around there for a while before starting up Old Ore Road.

Before setting off, though, I had another present for George. See, last year for an OAT West present, he gave me a set of OU stickers for my Xterra. This year, OU plays Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. (Hint: the game just ended – it did not go well for the Sooners.) So I offered him a few stickers of his own.

Our first stop wasn’t far up Old Ore Road – Ernst Tinaja. It’s a campsite and trailhead that leads into a long narrow canyon. We spent a couple hours hiking and scrambling around.

That was a super awesome surprise. Perhaps because it’s miles up a semi-challenging dirt road, the trail doesn’t get much mention on maps or brochures, but it is certainly one of my “must see” features of Big Bend.

George even figured out how to use the force to fly up a little ledge.

Before getting going again, Evan and I both made a minor adjustment. His cargo door latch and my hood latch both squeak when they get dusty. Loudly. Thankfully, that issue has inspired me to keep a tube of lithium grease in my glove box.

After Ernst Tinaja, we started up Old Ore Road. Predictably, this took longer than anticipated, but was very enjoyable. It was the right balance of “some challenges” and “totally gorgeous” and “nothing too scary.” At least for us.

Unfortunately, a few miles beyond Ernst Tinaja, as we stopped to take a look at the Unimog that rolled over a couple weeks ago, a pair of hikers we saw at the canyon stopped by our group. They were caught by surprise on Old Ore Road, and were trying to figure out how to get out of the area in their Rav4 Hybrid.

We offered as much insight as we could, given that we also didn’t know exactly what lay ahead either. We also exchanged contact information; we’ll be waiting for their call tomorrow. I think they can make it, but it’ll be tricky.

We spent the rest of the evening finishing up Old Ore Road, so instead of making a run for another hike at the end of it, we booked it back to Terlingua to try and get in before the restaurants started closing their kitchens.

He needed another for good measure.

Today wasn’t as much a hiking day as much as a rock scrambling day, but that was awesome. Tomorrow we’re looking at doing the Lost Mine Trail hike and don’t have a solid plan for anything else yet. One thing we do need to do is start figuring out the best way to handle New Year’s Eve, which is coming right up.

We can catch an Uber from here, right?

Remember that weird comment I made yesterday about Big Bend peddling in extremes and saying something about crazy fog and cloud cover? That was not actually crazy fog or cloud cover. Today was those things.

Today’s agenda really had only one thing – a forced march up Lost Mine Trail that I really really really wanted to do and George and Evan graciously agreed to join me.

None of us particularly care for crowds, so I neglected to tell them that the Lost Mine Trail is maybe the second most popular hike in the park, right behind The Window, and both trailheads are in about the same area. We made a late arrival into the park, around noon, and entered a total swarm of traffic. It was Disney World in West Texas. Something about having spent two days mostly on backcountry roads, we’d forgotten that this is Big Bend’s biggest week of the year.

We turned up the road toward Basin Campground and the Chisos Mountain Lodge and as we started the ascent, visibility quickly dropped to almost nothing and we vanished into the fog. Then I saw something I’d never seen before: freezing fog. All the plants along the roadway were covered in ice, but not snow, that was formed as fog flooded the valley and cleared out again – a rhythm we watched through the whole afternoon. From above. But first I had to buy a hat and add more layers because it was so cold.

We drove all the way up to the Chisos Basin Visitor Center, alarmed at the crowds. Why did they let so many people into our park? We actually started back down, ready to abandon my hike in favor of something else, but at the last possible second, I found a small parking area that had two open spaces. The Rover took one, and the Renegade invaded the Xterra’s personal space in the other.

But it was enough. We got out and wandered around the fog and ice before starting up the mountain.

It. Was. Brilliance. We started in the fog but climbed up to the top of the world. From Mars itself, we looked down upon valley in every direction and saw the ebb and flow of foggy currents washing through the basin.

And at the top, my phone brought good news! The couple from the Rav4 yesterday had made it back down Old Ore Road onto pavement, which we’d been worried about.

By the time we wandered down, it was time to race back toward Terlingua for dinner and a gas station. We ate well and drank too many Margaritas at a tiny great little Tex-Mex spot. Then we fought in the gas lines at the slowest filling station the world has ever seen. Gas was dispensed in the thousandths of gallons per second.

Back at the hotel, we packed up and put together a list of options for New Year’s Eve. Texas Parks and Wildlife has an interesting set of hoops to jump to jump through to park in Big Bend Ranch State Park.

To make a very long story short, we didn’t make reservations in advance because the National Park wouldn’t take them. Then the Government shutdown because Washington. That left us without accommodations anywhere else and Texas Parks wouldn’t take a reservation today for tomorrow. So I’ve got a list of preferences and I am to call at the crack of dawn to see what we can get for New Year’s. And if we can’t, we’ll… sleep somewhere? I dunno. Find a random motel in some tiny town? We’ll figure it out. But after the amazement of the last few days, I have faith in Texas providing one more miracle night of awesome for us.