Big Bend Country

During my two years in Texas, I visited the state's two national parks both twice. I finally hit Big Bend National Park a second time the week before moving to Denver, Colorado for my next adventure. I'd visited Big Bend in March 2013, but only had seen half of it. On this trip, I wanted to see the rest of the park as well as a few other places I'd never been before in remote West Texas.

I left Austin before sunrise on Tuesday, July 22 and made it to the park's periphery a little after noon. Summer is Big Bend's dead season because the West Texas summers get so hot. Neither the entry fee station nor the first visitor center were manned. Stepping out of my car at the Dog Canyon Trailhead a few miles into the park was like stepping into a furnace.

After slathering myself in sunscreen and changing into a loose, long-sleeved shirt to maximize protection from the piercing sun, I began my hike into the arid, exposed desert towards Devils Den, a slot canyon zigzagging through the parched earth. The trail followed a cracked stream bed then rose steadily, until it overlooked the floor of Devils Den far below.

The intense heat was tough for the first mile or two of the hike but then my body seemed to get used to it. The views across the empty desert captivated me. I had the expanse all to myself and felt like an outlaw. After trekking to the far end of Devils Den, I doubled back and went the opposite direction as far as the mouth of Dog Canyon.

Returning to my car covered in sweat and dust, I headed for the Chisos Mountains and the basin in their center. I grabbed a campsite here in this cooler, elevated section of the park. The campground was maybe a quarter full. Not many people visit Big Bend during the heat of summer and those that do are strange.

The sun was still high in the sky as I sped off towards the southeastern corner of the park to visit the hot springs and Boquillas Canyon. About halfway on the 30 mile drive there, gray storm clouds passed overhead briefly quenching the desert's thirst, casting a rainbow over the distant Sierra del Carmen, and squeezing the sun's radiance into linear rays.

The hot springs are in the foundation of an old bath house on the edge of the Rio Grande. The bath house was part of an early 1900s resort nearby. A few vacant buildings remain but the resort was abandoned long ago. I had the hots springs to myself and used the warm waters to rinse off the sweat and dust from my earlier hike. Across the river barely a stone's throw away is Mexico.

I continued on to Boquillas Canyon as the sun began to set. A short trail leads over a hill and down into the orange canyon with thousand-foot walls. The Rio Grande's waters are so shallow in the canyon I could have easily waded across to Mexico. I watched the sun set from a bluff not far away overlooking the river. Mystical clouds swirled overhead in the fading light as I drove back to my campsite in the Chisos.

The next morning, I rose with the sun and hiked to the top of Emory Peak, the highest point in the park at 7,825 feet above sea level. The trail gains 2,500 feet in elevation and is over ten miles roundtrip. The hazy views from the top of the park clearly reveal the basin in the center of the Chisos Mountains and the vastness of the desert landscape.

Having seen what I set out to see in Big Bend, I continued west stopping for a brief tour of the Terlingua ghost town ten miles or so outside the park. In the late 1800s the spot was home to a bustling and diverse cinnabar mine, the ore from which mercury is extracted. Today, aside from the ghost town's ruins, its a few rundown residences, bed and breakfasts, and bars catering to those wishing to get away from it all.

Before turning east to begin my trip back to Austin by way of Seminole Canyon State Park, I went another 60 miles west on Highway 170, the steepest, curviest road in Texas. The road runs along the Rio Grande and the southernmost edge of Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas's largest and most remote state park. It added a few hours to my drive but I'm glad I got to see the black igneous canyons sliced by the Rio Grande far off the beaten path. I'm not sure when I'll be back out that way.

President Obama in Austin

A couple weeks back, President Barack Obama visited Austin. Tickets to the event taking place on Thursday, July 10 were distributed to the public for free two days prior beginning at 8:30 a.m. on a first come, first serve basis. I got in line that Tuesday morning at the downtown Paramount Theater, where the event would be held, and easily managed to snag a ticket despite a line snaking around the block.

Two days later, I got back in line at the same place--ticket in hand--just after 8:00 a.m. The event was scheduled to start around noon. I met some interesting people in line and passed the time chatting with them. We got through the metal detectors and into the ornate theater a little past 11:00 a.m. and were directed to the mezzanine. I found a seat maybe 300 feet away from the podium where the president would speak, looking down on the stage.

Earlier in the day, President Obama attended a fundraiser in North Austin then had tea at Magnolia Cafe with a University of Texas student who had written him a letter about her parents getting laid off and the difficulty her family faced affording tuition. That same student introduced the president at the Paramount. Obama spoke for about thirty minutes mostly about the economy and gridlock in Washington, DC.

The president was effusive in his praise for Austin, repeating at least three times "I love this city" as he opened his speech.

He said Austin was the last place he was able to walk around without people recognizing him. When he was in Austin prior to his debate at UT with Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic primary he remembered fondly walking around Town Lake on his own without security detail or people approaching him.

President Obama commented that it was good to get out of DC and that he makes a point to read ten letters selected by his staff each day from the thousands sent to him by people across the country. The stories in those letters, he said, were his story. While the economy has made progress, he warned that the economy would not succeed if "just a few are doing well."

Later in his speech, he acknowledged that he had done well but that he doesn't believe in pulling the ladder up behind him.

Noting that Democrats "aren't perfect," Obama said, "I want to assure you I'm not that partisan of a guy." His favorite president is actually a Republican--Abraham Lincoln. He attacked Republicans in Washington, however, for standing against him at every step of the way.

"The best thing you can say about congressional Republicans this year is that they haven't shut down the government," said Obama. He paused for a moment then joked, "But it's only July."

Turning to the lawsuit about to be filed against him by Speaker John Boehner and recent rumblings from Sarah Palin and others of impeachment, Obama became indignant. "Really?" he wondered out loud. "Sue me for doing my job while you don't do your job?"

He told parents the movie was not appropriate for young children then referenced a quote from Mark Wahlberg's character in "The Departed." "I'm the guy doing my job, you must be the other guy," said Obama.

He ended his speech to cheers then waded out into the first few rows to shake hands and snap photos. I was too far back to have any chance of meeting the president so I got out of the theater as fast I as could. Unsurprisingly, there were a handful of protesters outside. It wouldn't be a presidential visit without them.

Colorado Springs

Before finally heading back to Austin to relax and continue my job search, I spent a few days in the Colorado Springs area. While there, I visited Garden of the Gods, witnessed a couple afternoon thunderstorms over Pikes Peak, hiked up the Manitou Incline, a trail rising over 2,000 feet in less than a mile, camped at Mueller State Park, and stopped at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, home to many preserved prehistoric remains including a fossilized Redwood stump known as "Big Stump."