Road Trip Daily

I must have a thing for Jurassic Park-looking places, because Big Bend has Jurassic Park in spades!  Big Bend has three sections: 1 Santa Elena Canyon in southwest, 2 Chisos Mountains in middle and 3 Bouquillas Canyon to southeast. I would cover all three today.  I awoke in the morning, hopped in the van and drove from the Santa Elena section to the Chisos Mountain section in the middle, in order to secure a campsite at this central and grand location. On the drive up I passed the Mule Ears Mountains and surreal morning views.  While the river 1 and 3 sections are at 1800 foot elevation, the Chisos Mountains are at 6000 feet. I drove up and over the crazy beautiful mountain range and down steep curves into the Chisos Basin, where the campgrounds and Lodge and only-in-park restaurant are located. The mountains surround you when you are in the basin making you feel protected and special--like you are a welcome guest to the wonder. I believe this is the best campground ever....

Dear Family and Friends, Welcome to my shiny new Road Trip Daily blog. Here you can find day-by-day posts from my trip (swipe left and right to go quickly between days in mobile view) and if you are on a family google group or the new Road Trip Daily blog-specific google group then you will receive automatic daily updates in your email inbox!  Technology.. So cool. Do let me know if you aren't receiving messages or the blog isn't working.  So on to today: Ten hours was the time it would take me to drive to Big Bend National Park in the far southwest corner of Texas. I had wanted badly to visit Big Bend but since it was six hours out of the way, I had left it off the original itinerary, instead sticking near El Paso for White Sands, Guadalupe Mountains, and Carslbad Caverns. But since my detour to Chiricahua was so successful and the weather ideal in Big Bend, I decided to go for it.  Good decision. I arrived to Big Bend by 6pm and sped down a winding 30-mile scenic road (...

Chiricahua is my new favorite place on earth.     It fees like walking on the moon.  Imagine towering, slender rock monoliths grey in color with neon green lichen highlighting their irregular shapes. Imagine 75 degree temps mixed with 40 mile an hour wind gusts. Imagine a bright blue HUGE sky with low hanging clouds and bolting rays of sun bringing everything to a crescendo like a master conductor.  I arrived to Chiricahua  at 5pm  just as the ranger station was closing. The campground was full but there was a national forest with free dispersed camping (aka no facilities) five miles down a dirt outside the park. I learned that the hoodoos of Chiricahua are far different from the hoodoos of Bryce. Where Bryce hoodoos were formed from water flows in an ancient sea bed, Chiricahua hoodoos were formed from an ancient volcano eruption 1000 times greater in size than Mount Saint Helens. 2000 feet of ash was deposited on top of the earth, compressed to rock, and ...

Saguaro was next on my list. Known for the Saguaro cactus, which I had just seen tons of in Aravaipa, I had low expectations. I was also dealing with a minor injury, a strained ankle/calf muscle. I was able to walk but with minor pain. One of the highlights of Saguaro was the park video-- it showed incredible photographs of the Saguaro cacti, desert animals, and scenery and the Native American narrator talked extensively about conservation and how we all come from and return to the earth. At the end of the moving slideshow hidden curtains quickly are pulled apart and the screen slides up revealing a beautiful vista of Saguaro hillside through the large glass windows. Very effective.  I kept the hikes in the park to a minimum because the scenery wasn't that extraordinary and my left ankle hurt. Here are some photos from Saguaro: a Horned Texas Lizard, a Saguaro glamour shot and a petroglyph. (Pics 1-3)  Around  1pm , I decided to push on and drive to my next stop White San...

The nice thing about Canyons is that they look different going the other way.  Having hiked from the west to the east end of Aravaipa the previous day, I got up early  at 6am , had some coffee and protein bars for breakfast, packed up my gear and headed back to my supervan.  The sunlight hitting the top of the canyon walls made the east hoodoo-like section human-like (pic 1).  The cool spring water on my feet was delicate as I sped down the creek. After about three miles I look a right turn to explore Hell Hole Canyon, a dry side canyon that I had read was stunning. The walls were towering and winding and narrow. Being in the narrow dark canyon so early in the day was a bit creepy feeling for some reason. Like other animals I felt safer when I was close to the water. After thirty minutes I turned back around and left the Hell Hole Canyon (pic 2 shows the entrance of Hell Hole) and returned down stream.  It wasn't until noon that I ran into another human being. T...

Aravaipa is one of the prettiest canyons in the world and it is basically unknown. Only 50 people are allowed in per day making it feel like a true wilderness. I packed my backpack with all the overnight essentials-layers of clothing, shelter, food and water and set out to Aravaipa early  Monday morning . I started the hike with a group of other people but quickly was alone in the great wilderness as I hike quickly.  The trail follows a creek bed on narrow paths through grass (pic 1) or through rock and brush but often the path just dead ends into the creek. You simply just cross the slow-flowing, ankle-deep water to the other side and proceed along the path. The 90 degree high temp midday mixed with the cool but not cold water made hiking through the creek refreshing and fun.  At some parts you simply had to walk through the creek as the canyon walls narrowed. Pic 2 shows me in my hiking gear through such a section. The creek would weave around east west north and south ...

I began the day feeling tired-- perhaps a bit travel weary and sore from hiking, but also due to a self imposed caffeine detox. I drove the final stretch of the very scenic dirt road (pic1) -- Apache trail and made it to my destination of my favorite scary wilderness-- the Superstitions. I had one final four star hike to complete (according to Internet research). The plan was a 14 mile loop hike around Weavers Needle.  The first part of the hike climbed a rocky hill with grand mountain views (pic2). I made it to the top vista overlooking Weavers Needle and then climbed down a rough trail a few miles past the base of the needle.  See the needle in pic 3.  I was anxious. The last time I was in the superstitions I had run into two rattlesnakes and I hate snakes. I was a bit rattled (pun intended) and it showed-- I was making very slow time and not enjoying myself much.  I turned on some Darius Rucker music on my iPhone thinking the noise would ward off the snakes. Music...