Rio Grande Float, Some More "Epic", and Moving On

We chose Tuesday, 2/21, for our paddle on the Rio Grande. Hot, sunny, and minimal winds – sounded about perfect to us!  We looked at several options for our put in/take out points and finally decided to maximize our float by putting in at Colorado Canyon and ending at Madera Canyon near our campsite - that gave us about 10 river miles. The game plan was to leave the CRV at the put in spot and then after our float, Rog would bike from our campsite to the CRV and bring it back to the takeout spot. The downside was riding 10+ miles at the end of a long day and climbing the “Big Hill” in the hot sun (really, that is what it’s named, but “Ridiculously Steep Gargantuan Hill” would be more fitting. Lol).

We were on the river by 9:30am and had a fantastic time. The water levels were very low, so our biggest problem was dragging butt in the shallow areas. It also meant that rocks and boulders that would normally be submerged were obstacles to avoid. Rog had to step out of the boat a few times to push us off rocks and once we got stuck on a boulder in the middle of a rapid. That was a little hairy, but we made it through fine. Most of the white water was tame enough that even I wasn’t too worried. We figured worst case scenario if we flipped, we’d just have to stand up and wade out. Lol.

Ready to launch!

Floating the Rio Grande, so exciting. :)

Our route took us through Colorado Canyon, then parallel to the road for a bit, through Dark Canyon, and then out at the Lower Madera Canyon campground. It was awesome to be floating down a narrow ribbon of green river with the steep canyon walls towering hundreds of feet overhead. 

Colorado Canyon

We stopped to scout Panther Rapids....

... it's a boulder field! Our only hope is to keep far right. 

Hard to believe this tiny river carved these awesome canyons.
Amazing what you can accomplish in 2 million years. :)

A portion of the float took us by grazing lands on the Mexico side and of course we ran right into a herd of cattle. One big steer was standing smack in the middle of the river. Luckily, they weren’t too keen on the kayak and we caused a minor stampede as we approached.  

We didn’t see much else in the way of wildlife, just lots of Texas Slider turtles and plenty of birds. For a while we joked that a pair of ducks were our river guides. They would float in front of us then when we got too close fly down river another 50 yards and then get all huffy when we got close again. They must have done that a dozen times before they finally wised up and flew behind us instead of just farther in front. Lol.

Cattle crossing... as if the rocks aren't challenge enough. Lol.
(FYI: The spots are bugs and cottonwood fluff.)

It's a party!

About two miles before our take out point we ran into some folks who were having a very bad day. As we approached a bend in the river we saw several boats pulled up in the shallows. Where the river curved it narrowed to about 20 feet across, putting some force behind the current and then split into two channels around a small island. A couple in a canoe had broadsided against the island and the current had flipped and then pinned their boat. We didn’t see them until we were almost on top of them and very nearly joined them! Lol. We managed to get by and checked to see if they needed any help. They were part of a larger group and they had everything under control. Rog talked to them later when he went to pick up the CRV and they never did manage to get the boat unstuck – the current was so strong it literally bent their canoe around a tree and they couldn’t budge it against the force of the water. Guess even at low levels, the Rio Grande is not to be taken lightly!

The last bit of our float was through Dark Canyon and then we pulled out at Lower Madera. We beached the kayak and gathered up our paddles, life jackets, etc. to walk up to our RV about a quarter mile away. We stopped to talk with some campers in Lower Madera and they offered Rog a ride back to the CRV so he wouldn't have to bike the Big Hill. Perfect! We stowed our stuff and I worked on cleaning the kayak while he fetched the car. It was an awesome day.

Entering Dark Canyon.

Steep walls keep the river in shadow. 

Almost home! Can you see the RV in the distance?

On Wednesday, I dropped off Rog and his bike near Lajitas and drove the hour to the National Park Visitor Center at Panther Junction to see if we could score a dispersed campsite. I got there about 9:10am and there was just one site left. As the park staff was inputting my information the space was taken by a faster typist at another visitor center. Can you say bummed??!!  I spent several hours using their wifi to catch up on my email and blog posts and then headed back.  I thought you might enjoy a picture of the duly elected mayor of Lajitas. He can’t be worse than some other elected official who shall remain unnamed. :  )

I wonder if he'd be interested in running for a higher office?

Rog used the time to ride the Lajitas Loop again and do another section of the Epic trail. He put in over 42 miles – wow!  He is hoping to come back during the annual mountain bike festival and do the full 60-mile Epic ride. More power to him! Lol.

Contrabando Dome.  Part of the Epic ride goes around the Dome. 

Jackrabbit on the trail, Rog found a racing partner.

Check out those ears! Lol. 

More desert ruins. This area has a long history.

Old mining equipment... at what point does litter become historical artifact? Lol. 

With no reservations for the National Park, we got up early Thursday to try our luck at the campground. We had a beautiful sunrise and it proved to be a good omen. We checked at Panther Junction just in case any dispersed sites had opened up – no love. So we high tailed it for Rio Grande Village and got there about 9:30am. We drove the loops a few times and snagged a decent spot that had just opened up. Yeah!  With a huge sigh of relief, we paid for five nights and did a little happy dance.

Beautiful sunrise, a nice send off as we leave the state park.

The campground really isn’t bad. There is a nice nature trail with a great overlook of the campground on one side and the little town of Boquillas, Mexico on the other. One upside is that we’re just 20 minutes from the historic hot springs, but that’s another post. :)

View of the campground and Rio Grande from the overlook.

Mexican Vaquero.

Boquillas, Mexico - just across the river.