Yes, I do Windows! and a Seven Month Anniversary Update

We generally prefer hiking loop trails in honor of Callie who hated covering the same territory twice. If we are doing an “out and back”, it’s nice to have a payoff at the endpoint. Sunday, 2/26, we did two hikes to see two very different “windows”.  

The first was on the Grapevine Hills Trail to a huge boulder balanced to form a window. The trail follows a sandy wash through a massive boulder field and then climbs up into the rocks, it was a fun scramble with a great payoff. As Rog noted, it is a little creepy standing directly under that huge boulder and knowing if it happened to pick that moment to fall you’d be flatter than a pancake. Lucky for us the balanced rock stayed that way. :)

The balanced rock...

... forms a "window".

Hope it stays balanced!

The trail winds through an awesome boulder field.

The volcanic rock has eroded into fantastical shapes.

Lovely views and ...

... interesting formations.

This looked like a frozen stone waterfall to me.

A chance meeting with one of the locals. :)

The second hike was the Window Trail in the Chisos Basin. We saw this “window” from a distance when we hiked the Chisos Basin Loop trail. The hike was about 5 miles roundtrip to a deep cleft where a creek pour-over forms a window-like view through the mountain range. The trail follows a streambed and can be treacherous when the water is flowing. It was almost totally dry the day we hiked, but even then the smooth rock by the pour-over was slick. I definitely would not want to be close if it was wet – that would be a one-way water slide down the mountain side! 

Oh, my! What, no tigers??

Lots of stairs set into the course of the stream.

Craggy outcroppings of stone. 

We made it to the pour-over at the base of the Window.

Pseudo-fossils: Ancient fern imprints in the rock.

Chisos Basin supports plants and trees you won't find elsewhere in the park.

These agave and sotol plants expend all their energy into one HUGE bloom and then die.
Desert plant reproductions: Go big or go home. Lol. 

In the afternoon we had a trio of javelinas visit our campsite. I’ve learned that they don’t like to be called pigs. They aren’t in the swine family – which evolved in the eastern hemisphere and were introduced here. Javelinas are in the peccary family and are native to the western hemisphere. I guess in our bacon-crazed culture I wouldn’t want to be called a piggy either!

I am NOT a pig!

Mesas silhouetted against the sunset.

February 25^th marked our seven-month anniversary on the road. We have passed the half-way point! We talk a little more now about what we can realistically cover in our remaining time. When we started off a year seemed like forever, but we’ve come to realize that even with five months left we’ll have to prioritize – we just can’t see and do everything we want to. Although it does seem like we’ve been saying that from the beginning. Lol. Guess we’ll just have to start thinking about a second lap!  

We’ve continued our slower pace. In fact, we haven’t made it out of Texas yet! We only traveled 833 miles this month. So far we’ve driven a total of 9910 miles in the RV, pumped 1158 gallons of diesel and stayed at 61 different places. We added one new national park this month, so our totals stand at: 15 National Parks/Monuments, many state/local parks plus Disney and Universal Studios. Since we’re still in Texas, the number of states we’ve been to remains at 29. 

As I’ve mentioned, both Rog and I were surprised by how much we have enjoyed west Texas. Conversely, we also thought we’d like the Gulf coast area a little more than we did. Some of that could be the weather – there is something to be said for low humidity, sunshine, and 70-80° days in February!  Lol. In truth, we have found beauty in every place we’ve visited. 

One of the really sad things we’ve noted is how the national parks and many of the state park systems are suffering from an incredible lack of funding and support. These are the crown jewels of our country! Truly, these parks are national treasures and yet many are critically understaffed and have deferred needed maintenance and improvements. Every major park we visit has buildings, roads and trails that are a legacy of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) – part of FDR’s New Deal that employed thousands. I desperately wish we would see a renewal of that commitment to maintaining and improving our country’s infrastructure, especially in our park systems. We really need to be vigilant or the short-sighted desire for profits could jeopardize the environment and the public parks that preserve these incredible natural wonders for our children, grandchildren, and future generations. Climbing off the soap box now. :)