Day 5: It IS fun! being and Illegal Alien!
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The Boys rose with fuzzy heads, it obviously had nothing to do with the drinks in Terlingua the night before! Grabbing a coffee probably filtered with a oil rag, Mike and Bone did the hour+ back into Big Bend for their second day of checking out the Park.
A Bright Morning in Big Bend!!
Getting in to the Park the caustic coffee cycles through the lads, which prompted an urgent stop in the Big Bend Visitor Center.
The Big Bend Visitor Center
The Boys typically love to check out a National Park Visitor Center. This one was a madhouse, with tourist, hikers, and school parties cramming every visible space, so the Boys took care of business and tried to get out of the mess and as far away as possible, or, over the Border!
Next Stop: Mexico Boquillas del Carmen!
One of the cool things about Big Bend National Park is the little village of Boquillas del Carmen, which is a little walk through town just across the Border, where many of the residences display local handicrafts such as wire sculptures of scorpions, road runners, lizards and ocotillo. It was a cool place for the Boys to check out for lunch!
The Boquillo Border Crossing
They parked in the quaint and tiny little US Border Crossing, walked through a very silly little building, and headed to the shore of the Rio Grande!
The Very Shallow Rio Grande!
There was two ways to cross the Border, pay 5 bucks to be rowed across or walk! Being cheap, (and for fun!) the Boys took of their shoes, and headed into the water!
Mike and Bone, Illegal Aliens?!?
Illegal Alien by Genesis
Got out of bed, wasn't feeling too good
With my wallet and my passport, a new pair of shoes
The sun is shining so I head for the park
With a bottle of Tequila, and a new pack of cigarettes
I got a cousin and she got a friend
Who thought that her aunt knew a man who could help
At his apartment I knocked on the door
He wouldn't come out until he got paid
Now don't tell anybody what I wanna do
If they find out you know that they'll never let me through, because
It's no fun being an illegal alien,
I tell ya It's no fun being an illegal alien,
I mean wanna tell ya It's no fun being an illegal alien, no, no, no, no, no
It's no fun being an illegal alien,
I tell ya It's no fun being an illegal alien
Bone waddling and wading into Mexico
Well strode they did, then limp they did! The Rio Grande is not what you would call a sandy bottomed river, and there were a lot of mossy covered sharp stone to step on and through! Regardless the Boys crossed, mostly unscathed and only a little wet!
Hola Mexico!
There is a dusty little road from the shore to Boquillas that there are Mexicans that try to sell Donkey rides into the town. Again being cheap (and kinda wanting to check out the roads) the Boys trudged into the sandy road up to the town.
Just over a half mile the Boys came up to a little and completely unassuming village.
Boquillas del Carmen all of 15 Buildings!!
Walking into town, Mike and Bone were immediately accosted by ladies trying to sell their beads, serapes, and trinkets!
End of the Road ?!?
(One small-ass village!)
Politely brushing them off ,Mike and Bone were on a mission! They had become pretty darned thirsty walking through the desert, and needed a beer!!
Miguel y Bone bebiendo una cerveza mexicana!
The Bar (the only one in town!) was a humble little affair. The Boys walked in ordered a couple of Pacifico's and walked around the completely empty establishment.
Mike & Bone, Looking out of the back door of the Bar to..... Nothing!
Boquillas really is a desolate little town. It probably would exist except for the tourist from the States. The Boys wandered around the empty bar and looked out the back door to miles and miles of desert as far as the eye could see.
"Hope We don't get Sick from Eating That!"
The Boys decided to then accomplish the mission that drove them cross the border,,,, lunch! They went to one of the two restaurants in the Village, the Boquillas Restaurant Bar, which had a nice patio, and that was about it. The Boys ordered quesdillas, which should be fairly safe but once served, really looked like the classic "cheese-like" substance crammed between to pieces of tortilla. Incredibly overwhelmed, Mike and Bone headed back to re-cross into the Land of the free and the home of the beers, er brave!
Farewell to Mexico
Looking back, Mike and Bone could look in both directions and saw hundreds of miles of desolate mountains and desert terrain, Boquillas really survives primarily from US tourists.
Mike crossing back to Estados Unidos!
Unfortunately the rocks were not any smoother on the walk back across the border, the Boys gingerly stepped from rock to rock to the middle. They thought it was a good place to have one of Mexican boatmen take a pic of the Boys mid-stream.
Mike and Bone, On the Border!
(No, not Taco Bell!)
Considering it was mid-February, it had been durned hot that afternoon, so the cool Rio Grande was pretty comfortable despite the rocks. Getting out it was a silly 45 minutes to get through the US Border Station. The passport reader was a ridiculous process that confused and amused (the Border Guards for sure!)) the agitated returnees to Estados Unidos.
An Earnest Hike on the Ernst Tinaja Trail!
Big Bend really is a treasure trove of geologic wonders. One of the most beautiful spots in the park to witness geology with a touch of creepiness is Ernst Tinchon, this small limestone canyon features a slick slide that leads to a deep pool, tinaja, of water. The sides of the pool are smooth and run straight down. Don’t ever expect to see the bottom though, because it never seems to run out of water. The levels will go up and down, but when low, it is near impossible to climb out. With the slick run off to the pool and its deep walls, this has been a death trap for Park animals.
Getting there is another matter.
Mike and Bone took the Old Ore Road from the Park's southern entrance. And boy, that first turn from the park's nice, easy paved highway was eye-opening! This dirt road was a road in name only! But the trusty Land Cruiser with some careful maneuvering, got the Boys to within a few miles to Ernst Tinaja trail!
Road!?! What Road!!
The Boys treked from the Car, to the Canyon, it was getting very warm out on the trail, Bone used his shirt as a cloud cover, as they headed down the slipery slope!
Into the Canyon!
This small limestone canyon that the Boys trudged down to the deep pool or tinaja, is pretty darn slick! Bone in his old tennis shoes was slipping and sliding everywhere, so Mike made it all the way down to the pool for a quick pic!
The Deep or Tinaja!
Heading out of Ernst Tinaja the Boys wanted to check out some old bones. No not their own, but Dinosaurs @ the Big Bend Fossil Discovery Exhibit!
Fossils Checking Out.... Well Fossils!!!
Mike and Bone next checked out the Big Bend Fossil Discovery Exhibit that visually illustrates the changes to Big Bend's plants and animals, and the world they lived in, through 130 million years of geologic time.
The Boys checked out the many specimens from Big Bend's remarkable fossil record and vivid artwork illustrate the fascinating story of Big Bend's ancient life. A short trail also leads to a panoramic view of nearby geologic points of interest, and highlights the sediments that protect Big Bend's fossils !
Mike and Bone! With the Fossils!
Mike and Bone wandered the site in the late afternoon heat.The exhibits discussed the types of dinosaurs that lived in the shallow, ancient sea that once covered the area. Most of the bones had been dug out and safely stored in a museum. After 20 minutes the Boys had check the very cool site out and decided it was too hot, time for a swim!
Swimming in the Rio Grande?!?!
Mike and Bone's next stop in Big Bend was of significant historical consequence. The Big Bend Hot Springs Historic District preserves a rich history of human occupation from thousands of years ago to the not-so-distant past. There is rock art left behind on the limestone cliffs by native americans all they way to the modern american establishment of a resort!
A Homesteaders Story
During the early 1900s, the motto was "Go West Young Man." In 1909, J.O. Langford heeded this call and headed for West Texas with his family. He came to the area to regain his health. As a child, living in Mississippi, he contracted malaria and reoccurring bouts with this disease ravaged his body. In the lobby of a hotel in Alpine, Texas, he heard tales of a spring that would cure anything "Stomach trouble, rheumatism, all sorts of skin diseases," the old man vowed. "I wonder why it is that I've never heard of those springs before. It looks like somebody would have tried to develop them like they've done at Hot Springs, Arkansas," the Mississippian replied. "Nothing down there but rattlesnakes and bandit Mexicans. And it's too far away---that damned country promises more and gives less than any place I ever saw," the old man replied.
The Old Hot Springs Resort
After verifying the story with other townspeople, and without even looking at the land, J.O. knew he had to have that spring. He rushed to the county surveyor's office and filed his claim under the Homestead Act. Two weeks later the Langford family received word that the claim was theirs.
The Homestead Act stated that one had to have 3 years of continuous occupancy and $300 in improvements to the land in addition to a minimum bid of $1.50 per acre. Others had filed on this land but no one had been able to meet the requirements of the Act.
With his wife, Bessie, an 18 month old daughter, and a baby on the way, the family began an eleven day journey to reach their new home. Today, the trip from Alpine takes about 2 hours. Upon their arrival, the Langfords discovered Cleofas Natividad, his wife, and their ten children living and farming on their land. At first the Langfords pondered what to do about these "squatters." Then, they realized that this land had probably been home to this family for generations. Cleofas turned out to be the best neighbor anyone could have asked for, always there to help in a time of need.
Once J.O. had regained his health by taking a 21 day treatment of bathing and drinking the spring water, he opened the springs to other bathers. The cost was 10 cents per day or $2.00 for the whole 21 day treatment. In addition to running the bathhouse, he became a schoolteacher, a self taught doctor, and a postman.
The Hot Springs was more than just a place to restore health; it was also a meeting place for people from all walks of life, from both sides of the river. It was a prelude to the tourism that would come with the establishment of Big Bend National Park. Today, it is a great place to take a swim, which is what the Boys did!
Swimming in the Rio Grande?!?!
The Hot Springs was more than just a place to restore health; it was also a meeting place for people from all walks of life, from both sides of the river. It was a prelude to the tourism that would come with the establishment of Big Bend National Park. Today, it is a great place to take a swim, which is what the Boys did!
A River Suarez!
There is a spot on the Rio Grande that hot spring water bubbles into the River that creates a natural "pool" of supposedly healing waters that J.O, encircled in a little concrete bath that cascades into the Rio Grande. Mike and Bone jumped right into the Rio with a gaggle of families with kids. The water was amazingly warm until you swam a few feet into main river current where it got very cold, very quick (it was in the middle of February after all!) The novelty wore off fairly quickly, the water was scummy, and there were way too many tourist floundering around. The Boys got out and headed to the Land Cruiser.
Back to the Ranch!
By now, Mike and Bone had covered a good part of a Park that is impossible to cover in a solid month! With a little regret in their heart. the Boys headed at sunset for the Hotel right outside of Terlingua.
El Gordo's Grill! So Darned Good, Was Done Twice!
By the time the Boys got back to the Hotel it was dark and the Boys were tired. Fighting the crowds of Terlingua for dinner didn't sound like something they wanted to deal with, driving through everything was way too crowded, sooo they went back to something tried and true!
The awesome tacos from the day before as appetizers became a delightful dinner for Mike and Bone. Now sated, the Boys headed back to the Hotel around 9:30 PM.