17-21NOV10 - Various AZ, NM & TX (big bend national park)

Departing the Freightliner service facility on Wednesday, 17NOV, we decided to only go about 180 miles & overnight at Pato Blanco Lakes RV in Benson, AZ. Apparently this is another RV park that is heavily used by snowbird RVers, even though it was still pretty empty when we pulled in. After hooking up the RV we headed to the pool to enjoy the afternoon sunshine. Although we were only overnighting & not a long term resident, we were invited to the Wednesday night Mexican potluck. Apparently the potlucks were previously held on Tuesday nights, & the recent change has not been well received by all the regulars? The food was very good; & as usual, too much. After dinner we were treated to some acoustic western music by the resident band the “Lost Hobos”. One unusual thing at the potluck was the serving of alcohol by the park; usually it is BYOB. Dan noted we were right next door to Kartchner Caverns State Park & decided to call & see if we could get tour tickets for tomorrow AM. We lucked out & got tickets for the 0945 tour.

http://www.patoblancolakes.com/main.html

Thursday morning we got the RV ready to go but left it plugged in so Gumbo had AC as the day heated up, & we headed off to Kartchner Caverns State Park to catch the 0945 tour of the “Big Room”. We won’t bore you with the complete unique history of the caverns, but here is an outline:

1974 – discovered by two spelunkers who decide to keep it secret while they explore it to prevent its destruction in the name of tourism
1978 – realizing it is on private property, not public, the spelunkers approach the Kartchner family about keeping the secret & finding a way to transfer it to the state; although a teacher with a large family, the Kartchners agree & the secret is kept
1988 – in a midnight session the Arizona legislature pass the bill to purchase the land as a state park, & the Governor signs it; the press & public are told about the Caverns
1999 – the Caverns are opened to the public after four years of scientific base line studies; followed by seven years & $28 million in construction to insure minimal impact by tours on the Caverns

Kartchner is one of the few “wet” caverns that have not been degraded by commercial exploitation. Almost all caverns have water in them, but most caverns are considered “dry” because they have very large natural openings that allow the moisture to evaporate & naturally keep the cavern cool. Kartchner’s natural opening is the diameter of a grapefruit; therefore, the cavern stays warm & humid. To insure no change in the Cavern’s environment two tunnels were drilled into the cavern each equipped with an airlock, followed by several “containment” doors, & before you pass through the last containment door you are completely misted down with water to minimize the lint from your clothes & dead skin (yick) that you leave in the cavern. In addition, after all the tours are done for the day, cave specialists enter the cavern to sanitize all areas of the tour & immediately address any area that was accidentally disturbed.

The price of the tour was much more than the Carlsbad tour we took in MAR in this year (see below BLOG link), but the safeguards in place are worth it. Over the years the Cavern has been under continuous study; unique things discovered so far are – nitrocalcite “cotton” never before seen, one of the most extensive occurrences of moonmilk, new type of shields called “turnips” or “beets”, two new minerals never seen in caves (nontronite & rectorite). The tour was great & worth the money; unfortunately to protect the Cavern pictures are not allowed!

http://www.pr.state.az.us/parks/KACA/index.html

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2010/03/3031mar10-carlsbad-nm.html

After the tour, it was back to Pato Blanco & a quick lunch before hitting the road to the Escapees Rainbow RV park in Deming, NM, where we have stayed many times before. Once again we were informed that the RV park was having a potluck dinner. But we opted for dinner at Si Senor, our favorite Mexican restaurant in the southwest.

Friday morning we continued driving east on I-10 to Van Horn, TX, but did not connect up the Toad because we were buying cheap diesel in Las Cruces, NM. After a really tight fit at the gas (diesel) station not really designed for large size vehicles, it was time to drive through El Paso on I-10 which is always fun; before we finally made it to our next overnight in Van Horn, TX. We have stayed overnight many times in Van Horn (see 2 BLOG entries below). Although the many of the small businesses are still closed, some of the derelict buildings have been removed & others given a new paint job; overall things look better. For the last couple of years the Hotel El Capitan has been closed for renovation, now it is re-opened with a new dining room. So we skipped our usual diner at Chuys to eat at the hotel. Corrie went with pork tenderloin, while Dan went with chicken fried steak made with ribeye, crusted with pistachios & topped with jalapeño gravy! Everything was great & we were impressed.

http://www.hotelelcapitan.net/

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2009/03/25mar09-van-horn-tx-weve-been-here.html

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2007/10/27oct07-van-horn-tx.html

Saturday, 20NOV, we detoured south enroute to the Big Bend National Park area via Marfa & Presidio, TX. Just outside of Presidio we stopped at Fort Leaton State Historic Park. This is a day use park that was being setup & decorated by the staff in recognition of the 100 year anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. Although called a fort, it is really the fortified home/trading post of the Leaton Family. Next we headed down Texas Highway 170 from Presidio to Lajitas, TX. This portion of 170 is considered by many to be one of the most scenic drives in the USA. Along the way we stopped to explore Closed Canyon. This is very narrow box canyon where you can clearly see the power of flash floods! Driving 170 is highly recommended if you are ever in the area (especially in a car or on a motorcycle); lots of whoop-de-doos & great scenery!

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/fort_leaton/

After parking the RV Dan headed out to check out the eccentric sites of the ghost town Terilingua. Terilingua was a company town during the large scale mining of Cinnabar (ie raw material for Mercury). As usual when the market collapsed, the mine & town were abandoned. Most of the adobe buildings have been steadily deteriorating; but a funny thing happened, individuals (some down on their luck, other who want to live off the grid) have occupied the derelict buildings & have created their own community. In fact, they now have a tradition of sitting on the porch of the Terilingua Trading Co to watch the sunset in the east. That’s right in the east, they watch the changing light & colors on the mountains to the east. So we made it a point to be there for sunset before heading to La Kiva for dinner.

Back in DEC03, before we decided to become full time RVers, we decided to test the waters in a rental RV. During that trip we stayed briefly in the Terilingua area to explore Big Bend National Park. Only later did we learn of La Kiva (the cave), built by an eccentric Texan, Gilbert Felts; who had tried to scratch out a living in the area since 1962, finally hitting upon the idea of La Kiva & started building it in 1979. Since then it has been featured in numerous national publications, even being rated one of the top 50 bars in the USA by the Mens Journal in 2002! The food is good, but the atmosphere is better! Note, we didn’t check out the on site dungeon.

http://www.ghosttowntexas.com/

http://www.lakiva.net/

Sunday, 21NOV, we took off early to spend over six hours in Big Bend National Park, which is also part of the Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River (the Scenic River starts in the west at Presidio continuing to Langtry, TX, approximately 320mi). Upon entering the park we drove the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive to Castolon (22mi). The scenic drive has many great overlooks (Homer Wilson Ranch, Mule Ears, Sotol Vista, Tuff Canyon), we also stopped to hike the Burro Mesa Pouroff. This is box canyon where the flash floods originate at the box end & have created a dramatic vertical cut in the canyon wall. After a relaxing & scenic drive we arrived at the Castolon Visitor Center. This is a very small visitor center that receives very few visitors.

Castolon was a ranching, farming & trading center that was very important to the Texans, & the Mexicans a stones throw away across the Rio Grande. The small park service display of the area’s history continues the themes we saw at Fort Leaton: European/Anglo settlers arrive in Texas, USA, to find long settled & established Mexicans; Anglos use the Hispanic population to build & establish their businesses; Anglo settlers often marry Mexican women, producing biracial families; the Anglos making up just 5% of the population end up controlling the wealth & the government, disenfranchising the Hispanic majority. The most violent period was from the start of the Mexican Revolution (1910) until 1920. There were numerous raids across the border by revolutionaries, often just bandits using the Revolution as an excuse, sometimes resulting in Anglo deaths. Sadly on occasion, the local Anglos would take retaliation on their neighbors, as when 15 Hispanic men were murdered in Porvenir (140 miles north of the border) in 1918, because it was believed they harbored bandits. To improve the situation & move past the hatred inspired by the Revolution, Wayne Cartledge opened his company & a store at Castolon calling it La Harmonia; treating Anglos & Hispanic Americans & Mexicans as equals. Although his store never made a profit, his other businesses did well & the store became essential institution for the entire area on both sides of the border.

After viewing the park service displays, we decided to provide some monetary support to the park service by buying a t-shirt for Dan, scat book for Corrie, & Lifetime Pass for someone who will not be named. Next we rescued a UTEP college student who had run out of gas & got separated from his Geology class & was wandering around the visitor center parking lot trying to obtain a cell phone connection. Note, there is no gas or cell phone connections in Castolon! Turns out we had seen numerous college students with clipboards at Tuff Canyon & Dan offered to drive the young man there. Dan learned the student was a poly/sci major & this field trip was mandatory for a passing grade in Geology, & he could not graduate in DEC without this elective!

After our good deed, we then headed 8mi down the road to Santa Elena Canyon Overlook & Trail. This Canyon is a dramatic 1500 foot cut made by the Rio Grande, that you can hike 3/4 of a mile into on the USA side. It was a very dramatic landscape as you crane your neck to try in take in the walls that towered over you & almost blocked out the sun. After all this, Dan decided to return home via Old Maverick Road (14 miles of dirt) hoping he would be able to use the Toad’s four wheel drive. Unfortunately the dirt road was in pretty good shape & no four wheeling was necessary. In fact we made better time than the paved road into Castolon! But we did discover Luna’s Jacal on the road. Gilberto Luna built this very small structure & raised a large family in it until 1947. Kinda makes you ashamed of all the creature comforts we feel are “necessary” for modern life.
Because of the remote location of Big Bend National Park, & the temperature extremes, it is one of the least visited of the National Parks. This is really too bad, because it is truly spectacular & offers you the opportunity to explore & experience three totally different climates & terrains – high desert, river/wet lands, & mountain. Because there is so much of the park left for us to explore, & more eccentricities to be discovered outside the park, we plan on coming back for a longer visit!

Trivia – what is the difference between Santa Elena Canyon & Santa Helena Canyon? What is a Jacal?

http://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm

http://www.nps.gov/rigr/index.htm

After a great day in the park, it was back to the Terilingua Trading Co for sunset on the porch. This Sunday evening we were treated to live music while enjoying $2 Lone Stars. One of the musicians wrote his own original songs, one of which was “Gangrene/Gangrene” sung to Dolly Parton’s “Jolene/Jolene”. Another fantastic day on the road, unfortunately because of one of Dan’s business commitments we have to get back to Louisiana & need to get back on the road tomorrow. Otherwise we might have stuck around for a few more sunsets on the porch!