We decided that if we were going to be serious about visiting our National Parks we better start in Texas! Luckily we have some good friends who like National Parks as much as we do and they let us tag along with them to Big Bend over Columbus Day.
I had my reservations. 10 hours in a car with 4 kids can be a VERY scary prospect. But thanks to the modern day convenience of in-car DVD players and a very good idea from my sister (cookie sheets for each kid - allowing them to play with legos or color for hours) it turned out to be really fun! The kids love camping and we spent most of the weekend driving around the park and taking small hikes. The kids had a great time and even though it was hot they didn't complain.
Big Bend is a beatiful place. It's very different from the National Parks we have visited before - very isolated...but it has a desolate beauty. Looking at the pictures you can see what I mean.
On our way home we stopped at Balmorheal State Park - a natural spring feeds this quasi-swimming pool/water hole. It was great and the kids loved cooling off after the heat of Big Bend.
One of our hikes. This was supposed to be a short hike that led to a waterfall that we could swim in. Well, it was short - about 3 miles round trip - BUT it was also hot and led to a little waterfall that we could not swim in...not only because the signs told us we couldn't but also because it was full of leeches :)
Tal and Calvin exploring the beach that runs alongside the Rio Grande. At one point we were walking along the Rio and across the river there were two Mexicans fishing. It was so funny - only 50 feet seperating our two countries!
Santa Elena Canyon - the Rio Grande runs through this canyon.
A picture from The Window - this is in the Chisos Mountains.
At Balmorheal State Park - Tal had to really work up the courage to jump of the diving board - it was great! They also had a high dive that Andy had a blast with - showing us all his mad diving skills!
The kids had so much fun together - it's always better to have friends!
5 comments:
What a terrific trip. What a great experience for all of you. Thanks for being such great parents to our grandchildren>
looks like so much fun! and definitely some contenders for family pix for the christmas cards :)
Thanks for a fabulous, memorable trip! We couldn't have done it without you!! Really!
Cool pictures; and thanks to you, we now know that it's basically like hiking in Arizona!
Looks like you guys had a great time. I love that place. Last time I was there I saw a huge mountain lion on one of the trails.
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