Big Bend Ranch State Park - October 2010

First trip with Permian Basin Outing Club.  Left work Friday at 4, on the road at 5, I need to put together a semi-permanent box with most camping bric-a-brac.  Why haven't I done this before?  At least now I have a comprehensive packing list.  In the Subaru with new 90k tires headed south.  Davis Mts, lovely.  Nice evening light.  Into Presidio, thought I was getting pulled over, got the guy behind me.  Along the Rio Grande in the darkness, many Border Patrol vehicles with lights across the road.  Found campsite, only two guys hanging around.  Drank some beer, Sabkha ran around.  Campground right on the Rio Grande.

Arenosa Group Campground

Low cliff above AGC.  It looked like tuff with a camp of very coarse alluvial volcaniclastic gravel.

 

View of the Rio Grande.  I couldn't really get to the river from our campsite due to thick reeds along the shore of the river.

On Saturday we got up and hung around.  There were no organized events or plans.  Sab and I headed down the canyoj (by car) and stopped off at West Ranchieras (?) trailhead and headed up the dry canyon.  We saw some plants:

Sabkha had a great time. I wasn't feeling that well.  But the desert was pretty.

Paleosol with overlying lava flow.

Not sure what this is.  Some kind of dike-looking feature in what appeared to be gravel.

Sab and I headed up a hillside, off-trail for a better view.

Actually I lost the trail.

We could see into Mexico. The distant mts are in Mexico.

Stopped along the Rio

Then we drove into the interior of the park.  Long bumpy gravel roads.  Got sick of that pretty fast.  Nothing too challenging but keep thinking want a smaller 4x4 truck.  The Subaru hasn't let me down yet, but it's not a truck.  I'd hate to wreck it in this stuff, of course I drove it on some evil roads when it was brand-new.  It's still worth $9k or so...

I got the headache I always get on trips, although no high altitude here...  stopped to make some black tea to ward off headache.  Pretty desert!  Road was getting a bit HC.

Sab found a giant catfish corpse!  She brought the spine back to camp for us all to enjoy.

Some plants

Sat night was uneventful.  Sat around and listened to everyone else talk about their non-profit foundations and their plans.  Sunday, drove over to Lajitas, on the east side of BBRSP.  Stopped at visitor center.  Went back west to the west Contrabando trailhead.  The detailed map I had made no sense.  We hiked up the canyon from the end of the road; I think it was Fresno Canyon.  There was flowing water, which disappeared as we went up.  It got hot and dry.

Then suddenly we can on this brownish rock and the water came to the surface in little plunge pools.

We walked upstream on this brown rock for a mile or so then turned around.  I want to come back here with a backpack.  Google maps shows the brown rock in this area well.  I want to visit El Solitario, the giant "lacco-caldera" just to the north of where I was hiking.

BBRSP is four hours from my house in Midland.  So is Terlinqua, east of BBRSP and west of the national park, where you can buy cheap land.  I went back that way, through Terlingua, to see the intrusives along the highway.  Going out of the park, the check engine light came on.

In Alpine, Texas (home of Sul Ross State U), I stopped for gas and after filling the Subaru wouldn't start, and when it did it ran really rough.  Ck engine light still on.  Finally smoothed out and I made it back.  Sub 92,000 miles.