Paluxy River

Welcome to the Paluxy River! Near the town of Glen Rose, Texas is a pretty special river bank where you can actually walk in the fossilized footprints of dinosaurs!  Can you say cool?  :-)


Check this out!  It's like stepping back in time!  Or at least steps back in time.  ;-)

Several of the tracks were underwater, but, fortunately, the water surface was perfectly still for my visit, which let me see everything.

If you look close, you can even see the nail marks left behind by this ancient beast.

It is neat seeing the giant skeletons left behind by the dinosaurs, but actually walking in there footsteps really helps to transport you back in time.  If you imagine, you can feel the ground shake under the plodding footsteps of this overgrown lizard.

They weren't all wet.  This one on dry land is bigger than I am!

The river itself was very pretty. :-)

Well, I've got to make tracks for my next adventure. See you then!

El Paso

Welcome to El Paso, Texas! Situated in western Texas along the banks of the Rio Grande river, El Paso is home to over 800,000 people, making it the 22nd largest city in the United States. It was big! And a big city typically means big amenities, some of which I had the chance to check out.

The story of El Paso is really a tale of two cities. Back in the days of colonialism, Spain established a city on the other side of the Rio Grande called El Paso del Norte in 1659, where the present day city of Cuidad Juárez now stands. This city was the base of operations for Spain's government over the New Mexico territory. The region on the north side of the Rio Grande remained largely unsettled because of continuous attacks by the Native American Apaches. Yet over the next couple hundred years, settlements were able to take hold as the attacks waned.

The state of Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1836, but at that time it had no connection to the El Paso territory. Then, in 1845 the United States annexed the state of Texas. This sparked off the Mexican-American war, which ran from 1846-1848, culminating in the American capture of Mexico City. With that capture, Mexico agreed to give up large portions of land which is now much of the western United States, such as Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

With so much land acquired by the United States in such a short period of time, there was great debate over how to divide up and control it. Slavery became a wedge issue of the debate, as the southern states wanted to maintain a balance of states which permitted slavery. Eventually, the Compromise of 1850 was drawn up, and that managed to hold the peace of the Union for a little while longer.

Part of that compromise assigned the settlement of El Paso del Norte on the north side of the Rio Grande would then belong to Texas. At that moment, the U.S. city of El Paso was legally born.


On my way to El Paso, I was driving through the small town of Marfa.  How small was it?  Well, there were probably 5 cows to every 1 person.  That's when I saw this.  A (mock) Prada shop.  It was an art project. and it stuck out like a person in a snow suit on Daytona Beach in the middle of summer.  Ha!

The city had some appealing architecture, like the science museum below.  I think it's Art Deco style.

There were a number of beautifully adorned facades, making a city walk a nice treat.

This Tiffany glass skylight was cool and huge!  It had to be a good 20 feet wide!

This was another slick building done up in Art Deco.

Aside from exterior beauty, there was interior beauty to El Paso, like the El Paso Museum of Art.  This painted reminded me so much of the White Sands National Monument.

This one too.  I felt like I was right back in the Monument.

I loved this etching!

Pretty flowers are always a great subject for a painting.

There are times when I am awestruck by the beauty of a tree, so I could really identify with this painting.  I feel a deep connection to trees.  I mean, I am made of paper and all...  ;-)

Simple, haunting, and wonderful.

Ah!  It's a monster!  Look out!

The ocean's crashing waves draw me into a daydream.

There were also some pieces of modern art, like this funky pattern work.  This really plays with your eyes.

I don't know why, but I like this one.  It's funky fresh.

The sun is setting on El Paso, at least for me.  So I will see you next time!

Big Bend National Park

Welcome to Big Bend National Park! They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and let me tell you, this is one huge park! But despite its 801,163 acres, the park is ranked 15th in size in the National Park System. (Sorry Texas, your park isn't really bigger.) But even the littlest giant is still a giant, and this park had a lot to offer. However, probably because of its remote location, this park sees a relatively small number of visitors, typically between 300,000 and 400,000 per year.

Big Bend has desert plains, sub-alpine mountains, and 118 miles (189 km) of winding, muddy river banks along the Rio Grande. The diverse landscapes provides for a rich biological diversity. Behind me in the photo above along the north access road is a sign warning of black bears and panthers. Fortunately, I didn't have any run-ins with the more-dangerous wildlife. :-)


I stayed overnight in Chisos Basin campsite, which was truly an ideal spot!



The Chisos Basin was beautiful, and it had the benefit of being at an elevation of 5401 feet (1664 meters). That means that when it's blistering hot in the rest of the park, it's only a bit warm in the basin. And that means it's the coolest place to (legally) camp out in the park, literally!



That notch in the mountain range is known as the Window. Go figure! With Big Bend being so remote, and with Chisos Basin being at a relatively high elevation, the stars at night were awesome! You could really see the Milky Way!



Driving out around Big Bend's 123 miles (197 km) of paved roads was always a delight.



Postcard anyone? :-) What a striking land! Our National Parks are a real treasure!



The rocky spires below are together called the Mule Ears. :-)



Volcanic rock, limestone, and yucca adorned this patch of ground.



I just loved the look of this rocky bluff, with all of its prominent layers. This is near the hot springs in the park. I was on a mission to find these elusive springs.



I never did find the hot springs. :-( But at the time, it was around 100 F (38 C) outside, and clearly very sunny. I opted for a refreshing dip in this nearby cool but shallow stream. Ohhhh, that felt gooooooood!



Hiking out the Chimneys trail, I found one of the local residents. This spider was enjoying a tasty grasshopper snack. I thought the neatest thing was that this spider had built a house for himself out of small twigs. Even spiders can appreciate a little shade in this desert environment.



The desert floor with the Chisos mountains in the background was a beautiful, if inhospitable view. I loved the tall, straggly arms of the ocotillo plant, which you can see on the left side of the photo.



This was such a cool rock! Just look at all of those layers! Those layers tell a story. Was this rock formed from the sediment of some ancient pond? Did it come from silt deposits along a river bed? And how did this rock get here in the middle of the desert? Geologists would have a field day in this park!



There it is, the Rio Grande. It's not look that grand at the moment. The park's boundary officially at the deepest channel in the river. So in this one photo you see two countries! The land really doesn't look all that different on the other side. ;-)



On the western end of the Santa Elena canyon, with an "easy" hiking trail to see such sights as this boulder chock full of fossilized shells. I say "easy" because that's what it says in the brochure. But I think that the massive flood they had in 2008 made access to this trail a little less easy. I had to ford a muddy and mucky, ~2 feet (0.61 m) deep river to get over there.



And here is the view looking out Santa Elena Canyon into Big Bend. On your left, you'll notice the United States. On your right, Mexico.



Towards the end of my visit, I took a very rewarding hike along the Lost Mine trail, which included such wonderful views as this outcropping, which I think is known as Casa Grande. (No relation to the previous post.)



Up at this elevation, the climate is more forgiving, and so the diversity of plant life explodes compared to the desert floor. That doesn't stop the cacti from moving in either!



Impressive, no? I think this is known as Juniper Canyon.



There is something revitalizing about being up among the mountain peaks. I feel, I feel, not so flat. :-)



Lovely flowers in bloom greeted me near this peak.



More of the luscious landscape...



The only large animal I saw in my visit was this deer, who had no problems traversing the steep terrain.



Just beautiful. I don't know why, but I didn't have big expectations for Big Bend. Happily, it turned out to be truly a great place to explore, and a place I wouldn't mind seeing again.



Here I am at the end of the Lost Mine trail. From this vista, you can see the lost mine, which is an adjacent mountain side. The mine itself was not much to see. That didn't bother me, because I was lost in the splendor of this view. Speaking of lost, it's time I get lost in my next adventure. See you then!