(Kim's Perspective)
We woke early, made coffee, and sipped our brew while we stood and watched another amazing sunrise.
Knowing it would be sunny and hot at the river, we left early and made our way to Boquillas Canyon. We parked at the trailhead and donned our goofy sun hats and a healthy layer of sunscreen. It was, indeed, quite hot but the hike to the canyon was short and, after walking a short distance in the direct sun, the trail began to meander through lush grasses and shrubs.
Like every other trail on the U.S. side of the border, there were
Mexican crafts for sale...I mean...."donacions"...because selling them
would be illegal. Of course, crossing the border to PLACE the crafts
and GET the "donacions" every day is also illegal....thus the CBP
"enforcement".
We walked along and rounded the corner to the merging point of the canyon walls where we saw hand painted rocks along the trail.
We chuckled at the brash instructions of what we were expected to do with any cash we had on hand.
We heard a voice in the distance and, as we continued to hike along the sandy path, the voice became clearer. We stopped and, looking quizzically at one another, we stood there listening to a man's voice singing "Ay, ay, ay, ay, canta y
no llores". We walked a little farther and popped out into an opening where we saw the "Singing Jesus" standing on the opposite bank of the river serenading us for
a "donacion".
It was both entertaining and creepy. Entertaining because it was definitely a new, unique hiking experience. Creepy because we realized we were being watched the whole time.
Paranoid freaks that we are, we started thinking about "Singing Jesus" signaling his friends that two lone Americans with crazy expensive hiking gear and a pricey camera were ripe for the taking. I know, I know, it's terrible of me to think like that and I'm sure I'm some kind of horrible person for it, but the reality is, the cost of the outfits and gear we were wearing would be the equivalent of several month's worth of pay. Boquillas del Carmen is a very small, poor town with wages averaging less than $5 per day. It's pretty sad, really. My backpack alone is worth a month's pay. I won't even mention my newly purchased cross-country hikers I bought for this trip or the two $60 Kleen Kanteen 64oz double walled insulated water bottles I bought just so I didn't have to drink hot water while hiking in the desert. Woe is me. We are some seriously spoiled Americans.
Admittedly, we continued to hike towards the mouth of
the canyon with our situational awareness dial turned up nice and high. We were also exercising our 2nd Amendment right to carry, so that helped to alleviate the feeling of being completely isolated and helpless should our paranoid, what-if thoughts turn into a reality. I do love me some Texan reciprocity!
Anyway, as we approached the narrower part of the canyon, we were able to duck into spots of shade and take in our surroundings. There were wildflowers growing everywhere, and each one I spotted gave me another chance to frame it in the backdrop of the canyon wall.
We scrambled over the rocks to the end of the trail which simply dropped off at the river's edge.
I found plenty of things to entertain me on the way back...
On the return hike, we bumped into a seriously beefed up yet petite female NPS Ranger on border patrol. She was fully decked in a Kevlar vest with various cool tactical accoutrements. We chatted briefly about how hot her gear is and how frequently she patrols the trails. She mentioned a lot of her colleagues don't wear full gear since it's so hot, but she doesn't want to take a chance. She then asked about our open carry status and commented that she doesn't understand why civilians feel the need to carry firearms. Really? You're carrying a weapon, sporting extra magazines, a small baton, a two-way police radio, and wearing a bullet proof vest to patrol a trail. What exactly do you anticipate happening? Yep. We anticipate that happening as well. What was your question? If it's not a potentially dangerous place to be, you would be dressed like a regular, Smokey the Bear Ranger with your dorky, oversized-braided-tassel-hat and your drab olive green pants and khaki polyester button-up shirt. Don't get me wrong - I wanted to be a Park Ranger (and still do!), but c'mon, don't lecture me about feeling safer carrying a firearm on a hike in an area that the NPS and every other trail guide tells you is prone to high crime activity. Sure, it's mostly smash and grab from cars kind of theft, but I want to be prepared in case anyone decides the smash and grab is too much work and wants to bump it up a few notches to full blown robbery. No, I won't be a helpless victim. How about you? Tangent exhausted, returning to hike...
When we returned to the truck, we took our hiking shirts off to dry in the sun for a few moments (don't worry - we had on a base layer - ha!) and David pulled into the parking spot next to us. Weird. Yes, there are not a lot of people here, but it's a big park and bumping into him two days after the hike was bizarre. We chatted a bit, said our goodbyes (again) and then drove to the river overlook where we got to witness illegal activity first hand.
We gazed at the town of Boquillas which made us very appreciative of the utter luxury we live in every day.
As we walked around, we met a Belgian couple who was on their 6th vacation to the States. We talked about all their travel adventures and how they're shocked and disturbed by the fact that most Americans don't bother going to their own National Parks and instead travel to Europe for a week in London or Paris or Rome. They've been to all those places too, but said they would much rather come here and see all the beauty this country has to offer. We told them we've never been to Europe and don't have much desire to travel overseas when there is so much stuff to see in our own backyard. They asked where we've been so we told them about our travels and recommended some parks they would enjoy. Most they had already visited. It's sad that a couple from Belgium has visited more of the U.S. over the course of a few vacations than most Americans will ever do in their lifetime. They said they had met a lot of Americans over the years and it was nice to finally meet some...and I quote..."real Americans". :D
We said our goodbyes and climbed back into the wonderfully cool, conditioned air in the truck and headed back towards Panther Junction to check on the status of Santa Elena Canyon. Still closed. Grrr, grrr, grrr.
We returned to the campsite to check on Kitteh and had some lunch. The temperature was perfect (what a difference a few thousand feet makes!) so I took Lane for a little jaunt to stretch his paws a bit and enjoy some outside time. Unbeknownst to me, Bill captured a few shots of us on our little adventure together. The second pic makes it high on my list of all time favorite photos. It also makes my heart squishy. 💗💗💗💗
Bill joined us and we walked a bit more before heading back. Wild, Adventure Kitteh says "ROAR"!! Okay, fine, he says "ma-rahww". Whatever.
We wanted to get another hike in before we had to leave this magical place, so we repacked our bags and drove to the Burro Pouroff on Ross Maxwell Drive. Again, we slathered ourselves with sunscreen, slapped on our hats, and headed towards the canyon.
The hike was short but, like nearly everything here, it was loaded with some seriously cool sights.
I spent more time than I care to admit following this colorful lizard around so I could get a good shot of him. I've never seen one so colorful before. Makes the lizards back home look wretched and sickly.
The pouroff was really interesting and the layers of rock that were exposed were fascinating.
We took our time walking back and, given the different perspective, I took just as many photos on the return trip as I did on our way in. Alas, I only have so much data to upload pictures. :(
After the hike, we headed back to the camper yet again.
I had to process payroll (very tricky with our limited signal issues) and deal with some work drama. But, hey, if you have to work on vacation, this is probably one of the coolest places to do it! We cleaned up and decided to treat ourselves to one last dinner at the lodge. In the parking lot, I took another photo of Emory Peak, already feeling nostalgic for the place.
We ate dinner (nom) and watched the sun slowly drop behind "The Window"
THROUGH the window at our table. After dinner, we sat on the patio
awhile and took a few photos as we watched the sky slowly darken.
We returned to the camper one last time and loaded up the bikes and prepped the trailer for an early departure. We spent the rest of the evening sitting outside looking at the beautiful night sky - wishing we could stay a while longer. As it grew late, I came to terms with the need for me to end my stargazing and, with a big sigh, I said "Goodnight Milky Way" - to which it replied in turn with a shooting star that brilliantly streaked across the night sky.
