Stop #2: Big Bend National Park
…and boy is it big! After spending the night in Marathon, we woke up at 5:30 AM and hit the road to Big Bend (approx 70 miles). We arrived at the welcome center just inside the park 5 minutes before the sun came up. It has been a really long time since I watched the sun come up and this view will be a hard one to beat! 
The moon was incredibly enchanting.
I couldn’t decide which interpretation I liked better of the Chisos Mountain Range (small portion) below, so I put them both : ).


We set off on the South Rim Trail at 8:30 AM. After a 1.5 mile hike we reach this sign and realize it is 6 more miles to the halfway point. Oh and don’t let these lovely little trail names fool you. After hiking the first 5 miles and arriving to the Laguna Meadows trail… I realized there was nothing “Laguna” about these Meadows…only open air port-a-potties and well, Meadow.








We did see some very pretty things along the way:
I waited very patiently for this furry cutie to land juuust so.

The cactus flowers were in full bloom and were home to a lot of insects. I guess there is only so much to eat in the desert.

We also ran into a group of deer along the trail. They seem to be used to people and curious about them too. The one below beat me in a staring contest earlier on the trail, and then we saw her again in the back half of our (neverending) journey home – below.
Where’s Waldo:

I am sure my father’s trigger finger is twitching at the sight… sorry Dad one trait I didn’t inherit from you!

Luckily one thing we did not encounter:
We came across this note written almost exactly 24 hours prior. 5 words: Thank-you-for-the-warning.

However, I must say – if I had seen an “agressive black bear and cub” my first thought would not have been: “Does anyone have a pen and paper!?” But like I said… thank you for the warning.
P.S. It was so bloody hot, I am almost 100% positive that “aggressive black bear” was too tired/hot/lazy to be aggressive any longer and that little cub was in the shade. Just saying.
After hiking 7 miles – we finally reach the South Rim of Emory Peak.
Here are the stats: Elevation 7,825 ft (Emory Peak), South Rim approx. 7000 ft, Prominence – 4500 ft (distance from base to peak).
And here is the view…
You can see the Rio Grande snaking behind the mountain range




The Campbell’s taking a hard earned rest at the top and edge of the cliff. Yep, cliff.

Only a few thousand feet below my sneakers.

Morgan laying down on the edge.

Notice the butterfly on Debra’s back…I wish I could say I planned it that way.


We ate lunch on the South Rim – Cliff bars (no pun intended), tuna, pretzels and almonds – took family photos and we were on our way back down.

A few shots of the trail back down:
*Note – this was supposed to be a riverbed.


This picture reminds me of a piece of the set from the “Princess Bride”. There was no quicksand thankfully:

We couldn’t resist:

And last but not least, I have to credit Morgan for this last photo. 3/4 the way through the trail is the junction to Emory peak. It is a 1 mile climb to the top with an elevation increase of almost 1000 ft. I don’t know calculus to figure out the incline, but – it’s steep. Needless to say Morgan was the only one who wanted to climb the peak at this point. Me? I took a nap on a log.
Here is the view from 7,825 ft. Hola Mexico!
I wish I could have made it to the top with him
maybe next time… after taking the shortcut to get there.

With tired legs and backs, burning hip flexors and bruised toenails (that might have just been me
) we finally reached the base after 10 hours of hiking. The views were worth every minute of it!!
Next post: Terlingua, Ghost Town. Arriba!!