Last week I introduced our two children, Mia and Max, to those of you who are readers of my article. Mimi and I started camping with them when they were babies and as soon as they had their footing we began taking longer journeys. One Christmas Day we packed up for a 17-day road trip towards the west. Our first stop was Austin, Texas to spend a couple nights with a friend who was doing some very cool architectural stuff around Austin. We try as hard as we can to spend time in other places with people who are from those places, it gives us the insider’s view. Those visits were so rich, instead of driving around aimlessly we were shown a side of Austin we’d never have found.
We left there and headed even farther south to Big Bend. We love the desert, especially the American desert. I had never seen the desolate area we were careening into. This was the real deal, tumbleweeds blowing across the highway, roadrunners were skiting around everywhere, we expected to see Wiley Coyote setting up a trap any minute. We could see that December is not a big time for tourism down there. We were in a reliable Suburban with all the seats laid flat in the back so the kids could spread out and make their fort while they watched the desert scene go by. I think Mia was six and Max was three, at that age this kind of trip is like being in kid paradise.
We found campsites along the way that were loads of fun playing around on the boulders and sand and dust. We hiked to the top of Lost Mine trail. Upon reaching the top after a five-mile round trip hoof we had a smudge stick which we burned to bring in the new year. We started a small fire up there in which we each threw in a tiny piece of paper we had each written about one thing we wanted to give up or give away from the previous year and a prayer for the upcoming year.
From up there we could see the Rio Grande River snaking its way through the desert. Mexico is on the other side so we decided to get closer to the Rio Grande in the next couple days and swim across so the kids could say they’ve been to Mexico. We were in the Chihuahuan Desert surrounded by the Chisos Mountains which get up around 7,800 feet. It looked like we had climbed into a Clint Eastwood movie. We had to get on some horses and experience this up close and personal. Every time we get this romantic idea about renting horses, I get the horse that had already been put out to pasture and back. My horse just didn’t like me, and the feeling was mutual.
The plant life in the Chihuahuan Desert is amazing and I believe it is where a lot of our inspiration to cultivate agaves, cacti and euphorbia comes from. We saw prickly pear cacti, mule’s ears, old, bent over, wind swept mesquite trees and so many cacti varieties we’ve never experienced. So, I really didn’t care how ornery my horse wanted to act because it gave me more time to look at the desert floor.
When we got back to our camp, there had been a javelina pig invasion. They were not scared of us. They would back off some, but they would just stand there and stare at us until we turned our backs then they would move in a little closer; they were weird little pigs. The short, grey pig herd just eventually moved on. I guess we weren’t really that interesting to stare at, but the kids got a big laugh out of the whole thing.
That night we cooked a wonderful stew over the fire and bundled up to watch America’s best star show as Big Bend is known as the darkest place in the United States. It is the farthest place from any light pollution, making the stars as bright and beautiful as some of the night skies we experienced in the Sahara Desert. The kids were mesmerized by the beauty and the sounds of the owls at night as they drifted off to a worn-out slumber. Mission accomplished. Big Bend is a bird and sky watchers paradise. It’s on the way to absolutely nowhere so the few people who were down there were very purposely there, which makes for a very quiet, spread-out group of people who generally keep to themselves. Again, mission accomplished.
The next day we met a river rat who would guide us down the Rio Grande in rafts. The limestone cliffs went straight up into the blue sky with some kind of birds that built mud nests attached to the walls that were flitting all about, they reminded me of our purple martins. We pulled over to a flat area to have lunch the guide had prepared for us. One of the kids asked if it was okay to swim, he said it would be chilly, but it was ok with him. I used that opportunity to ask him if he minded swimming across with us to Mexico, he laughed and said he was up for it if we were up for climbing up a waterfall to get up the steep cliff. We all agreed that it would be worth it for the adventure.
Once we got up the waterfall by passing the kids up from person to person it got easier. As we leveled out we were walking on bare, white limestone. The limestone walls and passages were so surreal we stayed and played until the guide spoke up that we’d better get going so we could get back before dark and cold took over. I’m guessing we might be some of the few Americans to sneak into Mexico. We made it back to our camp for another fun night around the fire and the light show up above.
The next morning, we bid adieu to our javelina friends who were still just staring at us. We headed for the desert town of Terlingua where we would treat ourselves to a hotel and a meal at the only restaurant. The hotel is a story that still brings laughter to our family whenever it comes up.
We’ve stayed in some crazy places before, but this one took the cake. The floors were so uneven that you had to stay close to the walls so you could keep your balance. It was so bad that there were four rocks under one of the legs of the bed and two rocks under another leg just to get the bed somewhat even. It was so funny we decided to make the most of it. Hey, at least it came with a shower.
Terlingua is the ghost town in the desert you envision in your mind complete with a wacky graveyard with tombstones with some very interesting words and dates on them. There was a general store where the hippy river guide leaned up against the wall loitering around waiting on another gig. We had some laughs and bought him a six pack of his favorite beverage as we left him to do whatever it is that he does. That night we went to the one place that offered a food menu. The place was a bar in a cave with a crooked door that you have to duck to get through. The bartender/chef/cross-dressing owner and artist were very entertaining leaving the kids with, I’m sure, an indelible memory. This area was just wacky and seems to have written its own rules. I think way better than Disneyland.
The next day we headed even farther into weird. We went to a place called Marfa, Texas. Marfa is a place Mimi has always wanted to see. It’s famous for its minimalistic architecture and the strange lights of Marfa. Marfa was also made famous by the classic movie filmed there called Giant with young Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean and Dennis Hopper. It’s a great movie that also shows the desolate area. You should look this place up if you get a chance, it’s so weird I can’t describe it in this small of space. We didn’t stay the night here although I will always wish we had just to see what goes on in this off-the-grid place and to possibly experience the colored lights that appear fairly frequently in the night sky.
We kept on trucking through the Guadeloupe Mountains and all the way to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, again, on the way to nowhere. Carlsbad Caverns is the ultimate kids’ playground. The caverns are hundreds of feet underground. The park service has lit the stalactites and stalagmites as you head farther and farther towards the earth’s core. There are rooms down there that are close to 4,000 feet long offering endless exploring and playing. There are water pools there that are lit so you can see the perfectly clear water, totally mesmerizing.
There is a huge bat community that departs from a different cave on a nightly basis. I guess there are tens of thousands of bats that take off at the same time to fill their bat bellies with insects and fruits. I remember being here before when my mom and dad lugged us four kids out there in a Winnebago back in the 70s, it looked exactly the same in my memory.
That was as far as the Suburban we named “The Beast” was going. At that point we turned her south and east. We beelined home with some fantastic memories we still talk and laugh about today. It was a great test trip that led to many other camping and backpacking excursions that I’ll tell you all about when I get a chance. Until then stay safe and take care of yourself and your people, in the end that’s all we really have.
