Big Bend National Park pictures

Lola stretches out over two spots in the van, while she can.  Pretty soon she will be relegated to the center seat only.

At Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas.
It's spring because the redbud is blooming!

Dave Molfese made us a welcome sign.  So cute.
We're idiots because we never got an actual picture with Dave.  Oh well.

Those fried balls are stuffed avocados. 
We're always smiling when at Mexican restaurants.  

Out of the van!  Hallelujah!
Sanderson, TX

First interaction with desert flora.  Good gracious, that plant is huge and prickly!

Lola with the Sanderson sunset

We made it!  Desert and river and mountains and stars!

First desert hike, Dog Canyon

Dog Canyon.  Look at how flat the landscape and flora are.

We hiked to canyons so we could have shade.  In Dog Canyon.

Walking the Panther Path at Panther Junction Visitors Center.
We learned the names of all the desert plants we had been seeing and avoiding.  Additionally, Samantha and I quickly began quizzing each other as we saw other flowers.  We've become our mother.

Claret cup cactus

Creosote bushes had golden blooms and yellow-tinged leaves.

Purple prickly pear cactus

Thought about crossing the border and we decide against it.  The Border officer asks "Is it because you're scared of the Mexicans?  It's okay, you can tell me."  

Enjoying the view of the Rio Grande, along the Boquillas Canyon trail.
The river is incredibly narrow and shallow, due to overuse and lack of rain.

Lola cools off in the water.  Boquillas Canyon.

Everyone else cools off in the shade of Boquillas Canyon.

Hiking the Tuff Canyon trail.
The sky was a stunning blue every day.  I'd never seen a sky so consistently deep blue.

You can tell the rock is made out of tuff because of the color and texture.  So excited to use knowledge gained at one national park at another one!  Tuff Canyon trail.

Raina boulders to the top.

Providing perspective on size.  Technically the canyon is an arroyo, which I learned by eavesdropping on an educational tour.  :)  Tuff Canyon trail.

Rio Grande Scenic Trail.  

Top of the Rio Grande trail overlook at sunrise.
Eric proudly shows off his new, nonsensical t-shirt.

Sunrise over the river.  Gorgeous.

All the desert plants were in bloom.  Ocotillo featured here.

Enjoying the river one last time.  Rio Grande Scenic Trail.

Samantha and I showed up with matching smiles and matching hats and folks immediately said, "Well, you two are sisters!"

Hot Springs Canyon Rim hike.  

The Hot Springs hike combined river and lots of sedimentary rock.  

The river creates a ribbon of green in the Chihuahuan desert.  Hot Springs trail.

Hot springs trail.

At an overlook on the Hot Springs trail.  The contrast between riparian and desert areas is so stark.

Hot springs trail.

Someone, at sometime, build a hot tub with the hot springs.  The hot tub spills into the river and has an absolutely gorgeous view.  We were hot from our hike and didn't submerge fully into the 100+ degree hot tub.

The sedimentary rock is also archaeological because it contains pictographs and petrographs.  Hot Springs trail.

Remains of home along Hot Springs trail.
To get the patch we were supposed to have counted the number of windows and doors on this building. 

Junior Rangers!

Start of Lost Mine Trail in the Chisos Mountains.  Starting with smiles.

Our hike order was almost always Eric, Lola, Raina, Krystal, Samantha.  On this hike Lola fell behind and had to be cajoled back into her appropriate spot.

Raina shows off her dimples, her MICDS gear, positive attitude, and unflagging energy.
Lost Mine trail. 

Making our way on the Lost Mine trail.

The trail had gorgeous views of the South Rim.  If you can only do one short hike in the Chisos it should be this one. 
Lost Mine trail.

We made it to the top with amazing mountain views in all directions.  Lost Mine trail.

View from our tent in the Chisos Basin.  From our campsite we had mountain views in every direction.  We were damned lucky.

Tackling the Pinnacles and then Emory Peak Trails!
Check out the elevation chart on the bottom right.

The day started out at 45 degrees and breezy.  It was cold!  Pinnacles Trail.

The cool climes made the ascent easier to manage, though, as did sticking to the shade for as long as possible.  Pinnacles Trail.

Sunrise on the Pinnacles Trail.

The Pinnacles Trail had amazing views.  

The sky was so blue!  Pinnacles Trail.  

Love the symmetry in this shot.
Taking a break on the Pinnacles Trail.

The Pinnacles Trail got us really high up.  It was amazing to be on eye-level with other mountains and clouds.

We still had distance to climb.  To the top of Emory Peak!

The last portion of the hike required scaling up Emory Peak.  The views were rather spectacular without going all the way to the top.

Even so, the view from up top was even better.  Go, Whompton women!  Emory Peak.

Emory Peak selfie.  The solar panel is evidence we made it all the way to the top.

Coming back down on the Emory Peak trail.

Almost done and we're still smiling.  Pinnacles Trail.

Our "downhill" evening hike required climbing back up portions of the Pinnacles Trail.  Our legs complained and we told so many jokes about it that our bellies hurt from laughing.  Chisos Basin trail.

Darth Whompton returned.  Chisos Basin trail.

The "Window" view through the mountains.  Chisos Basin trail.

View from our Chisos campsite.  The campground host told us not to share with anyone how amazing it was at Big Bend but how could we lie about it?  Every bit of it was gorgeous.

Last hike on the Grapevine Hills trail.  Sunrise through the mountains was so pretty.

Magma formed the boulders and features on this hike.  Visually it was very similar to Lumpy Ridge in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Grapevine Hills trail.

At this point, Krystal's knee, Samantha's knee, and Raina's ankle were hurting.  Even so, we persevered. 
Grapevine Hills trail.

Requisite Balanced Rock shot.  Grapevine Hills trail.

The George Washington Carver National Park is celebrating 75 years and has a special Junior Rangers badge and stamp.  Get there this year to celebrate!