Lost Maples State Park 2008

In mid November my daughter, Perry, and I went to Lost Maples State Park to see the fall color from the Big Tooth Maples that grow in the area. Texas is not as fortunate as other parts of the country that have spectacular fall displays from the turning leaves. For some reason the Big Tooth Maple tree can be found in the area of the Texas Hill Country near Leakey, Texas. The leaves are usually at their peak color in mid November. The peak color doesn't last long and in spite of calling the park to track the color, Perry and I missed the peak by several days. A cold front came through right before we could get to the park and blew a lot of the leaves off the trees. The hike through the park was still beautiful and the weather was perfect.

The main hiking trail is a 5 mile loop. The first half of the trail is very steep and we take several breaks before we make the top. Rock steps have been put in place to make the climb easier. For those folks who don't like to climb, The loop can be done in reverse and the trail going up is not as steep.

The park has many nice tent camping sites as well as camper hook-ups available.

Big Bend: Around The Base Camp

This post will end the Big Bend adventure. We actually do camp when we go to Big Bend but we use campers. Several own campers and this year 3 of us rented a large camper. The rental camper was very nice and comfortable once we figured out a few things like : operating the shower, the difference between heater and air conditioner, and how to operate the cruise control. We found out that the rental camper begins to vibrate above 80 MPH and has a huge appetite for gasoline.

We usually eat most meals except breakfast in camp. The camp ground has a restaurant that serves a good breakfast. Lunch is fix your own sandwiches. The camp cook (Big Walt) cooks the meals at night. After 3 years I haven't been fired yet ( no one else wants the job). The menus are very simple : Dinner out on Thursday, gourmet hamburgers on Friday, steak on Saturday, and brisket on Sunday. Dessert is usually cake and cookies baked by the wives on Friday, Dutch Oven blackberry cobbler on Saturday, and Dutch Oven peach cobbler on Sunday. For side dishes

we have baked beans, salad, and one night a German potato salad that is always consummed in a hurry. Harry helped with some of the cooking this year and it was great having someone who knew something about cooking along. Harry has a catering business in Boerne.



That's it for Big Bend until next year.

Big Bend: Terlingua Chili Cookoff

Big Bend: Terlingua Chili-Cookoff

The Terlingua Chili Cook-off (CASI)is held on the first weekend of November every year. This event draws chili cooks and fans from around the world. The chili cooks and spectators (aka party animals) start arriving about mid-week. You can see just about any type of camper you can imagine crammed into the cook-off site. Estimates are that somewhere between 5,000 to 7,000 chili fans and party people are crammed into this small piece of desert. Hotels, motels, cars, trailers, motor homes , tents, you name it, are home to these fans for the long weekend. Police from all over Texas (including horse mounted police from San Antonio) are brought in for crowd control. It litterally takes 2 days to get the vehicles out of the cook-off site when it's over.

The REAL action starts shortly after the judging. That's about the time that we leave the event.



Our group usually leaves shortly after the winners are announced. One of the surprises for me is that there are actually chili cooks from Virginia. I was raised in Virginia and never tasted real chili until I went to Texas. There are teams from Palmyra (near Charlottesville) and Alexandria. They come every year. As a matter of fact, they actually own the 10' x 10' space where they cook.



Most of our group serve as judges. I was a judge my first year but since I really don't care for chili, I no longer judge. I didn't want to penalize the contestants with low marks. I'd rather watch the outside "action" anyway. The art work (signs and decorated stove tops) are almost worth the price of admission. The show teams are usually "interesting" - definately not "Broadway" stuff. Actually they are more in the line of skits, games, a several bands.

Big Bend: The Cattail Falls Hike

The Cattail Falls are located off the road to Castalon. These fall are also from the Basin but are not nearly as high. The hike is mostly in the rolling hills of the desert down to the base of the mountains that form the Basin. The hike into the falls is about 2 miles and is not difficult. The falls are not as spectacular as the Window hike. The trail narrows so that it is necessary to squeeze between some boulders to get into the falls. Because of the water the area is heavily treed and there is a large pool. This is another area where the animals come for water. This is another hike that is good for young kids. There is another trail that splits off (The Lower Window Trail). It looks like it goes to the bottom of the falls from the Window, but we have never taken that trail. Maybe next year!

Big Bend - Hiking the Window Trail

On Saturday three of us decided to hike to the Window instead of going to the Annual Terlingua Chili Cook-off. The trail head is just below the Lodge in the Basin. The trail follows a canyon that narrows down to the Window. About half way the trail becomes a stream bed that is usually dry except for some pools of water until the Window where it flows out and drops to the desert floor below. I don't know how high the drop is to the desert, but I have heard estimates as high as 1,000 feet. I don't get close enough to the edge to check it out, but the Window can be seen from the desert floor and it's quite a drop. The view through the Window is spectacular. The pictures don't do it justice. There was more water going through the window this year than I've ever seen. This is an easy hike for young children and we passed several young families along the trail. Last year the trail was closed while we were there because of a black bear with a cub hanging around. The trail is down hill all the way so naturally it is up hill all the way back. The last quarter mile is pretty steep getting to the top.

Big Bend - Hiking the Lost Mine Trail

Our first day hike was to tackle the Lost Mine Trail. The hike is just under 5 miles roundtrip. Five miles doesn't sound like too much, but the last third of the hike is very steep (especially for old guys). The Trail Head is located in the area of the Park known as the Basin. It is the highest part of the Park. Most of the other mountain trails start from the Lodge area of the basin. The tallest peak is Emory Peak which is just under 8,000 ft. tall. The top of the Lost Mine Trail is around 6800 ft. The Basin is so named because it is bowl shaped and catches what little rain falls in the area. The water collects in rock holes in a stream bed and when the stream is full the runoff flows through a hole in a wall of the Basin called the Window. The Window area is one of the best places to see the wildlife in the Park. They come there for the water.

Annual Big Bend Camping Trip

Every year a group of friends from Boerne travel to Big Bend National Park for a long weekend of camping, hiking, and fellowship. This year marks our 4th trip and the group grows larger every year. We always time the trip to coincide with the Casi Annual Chili Cook Off which is held the first weekend in November in Terlingua. This year we had 12 participants.

For those of you not familiar with the Big Bend, the park is located about 550 miles south and west of San Antonio toward El Paso. The Park is a combination of desert and mountains. It is bordered on the south by the Rio Grande (or Rio Bravo as known in Mexico) River.The mountains are the southern most part of the Rocky Mountains. Emory Peak is the highest point in the Park at just under 8,000 feet. There are many hiking trails throughout the park. Our group hikes in the mountains for the most part. We have not ventured in the desert except by automobile. We spend most of our hiking time in the Basin which is centrally located and where the mountain trail heads are located.

This year we hiked 3 different trails - The Lost Mine Trail, The Window Trail, and the Cattail Falls Trail. Last year we hiked the Emory Peak Trail. The Emory Peak trail is almost 10 miles round trip and we all decided that once was enough for us.

On Saturday most of the group went to the Chili Cookoff as judges. Several of us hiked the Window Trail instead.

Each of these hikes, the Chili Cookoff, and campsite activities will be the subject of separate posts as time permits.