Chop Chop Billy Goat

In Big Bend National Park, Texas, we did three hikes. The first hike was in the mountains, called the Lost Mine Trail. It was named that for a legend that there is an old silver mine around there. Even though we didn’t find the mine, we still had a lot of fun. The ridge at the top had panoramic views of the Chisos mountains. It was very strange to see pine trees after being in the desert below.

The second hike was a trail to some hot springs next to the Rio Grande river.  We all sat in the hot springs.The water wasn’t quite hot enough for Ma, too hot for Little Kid, and it was perfect for me . I put both feet in the freezing, freezing, freezing Rio Grande, then suddenly put them back in the hot spring. My feet were on fire!!!!!!!

The last hike we did in Big Bend was through Santa Elena canyon. After hiking through the canyon, we played on a beach near the beginning of the hike. Afterwards we went to a ghost town and had dinner at a place called Starlight Theater. It was named that after it been abandoned and the roofing was sold for scrap.  It was opened as a community center with the roof off, then re – opened as a restaurant after the owners rebuilt the roof. Ma and Pa loved the seitan.

One of the funny things about Big Bend was that along lots of trails there were Mexican crafts for sale. The people weren’t there, but there was a jar for money. On our way back on the nature trail, we found some crafts that weren’t there on our way in!

Another day, we decided to spend a day in Boquillas Del Carmen, Mexico. After going through a US port of entry, we walked to the river, where we were paddled across the river in a rowboat. On the other side, we were assigned a mandatory guide. They started requiring guides  when tourists were going in people’s homes. I decided to pay for a donkey ride to town. Ma and Pa walked, and Little Kid was allowed to sit in front of me on the donkey. He loved it. We spent the morning walking around town. Even though many kids came to us with bead crafts and bracelets, we just bought one beaded flower. After having lunch in a restaurant, we headed back home.